Shampoo-free methodology

I posted here about going shampoo-free.  It has been an adventure.  Most of all, if you decide to go shampoo-free, you need to know that there are a) many options b) the first two weeks will suck (I itched like crazy and had dandruff for the first time ever) and c) it is worth every bit of effort!  Now that I have figured out my method it is a snap and I absolutely LOVE it.

 This is the system that I find works best for us.  First of all I figured out that I *NEED* lather.  My friend Rachel gave me a fantastic recipe.  2 cups water (I use distilled), 1/8 cup castile soap, and ~1 tsp of coconut oil.  My hair is very coarse and thick.  That recipe didn't lather enough or have enough coconut oil for me so I changed it to suit my needs.  I use 2 cups distilled water, 1/4 cup castile soap, 1-1.5 tablespoons (not tsp, tbs) of coconut oil, and I add in 10 drops of lavender oil if I am using lavender Dr. Bronner's and 1 tsp of almond extract if I am using almond Dr. Bronner's.  In the beginning I needed to use the Apple Cider Vinegar rinse (2tbs-2cups water) every time I washed my hair.  As my hair's own natural oil is allowed to exist and work I find that the kids and I only need it once/week at most.  If my scalp gets itchy at all I make a paste, a smidgen thinner than toothpaste, with baking soda and water and ex-foliate my scalp that way (if you use baking soda you MUST follow with ACV rinse!!!!!)

 That yummy bottle of shampoo lasts 2-3 weeks (I made this batch this morning) while talking to my mother-in-law on the phone.  It's so easy.  The kids love it, I love it.  I only have to wash the kids hair 3x week (they take body showers with a shower cap every other day).  Their hair is shiny and happy without chemicals!  We use the Dr. Bronner's as a body wash, too.  That's it.  That is the extent of our haircare products.  It is cheap.  It is easy.  IT WORKS.  Cutting as many chemicals out of Alorah's life is important and I feel strongly about it.  Our skin is our biggest organ, whatever we come into contact with can be in our bloodstream so fast!  Making this change has been a fantastic teaching experience.  Vance goes around and looks at labels at the store and tells me "mom, this has a LOT of chemicals, we can't buy it".  I use either Method cleaning products, Mrs. Meyer's, or homemade lemon juice and vinegar type concoctions.  Gone are the days of bleach and lysol (our household has been pinworm free for a few months-thank goodness).  I am hyper aware of all the things we use to clean.

 It's so simple to put together a concoction of things in your kitchen and make shampoo, but it is fantastic.  I use lemonade jars from Sunflower Market for the shampoo.  LOVE them.  No plastics.  I even put the Dr. Bronner's in glass jars instead of the packaging it comes in (the shampoo and soap all sit on the window in the bathroom so I am concerned about the plastic leaching into the soap when heated).  Coconut oil makes the most fabulous body lotion (and heals cuts faster than anything I have ever seen!) I have ever used.  I lather the kids up before bed and they love the way it smells.

This is the soap from Ojai.  Delicious delightful lavender.  Heaven in a bar.  Mmmm!  Thank-you so much to Sue for bringing it and to Di for asking her to.  I keep my soap in glass jars, too.  We haven't had any glass breakage in the bathroom yet.  So far so good.  I help with the shampooing, though.  The shampoo is very watery and if left their own devices the girls would probably dump the whole bottle on their heads!  

This is the result.  No silicon.  No sulfates.  No chemicals.  No hairspray or lung irritants.  Happy, healthy, thick, wonderful hair.  So, there you have it.  Poo-free and lovin' it. Oh and I do use a mixture of distilled water and 20 drops of lavender oil for "revamping" my curls.  Make sure the bottle is a fine-mist, about 4oz is plenty and lasts quite a long time (and smells fantastic!!!).

Born Again Hippie

Is that a loaded title or what?  I don't talk about religion much on my blog.  Mostly because I don't have one!

…maybe it’s the time of year. Yes, and maybe it’s the time of man. 
And I don’t know who I am. But life is for learning.
Joni Mitchell/CS&N (Woodstock) 1970

