Dry "shampoo" for no-pooers!

Hi everybody!

Why Natural Dry "shampoo"

I can't believe I waited 11 and 1/2 months before making and trying out dry shampoo! For some reason I was convinced it was too much hard work to find arrowroot powder and I had absolutely no idea it would make my hair look so good and so clean! What a shocker! Seriously my hair looked just so clean. I asked my husband "look at my hair, what do you think?" not telling him what I had done (used dry shampoo) he said "It just looks clean. Actually it looks really clean. What have you done?" And it's true, my hair looked so good! I now use it every week, to help my hair go an extra 2 to 3 days without washing it.

Arrowroot powder: where to find it? and what is it?

All it is is arrowroot powder. Which, funnily enough, I simply stumbled upon when buying bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) at my local supermarket. It was right next to it in the baking section of the shop. I had to buy it so I could finally try the dry shampoo as well as make my own make up. And I just thought of how silly I was because it was right there the whole time but I was just too lazy to think and search, and plus you can buy it online so easily too... So if you are no-poo and want to help you're hair go the extra 'mile' then get some arrowroot powder! I was also really surprised to find out that arrowroot powder is tapioca starch, so if you have tapioca starch then you have the correct ingredient.

Recipe

Arrowroot is white, so if you have dark hair then you'll want to add some pure cocoa powder, cinnamon or other darker, natural powders. I'm not sure though because it is a very fine powder that might just blend in fine by itself. I usually add some cocoa powder and mixed spice to it, which works great and smells awesome but I have also used it by itself, just the arrowroot powder and it means I have to comb it through a bit longer and sometimes "massage" it into my hair to help it "disappear". Options: mix with pure cocoa powder or ground cinnamon (or all spice for a gold touch) until it's an adequate colour (it won't be exact but it will not be a problem at all).

So I took a little glass jar with a lid, and put a couple teaspoons of arrowroot powder and added some cocoa and all spice (I don't have anymore cinnamon) until I was happy with the colour. Remember you want the main ingredient to be arrowroot so don't drown it in cocoa.(I only made a little bit and it lasted ages plus you can always make some more later, I prefer small quantities so the stuff stays fresh,) If you have very dark or black hair you should also try this before thinking you can't get the right colour. I can't get the exact colour for my hair but once I've comber it though it 'disappears', so try it before finding an alternative.

Application of the dry shampoo

You'll need to use a blush brush, old or new. The one I use, I've had for years and use it so rarely, so it has become my dry shampoo applicator brush :) cool. This will take you about 5 minutes. Here are some over-explanations but if you don't get it just leave a comment with your question and I'll get back to you.

1) I start by combing my hair all the way through.

2) I make a parting on the far left of my head.

3) I take my brush, dip it in the pot, shake a bit off over the pot and then apply along the parting.

4) I make a parting about 5 cm up from the previous one and apply some more powder, then carry on separating my hair and applying the powder, until my roots are covered.

5)Then I comb through all my hair again.

6) Then I apply some powder along my hairline and comb again. If there's a bit much and it's visible on my forehead then I just rub it off with my fingers.

7) Hair should look awesome now but: If my hair was really oily and it doesn't look awesome yet I dab some on the rest of my hair and carry on combing through until it looks awesome all over.

8) Blush your face with it too! It's also a wonderful natural blush powder, so get rid of your chemical filled blush, and never spend a fortune on it again! Yummy cocoa smells all over hmmm... :)


ATTENTION: This will give volume to your hair and make it look GORGEOUS!


I hope you enjoyed this post and learned what you needed, please leave a comment with more information on how you do it, or some more tips - maybe for black hair? Or any questions you have. Cheers! Also if you want to know how I incorporate it into my no-poo routine, then check my 1 year no shampoo update!

Peace x

1 year no shampoo + bonus ideal recipes for "shampoo and conditioner"

Greetings of Peace and Love to all !

