All Poos aren't created equally

If you think I'm talking about poop, I'm not.  Gasp!  Shocking I know since a lot of my discussions as of late revolve around bowel movements, specifically Aubrey's.  Fortunately, this isn't that kind of blog. (for now)

I'm talking about shampoos.  I have incredibly thick straight hair, with a very sensitive scalp.  If I use the wrong shampoo I will be battling dandruff for weeks.  A couple of weeks ago I tried out L'Oreal Sulfate Free Shampoos.  Sulfate free shampoos are the new "trend".  Why?  Sulfates are BAD.  We've worked hard at removing them from all of our beauty and cleaning products in our home.  That is easier said than done.

Why are sulfates bad you ask?  Good question.  I've done quite a bit of research on this because sulfates are in EVERYTHING, even toothpaste.  Basically sulfates are detergents, surfacants.  Their whole purpose is to strip dirt and oil from a surface, be that your hair, your teeth or you kitchen counters.  If you look at the ingredients of any shampoo, soap and most cleaning products you will see "sodium lauryl sulfate or ammonium lauryl sulfate".  Don't tell me you that you do not have the time to read the labels on your shampoo bottles.  We all know that when we are stuck in the bathroom going #2 that the bottles and labels are the first thing we read to kill time.  (See I talked about poo!)  Next time you're reading them, pay attention to what they say.  You would be shocked at how many shampoos and conditioners even have alcohol in them.  That seems a bit counter productive, no?  Personally, I don't want to wash my hair with an ingredient that is also mean to clean my dishes, my floors and even my car.

What to do about it?  You can buy one of the many brands of sulfate free shampoos out there.  I've tried several and haven't been impressed.  Recently we as a family tried L'Oreal EverPure Smooth Shampoo and Conditioners.  This is what Cosmetics Database has to say about the safety of this product.    It is sulfate free and still hazardous.  That's not okay with me especially since we use this same shampoo on our daughter.  Also, after a week of using it my hair felt greasy, nasty and my scalp itched like crazy.  The only good thing I can say about it is that it smells awesome.  After that week of gross hair I resolved to make our own shampoos.  This is the only way I can control the ingredients in what we use.  How did I do it?  It took a few recipes and some tweaking to get the perfect mix for our hair, but we finally found it!

First, I asked myself what I wanted in a shampoo.  This may be different for everyone, but for me I want a shampoo that leaves my hair feeling clean and I want a scent that leaves me refreshed after washing.  Next, I searched high and low online and in books for a shampoo recipe that might meet my needs.  After finding several I researched each ingredient to see which recipe was the safest.  *There are literally thousands of recipes out there.  Mine may not work for everyone.*  Everyone in our house has really thick hair that tends to get really oily if not washed properly.  However, if we use shampoos that are too harsh it gets really dry and brittle.  The key was finding a "poo" that balanced all of those needs.

Here is the recipe we all ended up loving.


1/2 cup distilled water
1/2 cup liquid Castile Soap- (We use Dr. Woods.  It's the same thing as Dr. Bronner's but 1/2 the price)
4 tsp jojoba oil (You can use any light oil you would like.  Jojoba oil and grapeseed oil did the best job on our hair out of the oils we tried)
1/4 tsp peppermint ess oil
 1/4 tsp tea tree ess. oil
*As far as the castile soap goes you can use any scent you like.  We went with the Pure Peppermint castile soap.  I loved the scent.*  Another added benefit is that tea tree oil stimulates hair growth.  So if you have thinner hair this may help.  We don't need any help in that department in this house, but I love the way it makes my scalp feel.  You can cut this recipe in half.  We make a large batch because Shane and I both use it.  It lasts about 2 months with us washing every 2 to 3 days.

You mix all of this up in your favorite bottle and wash.  It's that simple.  For our bottles we went with some inexpensive oil and vinegar bottles we found at Ross for $5 a set.  They work great for our shampoos, body wash and the oil for my face.

Now for a few warnings.  This soap isn't going to suds and bubble up like commercial shampoos do.  The reason?  There is no sulfates in this shampoo.  Sulfates help create the bubbles that we have become so accustomed to.  Bubbles and suds do not equal clean. 

RECIPES BY HAIR TYPE *I haven't tried all of these myself and will note the ones we have tried and the results*

DRY HAIR
1/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup castile soap (your choice of scent.  I liked the Dr. Woods Lavender with shea butter added for extra moisture) 
1/4 cup aloe vera gel (Aubrey Organics is the only all natural Aloe Vera Gel that I could find)
1 tsp glycerin (you can find this at Walmart near the alcohol and peroxide.  It's vegetable based so safe)
1/4 tbsp Avocado or Jojoba Oil (We used Jojoba because that is what we had on hand)

Mix it all up.  Put in a bottle and enjoy. Let it set for a few minutes after putting on to get as much moisture as possible. Aubrey's hair gets dry and this is the mix we use on her.   I stopped using baby shampoo on her a while ago because it dried her hair out.  After reading the ingredients it was obvious way.  Can we say alcohol?


