Officially off the deep end

Once upon a time, in 1968, feminists held a protest against the Miss America pageant. "Protesters saw the pageant and its symbols as an oppression of women (because of its emphasis on an arbitrary standard of beauty, and its elevation of its choice of the "most beautiful girl in America" to a pedestal for public worship and commercial exploitation). On September 7, 1968, a "Freedom Trash Can" was placed on the ground, and filled with bras, high-heeled shoes, false eyelashes, girdles, curlers, hairspray, makeup, corsets, magazines (such as Playboy), and other items thought to be "instruments of torture," accouterments of enforced femininity." (Wikipedia.org). (Protesters did not, as the myth goes, burn their bras- this was a misconception fueled by the media). Yet, here we are today, 4 decades later, living in a society in which women are told all day, everyday that in order to be "beautiful," they must strive to look like women that are paid thousands of dollars to advertise a product. Marketing pays big bucks to drill into the minds of women that in order to be "beautiful," we "need" products that make our skin smooth, our hair shiny, and our bodies smelling nice. They come up with new products all the time and new ways of convincing us we need them (Have you ever noticed that Baby Boomers call conditioner "cream rinse"? I wonder what marketing genius figured out that "conditioner" sounds like something we "need" more than cream rinse. Uh oh, I'd better "condition" my hair- otherwise it might fall out or something equally scary!) Several months ago, before my hippie-ness really kicked in, I decided to start using a nightime face cream. Possibly due to my child-induced sleep deprivation, I felt my skin had seen better days. And I'd seen commercials for this product- the women had flawless skin and absolutely zero undereye puffiness (of course, with absolutely no help from digital enhancement whatsoever). It must be due to this magical product they use, right? Weeks went by, and night after night I slathered this junk on my face. Then one night I thought "Hmm, how weird that I am putting this on my face and I have absolutely no idea what is even in it." So I flip over the little jar, and there is not even a list of ingredients on the container! (Perhaps it was in the box it came in, however, I, like most people, throw out the box as soon as I open it!) I was unable to quickly and easily determine what I was putting on my face night after night. I started to think about the number of products I use daily. I would say on an average day, I use about 8-10 products. Obviously, it depends on the day, and my plans for that day (leaving the house, or getting repeatedly spit-up on by an infant?). On a day (rare as they may be) that I am getting "dolled up," I use: shampoo, conditioner, face wash, soap, lotion, deodorant, root volumizer, mousse, hair spray, concealer, foundation, eye primer, mascara, eye liner, eye shadow, and bronzer. That is 16 products right there. And I think that I am on the low end in comparison with other women. I rarely paint my nails (in fact, I recently had my very first pedicure at the age of 27), I don't dye my hair (I can count on one hand the number of times I have dyed my hair in my life), and I typically use minimal makeup. But I got to thinking, why do I need to use all of the products I use? I came across this website. I'm not sure if it's 100 percent accurate, but it is interesting to read what ingredients are in our products, and what these ingredients may do to our health. This article is also interesting. The things we do for beauty! And so, the title of this blog entry. I have decided to stop using shampoo and conditioner. Yes, you read that correctly. I've read a lot about people trying the "No Poo Method" (funny name, huh?) and I decided that I am the perfect candidate to try this little experiment- admittedly, I'm a little crazy, not terribly concerned with impressing anyone, and rarely leave the house (probably the most important factor in this experiment). As of today, I am one week into this experiment. So far, I have to admit, I am liking it. I've been using a baking soda wash with apple cider vinegar rinse. It's working nicely. It makes so much sense to me- we all know that you aren't really supposed to shampoo your hair daily. Your body naturally produces oil to keep your hair healthy. Using shampoo daily strips your hair (so you can replace those oils with conditioner of course!) and upsets your hair's natural balance. This causes you to produce more oil than necessary to compensate. Kind of a supply and demand situation. In the past, I haven't been able to go more than 24 hours without shampooing, or my head looks like an oilslick. It's weird to have gone a week with zero shampoo, and my hair actually looks pretty darn good. I've read that one goes through a transition phase lasting a few weeks when attempting this method as the scalp rebalances and adjusts the amount of oil needed. So far, I have had a few 'slightly greasy' days, but nothing terrible. I appointed the husband as the official head sniffer/ hair toucher/ oil slick spotter so I can get an unbiased opinion of this process. Day 1- Husband sniff test Husband: I don't know, it doesn't really smell... clean. Me: By clean, do you mean, fragranced? Husband: Yes. Fortunately, my goal is not to smell like flowers or strawberries. It is also not my goal to be a stinky hippie, so I will be keeping close tabs on my stink factor. Everyday since, the husband has said my head smells good and clean. And don't worry, I am still showering daily, using soap, and deodorant. I can't say that I will never go back to shampoo. But so far, baking soda and vinegar are working for me. I hope that I can get my hair to a point where I am not dependent on shampoo or other products. I'll save myself some money, and keep chemicals off my hair and skin. Heck, if you're brave enough, toss those products in your "Freedom Trash Can" -- or perhaps, your "Freedom Recycling Bin" and join me in this crazy hippie experiment!

