No Poo, for You.

I do a lot of dumb things.  I research stuff, I do things my own way and sometimes it backfires... I have rubbed oil on my scalp and expected water and vinegar to wash it out.  Wow that looked great.  I've put straight powdered baking soda on my scalp, ineffective.  Back to my title, No Poo, it's all over the green living hippiville blogs online.


What is no pooage?  It's washing your hair with the following:

1 tbsp of baking soda dissolved in 8 oz of water.

Rinse with 1 tbs of vinegar mixed in 8 oz of water.

Let me tell you about my hair, more TMI but hey that's me.  Scalp= scummy, build up no matter WHAT or how much I wash my hair, oh I can do clarifying shampoos but then my hair ends up oilier.  Ends, dry, fly away, some of my hair is fine, my childhood hair, that never mutated with most of hair through puberty to coarse thick and curly, looser curls I guess you could say.  And I have plenty of grays so I color, which I hate that I do but I do and I have to because I hate grays.  Lately I have been trying to train my hair to go longer between pooing.  I could go 5 days.  Before shampooing I started rubbing castor oil on my scalp and then vinegar and letting sit for a few minutes, it did seem to licquify my scummy nasty build up and help some.  But like I say no matter what I would get some measure of white waxy gunk if I scraped my nails even right after shampooing and I was really scrubbing.  So, two times last week I no pooed  so I haven't used shampoo for over a week.  I am still working out the kinks but as far as step 1 goes, I'm a believer.

10 oz of water, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, a couple drops of tea tree oil and my nalgene bottle.  It will all dissolve into clear water. ( we do not have a working water soften btw) Shook up and carefully poured on my already wet head in the shower. I made sure to get every segment of my scalp soaked.  I then proceeded to scrub a few minutes, yes minutes, and some crazy cool happened just like one blogger said, I could see a very fine lather on my fingers, it's got something to do with how soap is made, one of the components of how soap is made with animal fats and how your own sebum acts a component in your no pooing and a tiny lather forms, so my relaying is as lay person and probably erroneous as it gets but all I know is, my hair oil mixed with the b.s. ;) made some lather. 

Scalp results?? I could FEEL water hitting my head, I guess I forgot what that felt like, gross and weird, I could feel the temp of the water.  My scalp shined, I could no longer scrape scum.  It was amazing!!!

No mind you that was only the first half, the second half is a work in progress.  I then sprayed my hair with my bottle of half water half vinegar.  The result was straw like awful frizzy poopy crappy hair.  my roots were swell and that was it.  Two days later, I did step one, step two and after vinegar put truckloads of Nature's Gate Hemp Conditioner in my hair. < not exactly green but a lesser evil.  I was very happy with my hair then.  One thing though that is just status quo with my hair is, it gets flyaway frizzy as the day goes and that still happened even with my "product" in it < which is also a lesser evil for sure, I'll post that sometime I can't remember the name.  So, 3 days later THIS is what I did, after the vinegar, I put a little of my OCM mix in the ends and rinsed it, then put much less conditioner in.  THEN when I got out, on the bottm half of my hair hairs ends I used my beloved grapeseed oil.  It was a gamble, church was the next morning.  I woke up with softer hair and it looked like I had product in it to make it look a little wet and it was really curly.  I curled my hair as usual and used no product at ALL. This pic is my hair 12 hours after I did it  I've slept on it and fried catfish, usually it's much more frizzy and way ward at this point in the day.

  And now check out the root of the hair... no shampoo for over a week, just no pooing.

Bottomline, I am on the right track I do believe, the next thing I am going to try is to actually just do the one cup of water to tbs of vinegar, and then do some leave in grapeseed oil and see how that goes.

(why the angle makes my head look like the Queen of Hearts from the new Alice and Wonderland I do not know and good gravy my eyeballs look HUGE here...)And while you're here, a pic of also my face so you can see how it's doing with the OCM, sure it's at the end of a long day, complete with like I said, some catfish frying and my makeup has been on 12 hours.  no touching up, no more powder, no dabbing of oil. perhaps a small amount of shine but 12 hours of make up, with my face that would have normally had little oil rigs bobbing up and down on it.  Another thing I'm trying... seeing if I can make it without my serum and just use some grapeseed oil mixed with my tea tree oil and see the same results.

Stupid Sebum Plugs

 

Whilest my skin has been doing pretty well lately, I was having this annoying problem which I had before I started OCM of sebum plugs on my chin and on the sides of my nose, SO annoying, nothing was getting them out!!  I even thought I would try my microdermabrasion scrub and that didn't even seem to help and it broke my face out.<idiot.  Dang, I can't believe how many products I am finding are obsolite in my quest for more natural skin care.  So I did a lot of running about on the web and had read before about baking soda for microdermabrasion.  sure... I thought, but I had nothing to lose so I just made a paste of it with some water and after I oil cleansed spent a couple minutes rubbing it on my face and paying special attention to my stupid pluggy areas.  Once I felt some tingling I decided it was time to stop, I rinsed my face with water, and checked my pores.  Smooth!! no pluggies!!  And my skin felt nice and resurfaced.  It was wonderful and surprising!! My best friend tried it too and it worked for her as well.  Now keep in mind the plugs do return and you have use your scrub every few days or so, but it's so nice to find something that worked, better than my 20+dollar microderm scrub.  So nice to put on makeup and not have it show off stupid plugs even more!! Thanks baking soda!

Grapeseed Oil, My Face Loves You.

I recently got some grapeseed oil at the grocery store.  I have been using it in my OCM routine for about a week and I wish I would have done it from the start!!  Right now my mix is about 25-30% castor oil and some flax oil I'm using up ( the next time I mix it will be omitted) a drop or two of tea tree oil and the rest grapeseed.  This oil is AMAZING, I don't want to be overly dramatic but really I am loving it!!  It's light and  a couple nights I only steamed and wiped my face once with it for it to feel so soft and clean.  I was not wearing make up on these days though, like most days... My skin is actually less oily, like barely shiny it's so weird!! but good, it's more glowy and even.  Read things like this a couple different places:

"Grapeseed oil is fantastic for your skin. By itself the oil is a wonderful moisturizer and because it is absorbed quickly by the skin, does not leave a greasy feeling. After being taken in by the skin, the oil really starts to go to work by infusing it with antioxidants, which help make the skin stay young-looking and elastic by protecting it against damaging free radicals. Many studies suggest that grapeseed oil is a more powerful antioxidant than either vitamin C or vitamin E, both of which are commonly used in antioxidant face creams and serums. In fact, there’s also evidence that the oil is as effective as vitamin C at evening out the tone of skin, resulting in a more uniform, radiant complexion." 

And:

 "Grapeseed oil contains a remarkably high concentration (73%!) of linoleic acid. One of the extraordinary properties of linoleic acid is its ability to mix with oxygen in the air to form a stable, water proof film. This film is why linoleic acid is good for skin: it not only traps moisture in the skin but also leaves it feeling dry and supple, not wet and greasy. If that weren’t enough, linoleic acid has anti-inflammatory effects that can help combat acne when applied topically to the skin." (source  http://www.vocoterra.com/blog/when-in-doubt-grab-a-grape/)

I am truly amazed at how much better my skin has gotten since starting OCM in January.(you can check out my posts about OCM here)  My forehead is really clearing up, every part of my face is!  It is softer, less oily, it's been, all happy and balanced the past couple days, even with skipping washing in the morning.  Is it perfect?? No.  But so so SO much better!!!

Face Stuff

Random, today my face seemed dry, I know, dry?? The pulling kinda dry.  So I revamped my oil mix to this, 25% castor oil, the rest flax and grapeseed, eventually I will probably phase out the flax, it's more expensive and needs to be fridged.  Alsoooo stuff I wanna try, making my own toner, I've been  back and forth, getting bloodshot eyes researching about making your own vitamin c serum and also your own toner.  I am leaning towards a toner with water, lemon juice and witch hazel.  I have never purchased it before but it's in every toner I've ever used.  I am unsure and thinking of going with one with no alcohol in it.  Though the one I'm looking at has grapefruit seed extract, which I read that how they make the extract isn't exactly natural... oh my head.  How die hard do I go here?  Sometimes it bogs me down.  Anyhoo I've been pinned these possibilites to my pinterest.

Why Eat Flaxseeds Whole

At least sometimes anyway!!  I have never eaten chia seeds but I heard because they get all gelatinous when wet they are good for detoxing.  I also read on another side about some soaking flaxseed and using the gel.  So I thought I would check out what I could find online about them and detoxing here tis from this site: http://www.whole-body-detox-diet.com

"Flax seeds are the main super seed that the Egyptians and Asians were using thousands of years ago. These nutrient-rich seeds have become well-known for their high Omega-3 content and are the common vegetarian source for this important heart-healthy fatty acid (typically found in fish oil).
Flax seeds are a decongestant, emollient, demulcent, expectorant, laxative and purgative. They are high in potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, niacin, lecithin, and vitamin E. The seeds contain several essential fatty acids that inhibit tumor growth and are therapeutic for treating cancers, high cholesterol, mood disorders, and liver disorders. They are very helpful for cleansing the colon and relieving constipation. They also enrich the blood and strengthen the nerves.¹
These seeds are also gelatinous like chia seeds and swell to produce a gelatin, though not as thick as chia. The soaked seeds can be used as a thickener or vegan egg replacement in recipes. Use the soaked seeds to make our popular flax crackers.
Flax and chia seeds are important detox aids for cleansing the colon and relieving detox symptoms. To relieve slow elimination, add 2-3 tablespoons of freshly ground seeds to a glass of water and drink on an empty stomach - preferably first thing in the morning."  

This interested me because I had heard that it was almost pointless to eat them unless they were ground.  And they are cheaper than chia seeds but not as amazing apparently.

Oil

"Healthy oils like olive oil... canola oil..."  Ever heard it before???  Have YA?!!  Well I did for years!!  From that little brunette nurtionist on the Today Show, from my mom who is into nutrition.  Then my mom told me, Canola oil really isn't good for you.  And I just officially quit buying it.  Read this from Food Renegade. 

Olive oil is what I'm using, I intend to get some organic unrefined coconut oil to have on hand.  I have also been getting unrefined sunflower oil the cost was cheaper than olive oil but a little more than canola at my least favorite place on earth, (next to Chuckie Cheese) Walmart.  While we aren't fans of it in baking or as a dressing at this point, it is YUM for sauteing and frying eggs in.  It's also supposed to be great for skin.

I Done Soaked Me Some Beans

Beans oh beans.  So many cans of you in my lopsided lazy susan... enough about my living in a "before" kitchen for the next few years...
Back to beans.
 
Canned Beans -bad for you.  Dead beans, not as nutrious and harder to digest resulting in musical fruit. :)  Improperly prepared so as to not release as much phytic acid as with soaked beans.  BPA leaches into canned food.

Soaked beans-  take everything above and make it opposite. ;)  Or I can do it for you, LIVE beans, more nutrients, no chemicals, more phytic acid released out of them, easier to digest.  I have read the longer you soak the easier they digest.  I also read to soak for days... I didn't try that my first time around.  Though I did try to keep the temp close to 140 degrees,  I read a couple different places to do that.  I also, to help with some fermenting, put in a little vinegar.  I used white, cause that's what I had, I know I need to get some organic apple cider vinegar but, one thing at a time.  I also read to cook them low and slow.  I sorta did that.

I decided to try my first bean soakage with black beans, it's the bean we use the most and I usually buy 2-3 cans a week all swimming in BPA goodness. 

One 16 oz bag of beans gave me 4 - 1.5 cup + (1 cup I used the day of) bags of beans I put some in the freezer, I put a bag of them next to a can a beans and it looked about right.

My process: (that may be subject to change but I was pretty happy with the intial turnout )

Rinse beans, put in my crockpot, covered them with water about 2 inches above them. 

*CORRECTION* from when I posted yesterday, I filled my crockpot with water 2inches from the TOP of the crockpot.  I realized I posted wrong info as I got some great northern beans soaking, just now upstairs, so I raced down here because ONE person maybe just tried to soak beans in not enough water!!!  NNOOOO!!

Added a tablespoon of vinegar, I read you could do 2 but I didn't want the taste to be weird.  Next time I will try 2 because I couldn't taste anything at all.

Turned the crockpot onto warm.  I checked the temp as it got going with my food thermometer.  I wanted to keep it at 140 degrees,  I ended up putting the lid adjar and that kept them at about 150 and I was happy with that.  I let them be for about 8.5 hours.

I then drained and rinsed the beans, put new water in with a tsp of salt, which I will double next time. covered with water above 2 inches again and cooked them high for 4 hours.  And that was it.  Not too bad.  Next time to avoid the all day affair I will just soak them the night before or who knows maybe give them a full 24 and then cook them in the morning for the 4 hours.  You may now gaze upon my beautiful beans :

As to the gas question, I had some tonight, so I will have to see if somehow things feel different. :)

Disclaimer: I am a rookie and NOT a professional bean soaker, are there better methods out there?  Probably but out of my research, this is what I came up that for me I thought was fairly effective and in the range of work I was willing to do.  I haven't gotten to the point where I want to soak for days and change out water and all that.  Maybe someday.