How's It Going (Hair Challenge Update)

Several people have asked how the curls are doing so I'm here to report...

Going into Week 4, this is a photo of how my curls are doing (second-day hair, at that).  I've finally pushed through the greasy gross stage and my hair feels really good.  It's softer than I can remember it ever being and I actually notice it "bouncing" as I'm walking.  The only con at this moment is that with my curls actually laying nicely I realize I have a terrible haircut.  Definitely looking forward to my sister Kimberly giving me something fun when I go home for Christmas!

Kathy is a week ahead of me and has been saying for awhile that her hair is really great.  Hers tends to be drier than mine and so she wasn't really bothered by the extra oil in the early stages-it was something new and nice for her.  She's realized she used to always wear her hair up because it was frizzy and has kept it down for weeks now because it's actually curling.  And the best part, all kinds of people are complementing her on how great her hair looks!

Brooke, I think, is still doing her own thing but has cut out the dish detergent...

My only other observation for this week?  All of sudden I'm fighting an enormous urge to pull out my flat iron and straighten every last curly strand.  That seems a little counter-productive, though, doesn't it?

Wishing You A Day of Joy and Gratitude!

I Smell Amazing! (Hair Challenge Update, Week 3)

Let's start by saying I'm on my sofa right now loving that my hair smells yummy!  Yes, let's definitely start with that because nothing else with this week's alternative shampoo experiments turned out nicely.

After writing last week, I emailed Kathy and my sister Brooke (who decided to do the challenge with us because she's lazy and doesn't want to shampoo, honest, those are her words) with a list of alternative shampoo options, told them to pick one, and report back.  Here is what we have to say:

Baking Soda

Mix 1 T baking soda with 2 c lukewarm water

There are a million ways to use baking soda outside of cooking.  It's a great cleaning agent and so why wouldn't it also make a great shampoo?  Kathy agreed to try so I shared with her that my research showed the baking soda would be extremely drying. Many of the recipes online suggest following up with a vinegar rinse for conditioning.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Mix 1 T vinegar with 1 c water

No one tried this.  See, I didn't know Brooke was going to do the baking soda so I didn't warn her about the drying.  When it completely dried out her hair she didn't mind, but when it "completely dried out my back and my legs and anywhere the water ran" Kathy chickened out and decided her hair was doing just fine with out shampooing.

Lemon and Cucumber Smoothie

Peel 1 lemon and 1 cucumber. Blend.

This is the option I decided to go with.  The lemon is supposed to be cleansing and the cucumber moisturizing.  My kids thought I'd gone off my rocker when I told them they couldn't eat the cucumber because I needed to wash my hair with it.  While fighting back a gag reflex with the first pouring on my head I thought I might agree with them.  

The blog I got this recipe from warned of a need to make sure you rinse really well to get all the little lemon pulp pieces out.  I'm here to tell you there is absolutely no way this is possible.  Originally I washed with just the smoothie.  My hair was extremely tanged, but I was determined to leave it. I got out of the shower, dried off and then gasped at my reflection in the mirror.  There were little white lemon flecks from root to tip!  Hoping conditioner would grab onto all that mess, I flipped my head over in the sink, conditioned and rinsed again.  No better.  My hair is full of citrus yuckiness...

Lemon Juice

Use the Juice of 1/2 Lemon, Squeezed

Seriously, my hair smells amazing!  And my scalp is tingling.  The good way tingling.  I can say with certainty that neither Kathy and Brooke nor myself are going to be come all-natural granola-type shampoo users.  But I definitely can see myself occasionally squeezing the juice of a lemon and/or a cucumber into a spray bottle and adding it to my washing routine.  As my husband pointed out, there must be a reason manufactured cucumber scent is so popular in commercial shampoos.  Trust me, the real stuff is so much better!  

So what am I telling you to do? 

 Experiment if you must.  

Use our experiences for jumping off and let me know how it goes.  

Have you tried these or other alternatives?  

I'd love to hear about them!

I have to add here that Brooke's solution for de-greasing her hair up 'til now has been rubbing in Dawn dish soap.  The sulfates in shampoos are also found there.  That should be enough reason to switch to a gentler shampoo...

Hair on Tuesday

Procrastinating just might run in my family...and so neither Kathy or I have gotten to the alternative shampooing.  Tonight!  We're doing it tonight, so please check back tomorrow morning.  We're taking half the kitchen pantry into the shower with us...

(oh, and I found out my sister Brooke has been doing the curly hair challenge, too....in her own way. 

 You won't want to miss that!)

In My Heart On Thursday

A New Way of Drying

My sister Kathy and I are three weeks into the curly hair challenge and having mixed results.  We're definitely seeing more defined curls but we're still getting used to the greasier feel.  I started alternating between a traditional gel and a spray-on gel depending on what time of day I wash my hair.  If I'm going to be sleeping with wet hair the traditional gel works wells to hold the curl overnight.  Otherwise, I'm using the spray gel because it makes the curls lighter.  Either way, my curls are actually starting to bounce and I think that's pretty amazing!  

