I've gone back to regular shampoo!
The baking soda seemed to be causing breakage where my highlights are growing out. I tentatively blame this on the weakened hair that was dyed, but after I grow it all out and have less fuzz I will have to try again and confirm if this is the case.
Meanwhile, I am still using apple cider vinegar for shine and conditioning. As a bonus it doesn't attract bugs the way perfumed conditioner would, which is ideal as I'm working outside on the farm this season!
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Monday, April 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wool Dryer Balls Part II
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| WARNING: Potential mayhem in your dryer. |
I need to add a caveat. If your yarn starts to slip a little, instead of felting into place, don't ignore it! It will go away, by turning into what you see in the photo above.
Instead of ignoring the loose bit I should have put the ball back in a sock for a few washes to encourage more felting. Alternatively I could have felted by hand in water, or cut the yarn and woven it in with a needle/crochet hook.
Next time I make these, I will use this clever shortcut: buy something 100% wool at a thrift shop and cut it into strips. Fold these strips to make the core of the ball, then cover these with some wool yarn to finish it off.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
How to part with your shampoo
Here are instructions for how to stop using store bought shampoo. You can also check out my other posts for more details on how my experience with this process went.
It seems like a bit of work at the beginning to wrap your head around the process (make that wrap the process around your head haha) and you may need to tweak a few things to get it to work best for your hair, but that means in the end you'll have a fully customized, cheaper, healthier (compared to chemical shampoos) alternative that takes less work and gives you nicer hair!
The idea is that if you don't strip all your natural oils from your hair every day (and then replace them with synthetic oils in conditioner so you can avoid tangles...), your body will stop overproducing the oils and after a few weeks should reach an equilibrium, and your hair will stay clean longer. People also say their hair is thicker, has more volume, is stronger, has a healthier colour and if you have curls or waves, these will probably become more pronounced and better formed with less frizz. Personally (I'm in my second week of trying this) my hair feels nicer, softer, thicker, more substantial. It also styles/falls nicer when its not as clean and fluffy.
It seems like a bit of work at the beginning to wrap your head around the process (make that wrap the process around your head haha) and you may need to tweak a few things to get it to work best for your hair, but that means in the end you'll have a fully customized, cheaper, healthier (compared to chemical shampoos) alternative that takes less work and gives you nicer hair!
The idea is that if you don't strip all your natural oils from your hair every day (and then replace them with synthetic oils in conditioner so you can avoid tangles...), your body will stop overproducing the oils and after a few weeks should reach an equilibrium, and your hair will stay clean longer. People also say their hair is thicker, has more volume, is stronger, has a healthier colour and if you have curls or waves, these will probably become more pronounced and better formed with less frizz. Personally (I'm in my second week of trying this) my hair feels nicer, softer, thicker, more substantial. It also styles/falls nicer when its not as clean and fluffy.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
More Natural Fabric Softener
Do you know what chemicals are in your fabric softener?
According to Adria Vasil's guide to environmentally friendly products in Canada, your fabric softener likely contains:
-chloroform - a probable human carcinogen
-benzyl acetate - linked to kidney, liver and respiratory problems
-toluene - a hazardous gas
But unless you really don't mind getting electric shocks, static cling and levitating hairstyles, what can you do to avoid these nasty chemicals? There are a few options:
-Add vinegar to your final rinse cycle
-Use a reusable chemical-free cloth
-Use naturally derived liquid options from environmentally friendly companies
-Use wool balls in the dryer, scented with essential oil
I haven't tried the first three options, but I did make myself 4 wool dryer balls (by wrapping 100% wool yarn into balls and felting in a sock, see tutorial here). Their pros are supposed to include reducing static and lessening the time it takes to dry your clothes and eliminating wrinkles due to their bouncing action which separates clothes as they dry.
Other than it taking a bit longer than I expected to wrap the wool into balls, I am pretty happy with my finished product! They do make noise in the dryer, so that is something to consider. They work well for reducing drying time and wrinkles. I am noticing a bit more static than usual, but not enough to give me shocks or a bad hair day, so I think I'm going to stick with this option for a cleaner laundry habit!
Have you tried any of the above options? If so, what did you think?