NORMAL HAIR
1/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup castile soap (pick your own scent.  Lavender is one of my personal favorites)
1/2 tsp Jojoba, Grapeseed, Avocado, Sunflower Seed or any other light oil.
2 tsp of your favorite scented oil.  Make sure you're using an essential oil so it is as pure as possible.  One of my favorite combos is Lavender and Eucalyptus.  It's refreshing and still feminine.  I use it in EVERYTHING even my laundry soap.

I have not tried this recipe personally, but I imagine that it works well.  It's the same basic concept as the previous recipes. 

PISSED OFF SCALP
1/4 cup distilled water
1/4 cup castile soap (by now you know to pick your own scent.  For this recipe I liked the peppermint scent because it is soothing.)
3 chamomile tea bags 
1/2 tbsp glycerin
Steep the tea bags in the distilled water for about 20 minutes.  Let the water start boiling with the bags in the pot.  Cut the water off, wait 20 minutes.  Don't fret if you forget the water is on the stove.  The only thing that will happen is you will have a stronger chamomile shampoo which isn't a bad thing.  Throw the tea bags out.  Add the castile soap and glycerin.  Mix well.  Put in bottle.  Wash your hair.  Pretty simple huh?
Why is this soothing you ask?  Have you ever been stressed and had a nice cup of chamomile tea?  It's soothing isn't it?  The same holds true for your hair and scalp.  The chamomile will soothe your scalp.  Keep in mind that chamomile has some natural lightening properties.  So if you want that "sun in" look you can always add a bit of lemon juice to your shampoo to help lighten your hair a bit more.  Don't worry my fellow brunettes you aren't going to end up with orange hair as long as you don't add the lemon juice!

DANDRUFF, HOW TO GET RID OF THE SNOW
*Note:  Dandruff is NOT caused by a dry scalp.  It's either too much oil, hormones, stress, being sick or allergies*

1/8 distilled water
1/8 castile soap (Tea Tree or Peppermint is great for this shampoo, but pick your own scent)
1/4 tsp jojoba, grapeseed, sunflower seed or other light oil
4 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp finely ground cloves (You can buy them already ground or grind them yourself)

As noted earlier I have issues with dandruff when my hair gets too oil.  This mixture is great.  It also worked wonders on Aubrey's cradle cap.  You can double this recipe if needed.  This is such a small recipe because this isn't a shampoo that you will use daily.  If you need it constantly you need to reevaluate your current shampoo.  Last time I used this for a week.  It was to get my hair over the horrible L'Oreal Sulfate free crap I washed my hair with.  I probably used it a day or two longer than needed, but I hate having an itchy snowy scalp. 

If you have any questions or need help tweaking a recipe for your hair type just let me know and I'll do what I can!  You can find most of these ingredients online or at your local Whole Foods/Earth Fare type store. 



Next Post:  Conditioners

Listen to the Muppet

Kermit was right when he sang, "It's not easy being green".

Living in the south brings on challenges of its own.  People in this area seem to very narrow minded.  So, when they meet a mama that baby wears, cloth diapers, practices attachment parenting, makes her own laundry soap and is excited about planting an organic garden; I get treated like a leper.  Of course my husband is "brainwashed" for being as into these things as I am.  I would give anything to live in an area that is more open minded.  I get tired of the snide comments, being called a hippie or the snide "we'll see how long it lasts."  I have news for the critics.  I'm not changing any time soon.  If anything Shane and I have become even more dedicated to living as green as possible. 

Green means so many things these days.  For us it is our dedication to eating as naturally and healthy as possible, while reducing the amount of artificial chemicals in our lives.  Recently, I've begun making our body wash, shampoo, conditioner and face wash.  I even made some dish soap the other night which doesn't cut grease like I want so I will stick to my Babyganics Organic dish wash.  Am I nuts?  Quite possibly, but since becoming a mom I've become increasingly uncomfortable with the amount of artificial "man-made" chemicals in the products we use.  It is sickening how many carcinogens get sneakily put into our products.  I have finally started paying attention to labels and anything that could possibly toxic has gotten the boot.  Has it been easy?  Heck no.

I've found some great sites to help me assess the risk in the products we used.  This is where I researched our personal products like soap, shampoo, makeup and toothpaste.  http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/  This is a great resource if you want to find out exactly what is in that supposedly natural bottle of Johnson and Johnson Baby Wash.  (It scored a 7/10, 10 being the most toxic)  http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product/99375/Johnson_%26_Johnson_Johnson%27s_Moisture_Care_Baby_Wash/  That's just one example.  There are too many to list on here. 

