November 29, 2007

No 'Poo for 5 Weeks, 4 Days

So, I'm coming up on my 6 week goal of the No Shampoo Experiment. I should post a picture, yeah? But really, there's nothing to note. It looks exactly like normal, shampooed hair. Except for the four inch bald patch. Just kidding.

This leaves me in a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, yay! No more buying products! But, it's never that simple, is it? There are some drawbacks. I really do have to wash it every day, or it just seems dull. I miss the smell of shampoo, too. All those lovely scents... lavender, rosehips, apple... those are nice smells! Also, my hair is thicker, which is good, but it was already pretty thick. However, it's also now a bit coarser. But, then again, it's more manageable.

So, hm.

I'm thinking, maybe I'll just go back to an organic shampoo... maybe once or twice a week? I dunno. I gotta mull this one over.

But in the meantime, WOW!! I made it! Come on, you didn't think I'd actually get through the whole 6 weeks, did you?

Groovy.

Posted by WonderGirl at 12:48 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

November 4, 2007

I Took My Hair to the Movies

Okay, so I'm on Day 15 of No Shampoo, and I have to say, it looks kind of fabulous. No, seriously. I had a rough few days this week, when the back was balancing out, and I was really rethinking this whole hairbrained idea! (OH PUNNY ME!!) But now, well. Lemme tell you. It's pretty rock'n! It's thicker, shinier, lusher. Maybe a bit coarser, but I could use some conditioner if I had to. It's definitely healthier looking, and holds a style really well. Here's a picture I got King Pen to snap of the back of it:

This hair deserved a night on the town. So, Friday night, I met Dolly and Sarah (no link, because she doesn't blog, HINT, HINT!) for a coffee catch-up. Afterwards, it was still early, and my hair just wasn't ready to call it a night. I was inclined to agree. King Pen had kid duty, so I whisked my hair off to the dollar theater just for the heck of it. We got there with time to kill, so I took some random shots. If anyone thought I was weird for taking pictures all by my lonesome, they were quickly distracted by my gorgeomous hair and didn't say a word.

Check out the boots. How could I NOT take a picture?

Not a bad movie for a buck:

I tried to win Spongebob with the claw game and lost. He didn't take it well:

Yes, I spread napkins out on my seat. Wouldn't you?:

Movie ticket: $1. Fountain drink: $18.50:

Me, at a girl movie, missing WonderMom and the WonderSisters:

So that was that.

Posted by WonderGirl at 3:38 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

October 26, 2007

This and That

Top o'the morning to ya, lads and lassies. How's it going? Mine is off to it's usual start, except we're adding a few runny noses to the mix. Comes with the change in the weather, I guess. We'll be keeping Kleenex in business till April!

So, our weekend is shaping up nicely. King Pen gets off at 2 today, and he's swinging by the house, and picking up HeroBoy and Czarina. They're going to wrangle up his Halloween costume (for the office contest) and get a pumpkin for us to carve. Saturday, my aunt is coming in for a visit. Sunday, we have church, and then our Reformation Day party which includes a cookout and a moonwalk for the kids. We will be trick or treating on Halloween, though. I think I'll write a post on why we do that, as Christians, a little closer to the actual holiday.

Moving on.

November 1st is creeping up on me again, and I've decided to give NaNoWriMo another try. I only did it one year, and didn't get very far at all. I imagine that it will be just as difficult to stick with this year, too, but I'm going for it nonetheless! I actually have a very good story idea, one that I'm fairly in love with, and I didn't have that last time. I had no clear direction at all. So maybe that will make a difference this go round. We'll see.

