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!