I'm going to end on that note for now.  I don't do anything without massive amounts of research.  It took me 2 months to decide on the laundry soap recipe to use for our family.  That is just one example, but consider this:  If I'm that anal about laundry soap, imagine how much research and thought I've put into products that my daughter uses.  Like I said, it's not easy being green.  The amount of crap you take from people combined with the amount of research is exhausting.  I'm hoping that I can share my research on here for others to use so that they can save a little bit of time and be informed about the decisions they are making.

Laundry on a Dime

With us being in the process of moving to our "new" home we have resolved to live life in our new home as green as possible.  Is this for everyone?  No, but it works for us.   People tend to associate going green and eating organic foods with money.  For some it can be expensive if you don't know what products to look for and where to find them. 

Over the past few weeks I've made a real effort to cut down the expenses in our household.  Since we cloth diaper we use quite a bit more detergent than most families.  Up until now Rockin' Green has been my go to detergent.  I used it for everything that I could because I loved the smell.  However, I loved knowing exactly what was in it even more.  I love Kim at Rockin' Green.  She has helped me through many, many a diaper dilema.  Yet, with us moving I can't afford the $30+ that we spent a month on laundry soap.  I figured this would be a great area to trim some expenses.  So, naturally, I decided to try making my own laundry soap.

I scoured the internet for a few weeks.  I researched recipe after recipe of homemade laundry detergent.  I couldn't find any that I thought would work well for regular laundry AND Aubrey's diapers.  I finally stumbled upon a recipe that I thought would work for our family.  It was so simple.  You just mix equal parts Washing Soda, Borax and Oxy Clean.  Now, I do realize that Oxy Clean is probably not the crunchiest thing out there.  However, compared to a lot of laundry boosters it is probably one of the crunchiest.  I even went as far to research the main ingredients in Oxy Clean.  Basically, it is sodium percarbonate and soda ash.  (both natural products) 

After making my first small batch of this wonderful powdered soap I gave it a shot on my diapers.  It worked wonderfully.  I decided that I would want soap that "stinks pretty" for my regular clothes.  What should I do?  I don't want a bunch of artificial perfumes in my laundry soap.  Naturally, I added some essential oils to the mix.  It took quite a bit of sniffing and experimenting to finally get the right ratio down.  I finally succeeded though and the result is wonderful!  My clothes are cleaner than they have looked in a long time and they smell great. 

Here is the recipe:

Dry Soap
Borax Powder
Washing Soda (both can be found on the laundry detergent aisle)
Oxiclean (I use the generic from Harris Teeter because it is always on sale.
Scented essential oils of your choice (my favorites are lavender/eucalyptus, mint/vanilla and lavender/mint)

Mix equal parts of this mixture into the container you want it in.  I lucked out and found a huge glass jar at the thrift store.  Once you get it mixed you can add the oils.  For a 55 ounce (each part) mixture I use 20 drops Lavender oil and 10 drops Eucalyptus Oil.  I didn't want the Eucalyptus to be overwhelming. 

REMEMBER:  It only takes 2 tablespoons the laundry soap to get your clothes clean!  Detergent companies have conditioned us to think that it takes a ton.  In reality, they do this to make money.  It takes a very small amount to get your clothes clean even with conventional soaps.

The good news.......the entire mix cost less than $7 including my awesome jar find.  That supply will last our family 6-9 months with cloth diapers.  If we didn't use cloth it would probably last closer to a year.

Intro

When I was pregnant I read an article about sustainable living.  It made a lot of sense to me that the writer decided to live their life in such a way that they didn't rely on Earth's natural resources.  Basically sustainable living is "going green."  Everywhere you go these days you hear about going green.  What does it mean?  Does it meant to dye your hair green?  (a resounding no in case you were wondering)

The phrase "going green" may mean different things to people.  To myself, going green means to live my life in such a way that I reduce the artificial things in my life and I try to provide a cleaner,safer future for the generations that will come after me.  I look at my daughter and I see all the reasons in the world there are to go green.  I don't want her to be exposed to things society may deem safe now, but in 20 years be found to be the cause of cancer.  I want to preserve what is left of this planet for her, her children and her children's children.

Is our family the greenest family in the world?  Absolutely not.  We still do some things that are incredibly not green.  I drive a mini-van that gets 20 mpg.  We leave the TV on overnight sometimes and I have been known to drink out of a Styrofoam cup or two.

This blog is about our efforts as a family to live a more green lifestyle and to save some money in the process.  Going green isn't always easy, but there is no reason you should go broke trying to do it.