One man's junk...

You know the saying. With the number of moves my family has had over the last few years, it's pretty easy to realize the amount of "stuff" one can acquire. The one good thing about frequent moves (and trust me, this might be the only good thing) is that it allows you to purge the possessions you rarely use. It allows you to assess how often you actually use something, what the item means to you, and whether it's worth keeping. But, what to do with the "stuff" you are ready to part with? Lazy* answer: Trashcan! Hippie answer: Freecycle! For those of you who are not familiar with Freecycle, I highly recommend you check it out. It's a network that allows you to post items that you no longer want, and are willing to part with for free. Other members can then contact you if you have what they want. Essentially, it's a method of finding a new owner for something you no longer want, but may be of use to someone. To use Freecycle, you simply search for a town near you, and you then become a member of that particular network. You can either post items you want to get rid of, or you can search for other people's stuff. Others in the same network can find your stuff and contact you if they want it. Just one more way to keep stuff out of landfills. You never know, someone may want that old ball of yarn or that three-legged table. *Please do not take offense to this. I use the term 'lazy' with the utmost love and respect, as I have been known to throw a thing or two in the trash. Baby steps.

Oh the things we consume...

Gross. I am not above this. I still eat at McDonalds (and drink too- I can't quite resist those "crack coffees" - aka, Iced Coffees that I swear are infused with crack because they are so addicting). Although, I have been finding more and more reasons to avoid this and most other fast foods. Articles like this and documentaries like Super Size Me have really made me think about fast food and how much I eat it. Now that I have significantly reduced how much fast food I eat, an occasional meal at such a franchise makes me feel.... well, yucky. It tastes good momentarily, but it is short-lived, as I begin to feel awful the minute it hits my lower esophageal sphincter. I swear Pepto Bismol advertisers must've been eating McDonald's when they came up with their slogan- "Nausea, Heartburn, Indigestion, Upset Stomach, Diarhhea. Yay Pepto Bismol!" Why do we continue to eat this garbage? Because we crave it! More about diet choices in a later post....

Hippie Documentary of the....week? The 11th Hour

When I last wrote about a Hippie Documentary, I entitled the post 'Hippie Documentary of the Week.' I figured with as many documentaries as I had been watching, I would be able to post a new one each week for you to consider watching. Unfortunately, that did not come to fruition. I got busy, and forgot to post. Oops. So here I go again. I will try to be more on top of this. This week, I am recommending The 11th Hour. Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, this film discusses global warming and our impact on the planet. Although some of the footage was, in my opinion, somewhat excessive (did they really show a man bludgeoning a seal??) and bordering on shock effect scare-tactics, this film does present a powerful message: we are trashing the planet, and we need to stop. Now. Fortunately, as is the goal with most documentaries, a solution is ultimately provided, and the viewer is left feeling hopeful and inspired. *Spoiler alert* : The coolest fact this doc presented is that by using existing technologies, we can reduce our impact on the planet by 90 percent! That is pretty remarkable and encouraging. Renewable energy sources like solar power and wind energy could reduce our impact by 90 percent. Pretty cool. Not to mention new innovations in renewable energy technology that are being developed every day. It seems that we are at a turning point, as the film mentions. Will we continue to trash the planet until it's too late? Or will we find ways to change our lifestlyes and change our mentalities so that protecting the planet becomes a priority?

Those darn grocery bags

We all know how terrible plastic shopping bags are for the environment. They take ages to decompose, they require buckets of oil to produce, they get stuck in trees, they suffocate poor animals, and they say mean things behind your back. Okay, that last one might not be true, but regardless, even the soggiest among us know these things are no good. However, if you are anything like me, despite your best efforts to remember to use your reusable cloth grocery bags (you do have some of those by now, don't you?) you inevitably forget them at home. I have a note to myself posted on my door out to the garage that reads "Do you have your bags?" so I see it on my way to my car and I still manage to forget far too often. And so, I acquired a massive pile of plastic bags that I refuse to ship off to the dump. Alas, thanks to this website, I learned that the grocery store right up the street has a bin to collect plastic bags for recycling! Have you ever noticed how careless cashiers are with those bags? No, I don't need a bag for my milk- it has a handle! I'm pretty sure you can fit more than one box of cereal in one bag. And, bagging eggs separately does not mean the eggs won't break- those plastic bags don't have magical protective powers. If only cashiers were trained to minimize bag usage. Or, if only stores charged a minimal fee per bag- I think more people would remember their reusable bags. And, stores would save money on buying all those bags, which would then lower cost of products in the store. Practical, economical, and eco-friendly. Imagine that.