No more 'poo!

I have always been a grease-ball. If I wash my hair in the morning, by 2pm it is greasy and gross. I've always kept it short because it is so thin, dull and flat. In fact it has always been so dull that I was in the habit of dying it my natural color just to make it shiny and prettier. What kind of sense does that make?

Great news! No longer am I a grease-ball!

A couple months ago I read about people going without shampoo, and how it is supposed to be this wonderful thing, but I wasn't really buying it. Then I saw an infomercial for this Wen hair care line and they basically repeated everything I had read about shampoo doing more damage than good, so I decided to give the "No 'Poo" thing a shot. After reading a couple blogs I found that many people who skip shampoo replace it with 2 T. of baking soda mixed with about a cup of water, massage it into the scalp, rinse, then mix about 2 T. apple cider vinegar with a cup or two of water and pour over the length of your hair, and again rinse. I am proud to say that I haven't used shampoo for 2 weeks and my hair looks awesome! It's like I have a whole new head of hair! It's shiny, soft, has a nice curl to it, and I don't know how, but it feels a little thicker and silkier too. And grease? What grease? It takes about 48 hours now for my hair to get greasy like it used to in just 12 hours. Amazing! I read that some people have an adjustment period where it takes their body to adjust to not needing to make so much oils, but I really didn't. Whenever I wash it, I let it air dry and it looks 100% better than it used to.

If you are wondering why shampoo is so bad for your hair, there are people/websites who will explain it better than I, but basically the shampoo strips all of your natural oils that are produced to protect the hair, so your scalp goes into overdrive producing crazy amounts of oil. In addition to that the shampoo can make your hair dry, limp, dull, frizzy so we then buy products to correct it, like hot oil treatments, conditioner, detangler, shine serums, etc. Do yourself a favor and try going shampoo free for a month. Your hair will look amazing, you will save a ton of money on hair products, introduce less chemicals into your body, and reduce your carbon footprint. It's a win-win!

Fluffy Butt

Is there anything more squeezable than a baby's squishy little butt? If I didn't have to worry about little puddles and pooh, then I would let that adorable little tush roam free! Who doesn't love to be naked? Sadly, I have to rein in the urge to let my little guy frolic in his birthday suit and cover that adorable little butt with paper, plastic, and chemicals. Oh, wait a minute, that's not right! I want to cover that precious little butt in something natural, breathable, reusable, comfortable.

I really don't get why more people dont use cloth diapers, especially with so many people trying to be more "green." I just cant justify adding 7,000 disposable diapers PER CHILD to landfills when I know how easy and how much cheaper it is to use cloth instead. I did the math the other day and it cost us roughly $100 to buy cloth diapers and covers. If we used Pampers disposables, on average we would spend that same amount in a month! Don't forget, I can re-use our cloth on a second baby, or re-sell them. Ever tried to re-sell a used disposable?

Something else that really bothers me about disposables is the whole "stay dry" feature that allows you to leave your baby in a wet diaper for hours before the baby "feels" wet. I don't really care if the baby "feels" dry, the fact is that if they are wet then there is urine trapped in that diaper next to their skin, and no air flow. It drives me crazy when I see a baby with a loaded disposable diaper sagging to their knees. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should! No wonder so many babies have issues with diaper rash.

I think it's important to say that we have used disposables, and it is convenient to just chuck them in the garbage when they are used, but I can't get past the fact that 1/4 of the time we use them, Mama has the pleasure of changing the sheets and outfit in addition to the diaper. Ugh!

I will just stick with my good ol' trusty (and inexpensive) unbleached cotton Little Lions prefold seconds diapers and used OS Wonder Wraps or handmade wool soakers courtesy of Auntie Rachael. Besides, who can resist such a cute tush?

Intentions

Every company should have a mission statement, right? So why not my blog? Nothing fancy, just a statement of intentions.

I believe that our culture is so full of consumerism that we have lost sight of the joy in basic things. I think our families, our bodies, and our planet are suffering from this age of disposability that we are in the midst of. It is time for my family and I to try to go back to basics in as many ways as possible. I want to strive for a more sustainable, home made, and chemical free lifestyle all while raising this family of mine.