One huge change I made this week was from drying my hair with a terry-cloth towel to drying it with a t-shirt.  (I won't even be embarrassed to tell you that I'm usually not prepared enough to bring a clean t-shirt into the bathroom with me and end up using the t-shirt I just took off my body.)  The benefit of the t-shirt's smooth surface is less frizz.  And instead of twisting like I normally would on top of my head, I've switched to a method call "plopping."  My kids look at me like I'm crazy, but it's really working!

 The first half of this video gives a great visual of how to properly use your t-shirt to dry your hair

 (sorry, the rest of the video is really boring...)

The part of the challenge we're still not okay with?  The grease and gross at our roots and scalp. This week we're going to try a couple natural shampoo methods (a baking soda concoction and others).  I'll be back next week to tell you all about it...

In My Heart On Thursday

-BlimpCat Studio

This one for an old friend who truly appreciates food 

and also my BIL who tried to finish the Chubby Challenge

 even when it made the rest of us sick just looking at it :)

Curly Hair Challenge

My sister Kathy and I have been cursed...I mean blessed...with curly hair most of our lives.  Trying to figure out what to do with it has been a lifelong experiment, and so I jumped right on board a few weeks ago when she emailed a quick question to ask, "Are we going to try this?"

What is "this?"  

The 6-Week Curly Hair Challenge

Before pictures (1st, Kathy/2nd, Me)

The idea behind The Curly Hair Challenge focuses on the sulfates in most commercial shampoos.  For curly hair, these ingredients completely strip the natural oils and leave behind dry frizzy lifeless poofballs atop your head.  Eliminate the shampoo and your
hair will quickly begin re-hydrating.  Add some wiser drying and styling methods as well and the result is supposed to be perfectly coiffed locks.  

This is the 6-week plan we're following:

• Get a haircut
• Quit using shampoo all together
• Use a light conditioner to massage the scalp and break up residue/buildup
• Rinse and detangle with your fingers
• Apply deep conditioner following instructions on bottle
• Continue detangling either with fingers or a wide-tooth comb
• Let sit a few minutes then rinse lightly with cool water.  (At this stage my deep conditioner calls for another light conditioning and rinsing)
• Squeeze hair dry while still in shower
• Use a t-shirt or microfiber cloth to continue squeezing water out. Avoid terry cloth towels.
• Apply gel in a scrunching motion (Optional: add a leave-in conditioner before the gel)
• Let hair air dry
• Occasionally turn hair upside down, shake, and scrunch to break up crunchy gel spots and create volume

These are the products we're using:

~Michelle: Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Fortifying Conditioner, Ouidad Deep Treatment, Infusium 23 Leave-In Treatment, Garnier Fructis Curl Shaping Gel

~Kathy: L'Oreal Repairative Smoothing Conditioner, L'Oreal Smoothing Deep Conditioner, L'Oreal Humidity Defying Leave-In Crème, LA Looks MegaHold Gel

And 2 weeks in, here are a few of our observations:

• First, we are in complete agreement that hair gel is disgusting and we hate it.  Kathy is using only a nickel-sized amount for her whole head.  I'm experimenting with a spray gel and like it a little bit better.
• My first wash was the worst, but I'm thinking maybe I forgot to do the final rinse.  My hair felt like sludge!
• We have heard that Week 2 is the worst.  Kathy agrees and is optimistic for better results next week.  For me, my hair is actually feeling more like straw.  I've changed the products I'm using to see if I get better results.
• Neither of us usually washes our hair more than 2-3 times a week.  With this challenge we're feeling like we need to wash it everyday.  Kathy's is more greasy and where mine is usually manageable for a few days, I can't get it to do anything when I wake up in the morning. Also, my face is sometimes as greasy as it was as a teenager, which I'm sure is a result of more greasy hair.

Check back next Monday for our next Curly Hair Challenge update!

Have curly hair and want to join the challenge?  

Email your "before" photo to michelle.wanderingstill@gmail.com and let me know how it's going!

We 're following the steps found at this blog.

Lots of  great additional information available here.

Letter Z

This is the Zebra that ate my car.

I don't know why he ate my car.
I almost died.
(Honest, he wrapped his buck teeth around my mirror and took a bite)
Natural Bridge Wildlife Park, New Braunfels, TX

And that is the end of my A-Z.  It's been super fun for me!  

What was your favorite letter?

In My Heart On Thursday

You and Yours

Thank you for being here, for reading and commenting when you do.  

Today I'd like to repay the favor by sharing some of your own blogs with the rest of my world.

Here they are, some of my followers, some of my family, and a couple that I just think you'll love...

A Book, A Girl, A Journey

Great for authors and writers

A really great little bit of everything-great linkies!

Takes you along on the most amazing hikes in Southern Utah

The Womanhood Cause

Bringing up all topics we as women think about

Timeless

Part fashion, part food, part deep conversation

Who's Your Editor?

A Book Lover's Heavenly Find

I wish I could share each and everyone of your blogs,

 but I hope you'll check out a couple I've highlighted today and let me know what you think!