2014

Wow what a year 2014 was for me! I went no-poo (no shampoo) on the 24th of January 2014, a year ago. It was such an amazing discovery that humans don't actually need shampoo! Of course I should have guessed! What did people do before? Since I went no-poo my life turned around. I used to think I had a green lifestyle: recycling, eating "healthy" etc... But this year I've done so much research and changed so many of my habits that I realise just how little I used to do and how little I really knew. I've tried to take chemicals and processed things out of my life as much as I can. I started this blog when I went no-poo and all the changes I've made since then are recorded in my posts. Changes range from not using soap to making my own clothes and trying to avoid plastic. Among lots of other subtle changes and health boosts.


No-poo 1 YEAR!

Check out my no-poo first 6 weeks to see how it all started and what the initial changes entail (it can be a little drastic)

After a year, my routine has stabilised. I tried so many recipes and ways of doing things and I've come up with my own little routine and I've found what works best for me (although it might still change and continue progressing). Initially I wanted to go WO (water only) and was going through the steps to hopefully progress to WO but I still haven't achieved that. It's no longer such a priority as long as I'm not using chemicals and using as little as possible to be as natural as possible. I now wash my hair every 7 days with a natural, home-made 'shampoo' and 'conditioner', and use a home-made natural dry 'shampoo' once a week too. Here's a post about the natural, dry 'shampoo', I write about how to make it and how to use it.

My final recipes

what you need 

Shampoo: 5 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) + half a cup of water (125ml) put this in a squeezy bottle and shake very well. leave the lid open because the baking soda is a little
explosive (it just means the air will not have enough room in the bottle and it will make the liquid spill over, but if you leave the lid open there will be no spills... you'll see what I mean if you try it for yourself). Make sure to label your bottles!

Conditioner: Juice from half a lemon + half a cup of water. Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze. then mix with 125 ml of water and place in a squeezy bottle. You can close this one, it's fine. (I sometimes infuse some chamomile into the water before mixing it with the lemon to highlight the blonds in my hair) Label your bottles!

add water and shake

what you'll need: labeled bottle, lemon, knife and squeezer

poor the lemon juice in

Hair washing Routine

Day 1: (Friday morning) Bicarb shampoo + lemon conditioner

The way I do it: (always shake before squeezing) Squeeze some bicarb shampoo all over my roots and hairline and massage into the scalp then squeeze some more all over my head. Put the bottle down and really give my head a good scrub using my finger tips (no scratching) then if I have some liquid left I poor it on the rest of my hair. Then I leave it in for 5 minutes. Rinse under warm water.

Once it's fully rinsed out, I squeeze some lemon conditioner on the length of my hair and rub my hair, then I poor some on my roots and give a gentle rub. I leave it in for 5 minutes, then rinse out thoroughly. (during the 5 minute waits, I wash my body or turn the water off.) Towel and air dry, comb when dry.

Hair looks wonderful, clean, soft, smooth and shiny.

Day 2: I don't do anything but combing. Hair still looks great

Day 3: I don't do anything but combing. Hair still looks great

Day 4:  I don't do anything but combing, maybe tie my hair or plait it if it looks a bit flat. My hair will start to look oily throughout the day and at bed time my hair is very oily. I give myself a deep and thorough head massage to detach the oil from my scalp and to help hair growth.

Day 5: (Tuesday morning) Dry shampoo

Read this post to know exactly what it is and how I do it.

I put the dry "shampoo" in my hair and after combing it looks stunningly clean again! All the oil is absorb and gone. Hair looks great again.

Day 6: I don't do anything but combing. Hair still looks good.

Day 7:I don't do anything but combing. Hair still looks good from the dry 'shampoo'. If it has worn off and my hair is looking a bit flat then I'll make a bun or a pony tail. But it doesn't look oily.

Throughout the whole week, my hair always feels so soft and clean no matter what it looks like.

Day 8: This is the day I wash it and start the process again.

Conclusion:

So after a year of experimenting with this, I finally found my ideal recipes and routine. I also go through some only water washing periods that can last up to 2 weeks then I notice I need a bicarb wash and can go on again. But my hair doesn't feel as clean to the touch when I do this. I don't think it's bad but I just like my hair to be soft and silky.

Hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful or interesting. Let me know about your journey! Or if you're thinking of going no-poo too!!! I have more posts recording the journey at 1 month, 3 months, 4 months, 5 to 6 months and 8 months.

Comment! I can't wait to read what you have to say! :)

Loads of peace and love

MENSTRUAL PAD (sophisticated version, but really easy)

Hi everybody!

I wrote a post a while ago about cloth menstrual pads, In that post, I explain why I no longer use throw-away pads and tampons and then I wrote how to make cloth pads. It was a very simplistic version and after using them for about a year I got fed up of sometimes having stained knickers! I made them using just flannel fabric, which is very absorbent but I didn't use a waterproof layer underneath which meant after a while it would reach the layer of my knickers if I wasn't mindful ... I made those because I couldn't be bothered to find and buy some waterproof fabric to make proper menstrual pads. Now I finally got my act together to find out what the best fabric for it was and so I made some awesome looking, great feeling, absorbent and waterproof, easy to make, cloth menstrual pads! yay!!! (also I didn't use to have a sewing machine, which makes it easier and quicker to make)

MATERIALS
-scissors
-sewing machine or needle and thread
-pen
-A4 white paper
-pins
-a towel (this is the absorbent fabric)
-PUL fabric (this is the waterproof fabric)
-some scrap fabric
-snaps (to fasten the pad around the knickers, to stay in place - cos' no sticky back)

METHOD

1_ Draw the shape of the pad on a piece of paper and then cut out. The exact shape that you want. You can base this on a trow-away pad that you like and adapt it to how you really would want it to be. I made 2 sizes; a day size and a night size. I have seen this shape and size night-size but it's how I want it to be, not how the supermarkets want it. So make something that makes you comfortable.

Those are my paper cut outs. You can later choose to use the stencil or cut out, I use either sepending on how I feel the situation.

2_ Draw around the paper, onto to towel fabric, then cut out the shape. Cut 3 out, because there will be 3 layers. This is the night one.

3_ Layer the 3 shapes, and pin them to stay in place then sew down the middle, to keep it together. I sewed 2 lines, for the style. It reminds me of store-bought pads and I find the look professional. This is a day pad.

4_ Make 2 tabs out of scrap fabric, about the size of a fat thumb, and sew onto the back of the pad as follows. This is still the day pad, I just used a different coloured towel. Don't worry if the back looks a bit messy, it'll be covered by the PUL fabric.

5_ Take your paper cut out and draw around it on the PUL fabric, then cut it out.

6_ Sew the PUL to the back of the pad, sew around the edges. This is what the pad looks like now, the PUL is the back and the soft towel is the front.

7_ Sew the snaps on the flaps. To place them right, put the pad in a clean pair of knickers, put it in the position you'll want to wear it , turn the knickers around, whilst holding the pad and lay it on the table. see where the flaps meet and draw a dot on the 2 flaps where the snaps will need to be sewed on. Then sew. Make sure to sew them on the correct side of the flaps and in their right way too!

AND THERE WE GO. EASY CLOTH MENSTRUAL PADS.

Hope you like this post :)

Love ya!

Peace!

MUST HAVE INGREDIENTS!

HALLO EVERYBODY!!!

here is a list of what you MUST have in your home in order to make your own recipes and to live without chemicals.

ABSOLUTE INGREDIENTS:

-Bicarbonate of soda (american: baking soda)
-Coconut Oil
-Lemons

You can make almost anything with just these 3 ingredients and WATER (such as; shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, hair conditioner, cloth de-stainer, kitchen and bathroom cleaning products)

GREAT TO HAVE AS WELL (affordable extras if you can make the effort)

My Lab/shelf ... hehe

-apple cider vinegar
-essential oils (at least TEA TREE)
-hydrogen peroxide
-all herbs and spices
-arrowroot powder
-pure cocoa powder

(with these ingredients you can enhance your hair conditioner and cleaning products as well as make some dry shampoo, natural make-up and hair dyes)

AWESOME EXTRAS (if you can afford them!)