To understand my current belief system you must first understand my past.  I remember the exact warm, spring, bright sunny Sunday my Dad woke me up and told me we were going to church.  Church?  What was church?  We went to a community church, small, non-denominational Christian.  I would spend much of my childhood at this church.  Every Sunday we would go, rain or shine or snow.  I remember Easters and Christmas Eve's.  Wedding and baptism.  My own Dad baptized me when I was 8, he himself was baptized on the same day.  That church holds many precious memories for me.  I went to the daycare there for years until it closed (the daycare, not the church) and I became an official latch-key kid when I was 11, almost 12.  I went to VBS every week.  I found my love of babies working in the church nursery.  I made lifelong friends and memories.  I went to bible camp.  It was my home away from home.  I can't say I waited until marriage or followed every rule, but I was a good, God-fearing kid.  When my parents divorced when I was 16 everything changed.  Church no longer felt like home, people wanted details of what was going on, and unfortunately some people asked inappropriate questions that made me very uncomfortable.  I called a Christan counselor to get in to talk to someone about the divorce, she yelled at me for asking to speak to her instead of setting an appointment up with her secretary, I bawled.  My foundation was shaken.  I met Levi and fell in love..in every way.  He was my first everything.  Going to church after that felt wrong.  Then 2 months after my 20th birthday I found out I was pregnant, out-of-wedlock.  I went to church once after Faith was born, she was a few months old, and it just felt wrong. For several years my whole world was breastfeeding, diapers, attachment parenting, playgroup, park dates, etc.  Church didn't really enter my mind much.  Faith and Alorah both went to a Christian preschool.  Faith was unable to stay, she needed Child Find and they were awesome for her!  Alorah went for a year and a half, when we bought the house I just could not afford it so she ended up being a peer model for Child Find (she was AWESOME with the kids and everyone just loved having her, she was so helpful and kind!).  Vance didn't go to preschool.  When I lost Reese I tried to find solace in God.  Instead I found a place for all of my anger.  I still place a lot of my anger toward Him.  For a long  time I struggled with giving the kids what I had. A church family.  An upbringing like mine.  In the end I have come to a place of peace within that I don't have to give them a church to give them a community.  If one of my children were gay, I would love them just as much as I do now.  If my children have children without getting married, I'll love them and support them.  The more I found my own value system in life the less it meshed with church and God.
So what do I believe?  I believe in God, I truly do.  I believe in a greater purpose.  The bible, well, I take  everything in the bible with a grain of salt.  That is my choice.  If my children end up going to church some day I will support them and I will also encourage them to educate themselves on all of their spiritual choices.  I do not choose to prescribe to any one religion.  I am a very spiritual person.  I believe in connecting to the universe every day through meditation.  I believe in being kind and compassionate and loving.  I believe in forgiveness. I believe in peace and love and tolerance.  I believe in respecting other peoples beliefs.  I would never tell you to believe what I believe; I would never tell you that my way of thinking is the ONLY way.  I evolve in how I process the world all the time.  I believe in social programs that help people to better themselves when they are down on their luck...and I also believe in not judging how a person or family got there.  When I finish school and my income allows I WILL give back.  I will volunteer and give to Joy Junction and I will teach my children why and hope they do the same.  If I did not have the family I have the circumstances I am in could very easily leave me, and my children, needing such services.  Don't think it could never happen to you.  Life is a house of cards.  I believe in heaven and hell and if not going to church and not reading the bible and not following scripture lands me there...well, okay.  I really think God is more compassionate than that though.  I am not perfect, but I strive every single day to be a great Mom which is the best and absolute hardest job on earth.  I try to be a good friend.  I try to be a good student.  I strive EVERY day to make good choices and I always, always own my words (the good and the bad).  I make mistakes, I yell at my kids, I struggle every day with discipline.  I never hit them.  I don't believe in spanking.  I believe in treating my sweet little people like people.  Respecting them and hopefully pouring MY love, respect, honesty, compassion, peace, tolerance, etc into them will be reflected by them.  I believe that children give what they get.  When my children act out parenting and role playing and I see them use the kind words I use-there is nothing better.  No matter what I believe in following my heart.  If it feels right it almost always is.  Just because I identify with many of the principals of Hippies does not mean I don't shower, do drugs, and I am definitely NOT promiscuous. This is what I believe, in a nutshell: To be a hippie you must believe in peace as the way to resolve differences among peoples, ideologies and religions. The way to peace is through love and tolerance. Loving means accepting others as they are, giving them freedom to express themselves and not judging them based on appearances. This is the core of the hippie philosophy.  which is just what fits me.  I finally found peace within.  I no longer beat myself up over not ''giving my children a church family''. I no longer agonize over it.  When Levi and I were together we tried several churches and none of them were comfortable.  After awhile I finally gave myself permission to be who I am and believe what I believe.  The values I want my children to live can be given to them through example.  On Sunday mornings we hang out in our jammies for hours, we do projects, we go to the park, we play outside, we eat bagels and drink coffee with Papa and Gran Diane.  We enjoy our time together.  Sometimes we make pancakes.  Sometimes we eat cold cereal.  We don't get dressed up and go to church.  I think if I ever did try another church it would be Unitarian.  I want to guide my children into their own sense of spirituality, not indoctrinate them with it.  It isn't my choice, it is theirs, and as long as they do not join a cult I will respect whatever they choose.  I hope so much that no matter what they choose it is well thought out, feels right, and makes them happy!  I love my childhood memories and my childhood church.  I am glad I had that.  I am also really comfortable right now with my beliefs.  There is beauty in fellowship and worship songs; there is also beauty in a string of daisies, colorful tye-dye, and celebrating earth.

Love & Light and I hope you can read this with an open mind and respect; it is what I would do because I respect you (no matter who you are or what you believe)