Update on my hair: tomorrow will be seven days with no shampoo. Last night, I did the baking soda paste on my roots, and that tidied them up a bit. My scalp kinda hurts though! Girls, you'll know what I'm talking about- it's like I've been wearing a ponytail all day long and I've taken it out. I can't imagine why. Maybe because the glands aren't being stimulated like normal? I know in the past, when I've fasted, my teeth have hurt-- like they need a certain amount of "work" or they start to feel weird. I don't know. Just thought it was worth noting. It's still very thick, but not horribly unmanagable. It's not too bad, all told. My "flyaways" are much better, too. It smells strangely "earthy" though, and by that, I do not mean "disgusting". It's more of an absense of smell... like not fruity, or flowery-- no extra fragrance from hair products at all. We'll see what happens. I don't know that I want to give off an "earthy" aroma. That's dangerously close to "gamey" or "oh-my-gosh-what-died-in-here?!" Nothing will stop this experiment faster than a funky smell coming from my head. Right now, it's okay. I'm sure my very honest children will let me know if I start smelling like a dead horse.

Well, I have things to get to. I'll blog later, after the day gets settled in some.

Happy Friday, folks!

Posted by WonderGirl at 9:39 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

October 24, 2007

No Shampoo, Day 4

Okay, so obviously I had been seriously stripping my hair of it's natural oils, because now it's in overdrive trying to correct itself. GUH!! I will spare you no details, friends. It's oily. It's also incredibly thick. I feel like I've got a huge soggy quilt on my head when I wash it. I can barely get my fingers through it when it's wet! I'm going to use a homemade baking soda paste which will help absorb a little bit of the excess oil, and that should help some.

Over all, it just looks like I'm having a slightly bad hair day. It helps to part it on the other side, keeps it from being so flat. I am brushing it alot, distributing the oils from the roots all the way down. So, there's a three inch block of hair between my roots and the ends that actually looks pretty nice and shiny. (Ever the optimist!)

And, as promised, here are some pics. Am I repulsive yet? Go on, tell me true.

Posted by WonderGirl at 1:05 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Do I Have To?

Well, I was going to TRY to squeek by without having to include pictures during this whole Shampooless Experiment. But you're not gonna make it that easy on me, are ya? Cruel, dear readers. Cruel. Oh well. It won't be the first time I've humiliated myself on the internets. You can put away your puppy dog eyes now. You win, you scalawags.

Let's start out on a good note. Here is a picture from Saturday, where my hair is shiny and fresh and smells like lilacs. And look at HeroBoy- he's obviously enjoying a clean mummie.

Don't I look happy? Blissfully ignorant of the scary hair to come? I remember that girl. She didn't know how good she had it. Oh, to be her again.

Tomorrow, I will post the first in the what I will call "The Shame Collection".

This was just a GREAT idea.

By the way, I need a catchy name for this thing... "No 'Poo" just doesn't sit right with me.

Posted by WonderGirl at 12:08 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

October 23, 2007

Shampoo Taboo

Okay, here's the why: "according to the theory, if you wash your hair with plain old water for six weeks, it will reach a state of natural balance and look and smell awesome. You never need another haircare product ever again. It's supposed to be softer, shinier, and sweeter, just like the good Lord intended." A more scientific explanation can be found here.

I've been putting this experiment off until the weather was cooler, because it seems less gross that way. So Saturday was the last day I used shampoo. And the status so far... WHAT THE HECK AM I THINKING? Ew. My hair is flat and oily. That's not unexpected, I realize I've embarked on the Bad Hair Month. I just hope my vanity can withstand it. Thank goodness for ponytails and ballcaps! If I can hang in for two weeks, I think that'll be the worst of it. (Please-oh-please.)

Anybody up for joining Team Shampooless? We can get jerseys! We can call each other in tears when the neighbors start whispering about us! We can hide our heads under matching doorags! It'll be fun! Anyone? Anyone?

I didn't think so. That's what I get for hanging out with sane people.

That's okay. Six weeks from now, my hair will win the Nobel Peace Prize, so it's all good.

Posted by WonderGirl at 10:15 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack

October 22, 2007

The Monday Meeting

Good morning, y'all! Pour yourself a cup of coffee and join me out here on the deck. It's a bit dreary, but there's a breeze!