-black seeds (other names: nigella sativa and kalunji)
-black seed oil
-shea butter and/or cocoa butter (I love shea butter)
-clay (bentonite or rassoul)
-argan oil
-hemp seeds

(with these ingredients, you can make immune-system boost drinks, moisturisers, face and hair masks and enhance your oral health.)

Can you think of any others we can add to the list?

Luxurious NATURAL Body Scrub

Hey guys!

My latest post was on NOT using soap (except on hands) if you wanna read that again then be my guest, here.

NO SOAP/NO CHEMICALS
OK, so in that post I mentioned that I don't use soap on my body (it's now been 18 days) but that I do something called dry body brushing which is, as the name indicates, to brush one's body whilst dry (before showering) with a natural body brush. As well as exfoliating and getting rid of dead skin cells, it rejuvenates the skin, cleans the skin and even stimulates your lymphatic system giving you a good boost! Awesome!! I also mentioned that privates and all hairy areas must be scrubbed very well until clean and no smell remains. I also incorporated a natural deodorant recipe if needed although I haven't needed any.

A quick note: I washed my privates and feet once with my 'All purpose wash' (1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda/baking soda and 1 cup of water, all mixed into a squeezy bottle. This is my shampoo and my toothpaste too) I just used a bit, as needed.

BODY SCRUB
So I thought I would make a lovely body scrub, for those days when I want to pamper myself because my bathroom routine doesn't include ANY chemicals, which means NO bought products because everything includes nasty crap in their ingredients! Over the Xmas period, I made 5 different body scrubs for 5 different people so after experimenting with rather simple made up recipes I've come up with a Luxurious Version.

SIMPLE/BASIC RECIPE
Sugar or Salt, mixed with any oil. Sugar will give a coarser feel and salt will have a finer feel. Regarding oils, I've used coconut oil, which will harden in the tub and make a creamy scrub. Olive oil was great, the scrub had a honey-like texture and I even used basic vegetable oils (such as organic sunflower oil) which was similar to the olive oil scrub without the smell (I do like the smell of olive oil, but I am aware that it's not everyone's fave) The body scrub I like to make on a regular basis for the regular pampering is a mixture of organic sunflower oil, brown sugar and a few drops of an essential oil for scent.

EXTRA INGREDIENTS
You can choose to mix oils up and get a good texture that you like. You can also mix sugar and salt if you want it thicker.
Other ingredients you can add for smell and softness left on the skin such as honey, dry chamomile, dry lavender, essential oils, and anything else you want. I even added some bentonite clay and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to leave my body clean and fresh.

Recipe to my personal Luxurious Sugar body Scrub

DRY INGREDIENTS:
-1/2 teaspoon of roasted, crushed Black Seeds (kalonji)
-1 opened teabag of chamomile, lavender and rose tea (put the dry herbs in the mixture)
-5 teaspoons of bicarb (baking soda)
-10 teaspoons of brown sugar (cassonade)
-1 teaspoon of bentonite clay
-1 teaspoon of ground all spice (or ground cinnamon)

WET INGREDIENTS:
-2 tablespoons of softened or melted coconut oil
-2 teaspoon of extra, virgin, olive oil
-3 drops of lavender essential oil.

METHOD:
Mix all together then pour into a tub, label and place in your bathroom.

APPLICATION:
Stand in your shower, (first do your dry body brushing, if you do that) then get a lump of the body scrub in your hand and melt it between your fingers (the coconut oil has hardened the scrub but it melts very quickly in your hot fingers) apply the body scrub on your DRY body with circular motions and scrub yourself basically, avoid sensitive areas (I apply it on my legs, arms, back and armpits). I think it's too harsh for the face and the front of my body. I haven't used anything but water on my face for a long time now. Once you're covered in it, turn your shower on and start rinsing. Your skin will be so soft and silky! Enjoy!

WARNING: YOUR BATH/SHOWER WILL BE VERY SLIPPY AFTERWARDS SO RINSE IT WELL!!! or the next person might fall and hurt themselves!!!



let me know how it went for you :)
love J xxx