In My Heart On Thursday

-(linked to Pinterest b/c the Tumblr link was not working)

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!)