According to Adria Vasil's guide to environmentally friendly products in Canada, your fabric softener likely contains:
-chloroform - a probable human carcinogen
-benzyl acetate - linked to kidney, liver and respiratory problems
-toluene - a hazardous gas
But unless you really don't mind getting electric shocks, static cling and levitating hairstyles, what can you do to avoid these nasty chemicals? There are a few options:
-Add vinegar to your final rinse cycle
-Use a reusable chemical-free cloth
-Use naturally derived liquid options from environmentally friendly companies
-Use wool balls in the dryer, scented with essential oil
I haven't tried the first three options, but I did make myself 4 wool dryer balls (by wrapping 100% wool yarn into balls and felting in a sock, see tutorial here). Their pros are supposed to include reducing static and lessening the time it takes to dry your clothes and eliminating wrinkles due to their bouncing action which separates clothes as they dry.
Other than it taking a bit longer than I expected to wrap the wool into balls, I am pretty happy with my finished product! They do make noise in the dryer, so that is something to consider. They work well for reducing drying time and wrinkles. I am noticing a bit more static than usual, but not enough to give me shocks or a bad hair day, so I think I'm going to stick with this option for a cleaner laundry habit!
Have you tried any of the above options? If so, what did you think?
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Shampoo Free - 1 week
So far this is easier than the comments section online indicated!
I washed with the baking soda and water mix on Monday and Thursday. I brush the oils through my hair in the morning, and overall it's not too dirty looking, and actually feels good! I've been careful with the washes because apparently the soda can cause breakage if you are too rough. I've also skipped the apple cider vinegar conditioner, just because I don't need it as my hair isn't tangling. But, I will try it next week to see if it helps with the small bit of static.
My hair feels thicker and seems to have more...attitude? Not sure how else to describe it. The other day I did a side part and it fell like I was a 1950s movie star, not like in the past, where it just looked like normal fluffy hair with a side part.
All these years I was convinced I HAD to wash my hair everyday, or else it would be/feel disgusting. Maybe that was the case during my teenage years, but it doesn't seem to be now. Which is great, because I hate having wet hair.
I washed with the baking soda and water mix on Monday and Thursday. I brush the oils through my hair in the morning, and overall it's not too dirty looking, and actually feels good! I've been careful with the washes because apparently the soda can cause breakage if you are too rough. I've also skipped the apple cider vinegar conditioner, just because I don't need it as my hair isn't tangling. But, I will try it next week to see if it helps with the small bit of static.
My hair feels thicker and seems to have more...attitude? Not sure how else to describe it. The other day I did a side part and it fell like I was a 1950s movie star, not like in the past, where it just looked like normal fluffy hair with a side part.
All these years I was convinced I HAD to wash my hair everyday, or else it would be/feel disgusting. Maybe that was the case during my teenage years, but it doesn't seem to be now. Which is great, because I hate having wet hair.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Shampoo Free
In the name of less chemical consumption/exposure/waste, I'm jumping on to the "No 'Poo" train.
Basically this means I won't be using shampoo anymore; instead I'll be washing every few days with baking soda and water, and conditioning with apple cider vinegar and water. There should be an initial adjustment period, after which my hair's oil production will balance out and do the work that conditioner used to do, without overproducing and becoming gross. Benefits include thicker, healthier more voluminous hair and less washing/styling (not that I style ever...) fuss.
So my last shampoo was Saturday morning. I used baking soda last night and my hair feels and looks awesome this morning!
If you're interested in the process, here's a site that explains the routine, or check out my other post for a summary.
It's a bit overwhelming when you start reading the comments and hearing the individual stories. Everyone's hair reacts differently, and ratios/ingredients might need to deviate from the recipe because of that. Fingers crossed my hair likes this!
Basically this means I won't be using shampoo anymore; instead I'll be washing every few days with baking soda and water, and conditioning with apple cider vinegar and water. There should be an initial adjustment period, after which my hair's oil production will balance out and do the work that conditioner used to do, without overproducing and becoming gross. Benefits include thicker, healthier more voluminous hair and less washing/styling (not that I style ever...) fuss.
So my last shampoo was Saturday morning. I used baking soda last night and my hair feels and looks awesome this morning!
If you're interested in the process, here's a site that explains the routine, or check out my other post for a summary.
It's a bit overwhelming when you start reading the comments and hearing the individual stories. Everyone's hair reacts differently, and ratios/ingredients might need to deviate from the recipe because of that. Fingers crossed my hair likes this!
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