Let's catch up.

We spent the weekend with King Pen's parents in Luzianne. We played hard, the kids were dirty little puppies all weekend. It's so nice to see them living it up in the country... it makes the 5 1/2 hour drive worth it. We attended my niece's baptism on Sunday, and a celebratory feast afterwards. It was lovely! (Thanks, Amy & Aaron!) We stopped off to meet my folks on the drive home, and they took Czarina, HeroBoy, and the Duke until Tuesday. So, it's just me and Chipmunk today. We have plans, oh yes we do. Plans to clean, and shop, and tickle! It'll be nice.

What else? Chipmunk got FOUR teeth yesterday. Really. There was one little tooth poking through on the top, and an hour later, there were four. Surprisingly, he was in a great mood! Easiest teething ever. But WAH!!! I am NOT ready! He's our last bebe, as far as we're planning, and every milestone is bittersweet for me. It's sad to leave the baby years behind, ya know? -sniff- I don't wanna talk about it anymore.

*composing myself

In other news, Dumbledore is not gay. She just said that for attention. He's not, he's not, he's not.

Moving on.

So, in preparation for Thanksgiving, Martha Stewart has an article on brining your turkey before roasting it. Anybody do that? Does it make a big difference? I'm all for trying it this year. I like turkey, but it's so dry. Maybe this would help.

Also, it looks like it's time to stop washing my hair with shampoo. I've been saying I was just waiting for it to get cooler... and now I've talked myself into a corner. It's cooler. And now I've got to walk the walk. *gulp

I'll be blogging it, of course. Because if I am going to have gross hair for six weeks, I want you to share my pain. It's the least you can do. Also, try not to stare at my turban during week two. And when I finally reach that hair nirvana, when my locks are shiny and fluffy and beautiful, give a sister a high five, won't ya? Then it's your turn.

Okay, I'm gonna get started on my day. I'll upload my pics from the weekend sometime later... so you can see just how dirty my kids were, and how clean my hair was, one last time.

Posted by WonderGirl at 9:47 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

April 12, 2007

In Pursuit of the Natural

Have you heard about the "Stop Washing Your Hair" movement that is sweeping underground America? And no, I'm not talking about just the guys living under bridges. It's legit. King Pen told me about it the other day (which is a bit ironic, for obvious reasons, since he doesn't have any. Sorry, babe.) Anyway, according to the theory, if you wash your hair with plain old water for six weeks, it will reach a state of natural balance and look and smell awesome. You never need another haircare product ever again. It's supposed to be softer, shinier, and sweeter, just like the good Lord intended. Here's an exerpt from an article that explains it better:

"The theory is that the vast quantities of chemicals we douse our hair with strip our scalps of their natural oils, while simultaneously panicking them into overproducing to compensate.

Were we to cease this chemical bombardment, our equilibrium would be restored in time and we would have no further need for commercial hair-washing products.

Exposed to light and air, human hair simply finds its own balance, the oil glands secreting just enough to protect it."

Hm. I'll admit I'm curious. Can I live for six weeks with potentially funky hair in order to achieve hair nirvana? Would you all stick by me during those dark days when my hair was flat and frizzy and scary? Could I bring myself to test the boundaries of our friendship that way? Just how gross would it get, and how much do you love me? Questions, questions.

I might actually do it. Yes, I think I'm really considering it! (I'm a little surprised, myself, to be honest. And horrified, too.) At the very least, it would be some awesome blog material. I almost have to do it just for that. And I wouldn't cheat you of the full experience- I'd have to take pictures, to be fair to the whole process. Ew, huh?

Anyway.

This guy did it. I thoroughly enjoyed his account of the No Wash Experiment, it was too funny. It worked for him, though, so we'll see. Lemme think on it. I'll get back to ya.

PS. Anyone care to join me in this endeavor? Anyone? Anyone?

Posted by WonderGirl at 2:31 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack