No ‘Poo Milk & Egg Wash October 24, 2008

Thanks to Suki’s blog, I decided to try doing a milk and egg wash on my hair. I was noticing that with the baking soda I was having the sticky-crunchies and my hair wasn’t feeling all that great. Not only that, but there’s a greyish residue on my combs and hair brush, which I really don’t like. So here’s what I did, and I actually made two attempts at this in the same day.

The first attempt, I mixed one egg (yolk and whites together) with one cup of milk. Suki said in her blog to use skim milk, but all I had was reduced fat. I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. I decided to blend it up with the mixer and then pour it into a big plastic cup. Then I took it into the shower with me, wet my hair down and applied it in increments while massaging it through my hair and scalp. It was really cold on my head due to the milk and egg being in the fridge beforehand. I let it sit for about 2-3 minutes, then rinsed it out. After that I put about two tablespoons of distilled white vinegar into the cup and filled it up with water and did a rinse with that. Suki says that she uses lemon juice for her rinse, but I didn’t have any. I think the distilled white vinegar made a good substitute, though. After a quick towel-dry, I combed out my hair. Normally I lose a TON of hair, but I think I only lost half as much this time. Once that was finished I let my hair air dry. The results were: Hair that seemed almost clean, but a bit oily at the roots and dry at the ends. But the crunchy feeling was gone.

After sitting most the day with my hair like that, and doing some research on the internet about what part of the egg does what for hair, I decided to try again. The second time I used one egg white, and only 1/4th cup of milk, beat together with a fork in the big plastic cup. This mixture seemed a bit thicker, probably because I used less milk. It was easier to control where I put it on my head in the shower. I massaged it into my scalp and all into my hair, then let it sit for the same length of time, 2-3 minutes. Then I rinsed it out with tepid water and did another distilled white vinegar rinse. Combed it out, let it air dry… The results: Clean, soft, happy, shiny hair. Scalp that feels refreshed, no crunchy feeling what-so-ever. Yay! I’m going to keep doing it, and see how it goes. If it continues to work out, then this will be my new method.

Something to note: When the egg mixture (both times) dripped onto my face, I massaged it in and let it sit on my skin while waiting for the mixture on my head. My skin came out really nice afterwards. My skin was soft and smooth, my pores seemed smaller… I couldn’t stop touching my face, it was so nice. So that’s anotehr added benefit of washing with milk and eggs.

To Suki October 24, 2008

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your comments! I’ve been trying to comment back on your blog, but everytime I try I get a message saying that I need to sign in, even though I am already signed in! So, if you see this, your milk and egg wash sounds really nourishing for the scalp, and I’m going to give it a try! Thanks!

It’s been a few days… October 24, 2008

I haven’t posted because I ended up feeling rather ill, with severe back pains and such. It was so bad that my fiancee took me to the hospital, but all they did was prescribe me hydrocodone, which is basically vicadin. I decided not to take that, and my fiancee made an appointment for me at a naturopathic clinic. The problem was that my back has been out of place from an old injury for so long that my muscles were having horrible, painful spasms. So now, the back is back in place and I’m feeling much, much better. Amazing how that works.

Let’s see… A couple of days ago was the last time I no ‘pooed. I mixed up some baking soda and water and mixed it with some conditioner, just as an experiment. That really didn’t go well… My hair was sticky and crunchy in the middle, and felt oily on the top and dry at the ends.  In fact, my hair was such a mess that I reverted back to a quick shampoo to get the nasty stuff out of my hair. Why did I try that when it seemed like it was going so well? Because I read on the side of the Baking Soda box that it could be added to shampoo to help remove residue from the hair. I figured since I was already using Baking Soda on its own, and I didn’t want to use shampoo, I’d just add it to some conditioner for cleansing and conditioning. So that was my mistake, and I won’t do it again.

In a way, I’m starting over because I had to use the shampoo. But that’s okay. We learn from our mistakes.

I’m thinking that the perm is really not helping me in my no ‘poo endeavors.  Where my hair is straight, no ‘poo works great. But where it’s permed, it’s a sad state of hair-being. Again, another mistake, and you’d think I’d learn from the last time I got a perm five or so years ago that I shouldn’t do it again. Maybe next time I’m considering a perm, I’ll come back and read this, and it will talk me out of it.

Baking Soda Wash, WDV Rinse October 11, 2008

Today I really had to do a baking soda wash. My hair was just too… Crazy for doing the mexican no poo method. But, the baking soda did well. I made it a little more watery this time, and I didn’t add any essential oils to the mix. I really got my fingers onto my scalp and scrubbed it. Then I rinsed that out pretty well with water, and did a rinse with white distilled vinegar, mixed with water, and a few drops of peppermint oil (I decided to skip the grapefruit oil today). I really think I need to get some different essential oils, just so I have different scents. Lavender and Rosemary would be nice. Anyway, I rinsed out the vinegar with more water, and have let it air dry after combing it out (which, it combed out very easily, much easier than with shampoo and conditioner) and it has air dried. It’s shiney, soft, and feels clean, with just a tiny scent of peppermint. I think I’m finding something that works!

“Traditional Mexican No-Poo”? October 9, 2008

Another day, another attempt.

This morning I decided to try this “Traditional Mexican No-Poo”. It’s where you use water and a washcloth to move the scalp’s natural oils down the length of your hair. You do 100 strokes from the top of your head to the ends of your hair on one side, and then do the same on the other side, like your head is divided in half right down the middle. I didn’t use a washcloth, though, I used a wash mitt, which made it a bit easier and quicker, I think. The only problem is that my shoulder got sore after about 40 strokes, but I suppose that means I’m getting a workout, at least.

Afterwards it combed out pretty easily, and I let it air dry. To my surprise, my hair wasn’t greasy at all. Before when I used shampoo and conditioner, I had to wash every day, because my hair was a big greasy nasty mess. Now I can wash every other day without a problem, and I’m hoping to extend that length of time. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. My hair was shiney and it didn’t have that sticky feeling that I mentioned in the last post. It felt soft and nice. So I think I’ll try it again! I’m thinking I’ll do this “Mexican” method until my hair gets to be unreasonable (meaning I wouldn’t want to go out in public with it) and then I’ll do a Baking Soda wash, and vinegar rinse if neccesary.

About it being a ”Traditional Mexican Shampoo”, though… I asked my soon to be Mother In Law about this, because she is originally from Mexico. She laughed and I think she was even a bit offended by the idea. She said, “No, we use shampoo! Even the poorest of us used shampoo. I don’t know where you got that idea from!” I had read about it from an article in The Phoenix  and I’m not sure where the journalist got the idea from, either. Maybe it’s not a Mexican thing… But I’ll continue to call it that until I know where it originated from, for the sake of unity with other people who call it that.

Update & Today October 8, 2008

Let’s see, I left my Lazy Day post saying that I might wash my hair that night with Baking Soda, and I did. I made a watery paste (very watery) using BS, water, and a few drops of peppermint and grapefruit essential oils. The result was decent. The har at the top of my head was shiny and seemed clean, the lower, more permed length of my hair felt… Sticky to the touch. I’m not entirely sure why.

Anyway, that was the day before yesterday, and yesterday I didn’t wash my hair at all.

This morning I washed my hair doing the exact same thing, but this time I decided to use a vinegar rinse afterwards because my hair felt really heavy with a greasy residue, and I’m guessing that’s a mixture of my hair oil with the baking soda, even though I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed. For the vinegar rinse I splashed a bit of distilled white vinegar (that’s all I had in the house) into a cup, added a few drops of my peppermint and grapefruit essential oils, and filled the cup to the top with water and poured it over my scalp and attempted to get it down the length of my hair. Then I rinsed with water again. This time my hair feels a lot lighter. It’s air drying right now, and it feels a lot less sticky, although the permed ends feel dry and crunchy, not really soft. But I will say that the top of my head, where the hair is not really changed by the perm, that feels soft.

I guess I’ll just have to see how it turns out.

Lazy Day October 6, 2008

Yesterday I washed my hair with Aloe Vera (cut directly from the leaf) mixed with essential oils of peppermint and grapefruit. Why? Just because I like the smell of those two things mixed together. As for the result of my hair… Eh… It seemed a bit greasy. I ended up wearing it up with hair sticks because it was too lanky to be left down.

I should probably also mention that I have a perm that I absolutely hate… I got it about 3 weeks ago, and I really, really wish that I hadn’t done it. You’d think I’d learn: Perms are bad. BAD!! Usually whenever I get a perm I chop all my hair off. Not this time! I will do my best to live with the nasty that is my permed hair.

I haven’t washed my hair yet. It’s been a lazy day… And it shows. I may wash it later on, with just some baking soda, we’ll see.

But for now I’m going to plop back onto the couch with my dear fiancee. We rented a bunch of movies for the weekend.

Hello World! October 3, 2008

I’m kind of new to the world of blogging, and I’m still figuring out the basics. So bear with me!

Anyway, about the title, Under A Gypsy Moon. My real name (which I’m not willing to share online) literally means “Moon”, and my sweet fiancee, when I asked him if he thought I was a hippy-type, said “No, I think of you more as a gypsy.” So I thought that the title was fitting.

This blog is supposed to be about my journey into the world of No ‘Poo and natural(-ish) living. Right now, I color my mousey-brown hair with henna, I use Aloe Vera directly cut from the leaf to wash my hair, and I do occasionally use baking soda, depending on my mood about my hair. And sometimes I even revert back to shampoo if I’m feeling… Very unkempt. Is Unkempt a word? I thought I read it before in other places. But now, now I’m trying to go completely ‘Poo free. Oh, and I’m also a Bare Minerals fan, in fact I just got the Bare Minerals Eye Kit this morning, so I’ll probably blog a bit about that stuff, too.

What else? I want to enjoy more living foods and try to stay away from sugary, processed, packaged foods (I type this as I suck down a Venti White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks… Those will have to go, too.) I’d like to start drinking red wine, a glass a day, because I heard and read that it’s really good for you. I also want to lose weight, and I want to do it naturally… I want to evolve my life away from chemicals as much as I can…

And on those notes, I need to leave for work! I’m a checker at a corporate grocery store… No, I don’t like it, but I had to do something in order to pay the bills. I’m hoping to go to college to do something else. I’d like to get into Nursing, there’s so many fields for it, and I think that Nurses actually help people, they’re not the ones who are pushing pills at patients because pharmaceutical companies give them a premium if they do… That’s a rant for a later post. For now I’m off.