A Soapy Crush

I've been testing soaps for years trying to find one that's healthy, glycerin-rich and nourishing. I would get coupons for Dove or Dial and try whatever promised to make my skin feel soft and happy. They never did very much and sometimes had the adverse effect. I recently gave up my local Target soap-aisle for a fragrant little booth at a market in our nearby neighborhood of Fremont. This market, only active on Sunday, is one of my favorite weekend stops. We can bring the dog, snack at the various food vendors, stock up on fresh honey and produce, and best of all...shop for soaps! The booth I love is Trad Hus and their soap is AMAZING! I've tried the "Spiced Honey & Oats" and "Peppermint" but am very excited to break out the "Mint Chocolate" this week! I'll probably pick up a few bars this weekend as well. I love how they make my skin feel and I've even used some to cleanse my hair. I usually have to moisturize after showering to avoid dry skin but not anymore! I'm so in love with these soaps PLUS they make my bathroom smell heavenly!!

You can purchase their soaps online as well at www.TradeHus.com

The pictures on the site aren't very true to color or texture. Their soaps are really beautiful! They all contain Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Jojoba Oil, Neem Oil, organic Oat Milk and Aloe Vera. This soap is like magic and I can't believe it took me so long to start using handmade soap!

How-To No Poo

Many have asked me how to go about this no shampooing regiment. So the following is a breakdown of it.

Make sure you brush your hair out to untangle it before you begin. Dissolve about 1 tablespoon of baking soda in just enough water to make a paste. Apply this to your roots only; work it in and let it sit for a minute. If you add too much water don't worry, the paste will settle to the bottom and you can toss the water over your head after you're done and before you rinse it out.

To stimulate blood flow, clean your pores and get off built up grime, use your finger tips to scrub your scalp. Start on the top of your head then gradually work on the back of your head. Lastly, scrub the back of your skull and your temples/sideburns. This will result in less oil and more growth. After doing this, your scalp will feel great!

While scrubbing, make sure you're rubbing your fingers back and forth in short movements. Be gentle; you don’t want to break your hair. Baking Soda is very gritty and drying so be careful not to get crazy while scrubbing your scalp. Next, pour about 2 tablespoons of white vinegar into a cup and add water. I've been using disposable Glad containers but will be looking for a pair of cups to just keep in the shower. After you rinse the baking soda out, soak your ends in the white vinegar mixture then pour it over your head, let it sit for a minute and then rinse it out with cold water to seal your hair like you would when you rinse out conditioner.

I towel dry my hair then brush through it wet. I know, SO many stylists tell me not to brush my hair wet but I do anyway and the vinegar makes it so soft that I don't seem to be pulling out any strands. I have only let my hair dry naturally but I'm sure you could blow dry it easily.

I have only needed to do the baking soda scalp scrub every other day so far. I might spread that out even more once my scalp gets even better. It's great at de-greasing and as the week progresses my hair is a lot dryer, but not terribly so. I do, however, soak it in vinegar everyday.

This is truly a learning experience and I'm sure it's a little different for everyone since no one has the same type of hair. If your hair becomes frizzy try less baking soda or just skip days like I do, I've also read that some add a little honey. If it becomes too greasy try less vinegar rinses or don't apply it to your entire head and do just the ends. I know some simply use lime or lemon juice for this step as well. If your scalp itches, try the following essential oils; tea tree, lavender, rosemary. If your ends become dry try a little oil, any cooking oil will work. Vegetable oils work well for people and even olive oil for super-dry hair. Just a little dab on the ends seems to work the best.

Leave me comments and let me know if you try this and what your experience is. I'd really like to know if you discover an even better method. I'll also be posting some links on here to sites and articles that have really helped me along the way.

Just say "NO" to shampoo!

I was pretty much born with a scalp condition. Had cradle cap as an infant that developed into a life long battle with itchy flaky scalp and oily hair that made it even worse. In the 80's through the late 90's my dermatologists prescribed a plethora of tar shampoos, foaming scalp ointments or zinc-based shampoos. After awhile I would try anything new that came out on the market. I reached a point once where I spent over $600.00 on a combo treatment consisting of a 2 oz bottle of foam and a 4 oz bottle of ointment. Ridiculous I know, but it worked...for about a month. I had to over-use both products to get results and in the process they burned and seared my skin so badly I was almost too sensitive to brush my hair. My hair even thinned out quite a bit but at the time I thought it was what I had to do in order to control the disgusting flakes and serious irritation.

When I moved to Atlanta from Naples, FL in 1999 I went from absolute humidity to a little less humid but more heat. If you live on the Florida coast you know how temperature can change drastically with a little coastal breeze. My scalp gradually worsened in Atlanta because it was dryer but I kept on trying to control the insanity with over the counter shampoos like Selsun, Neutrogena, Tea Tree, Head & Shoulders, Nizoral...etc. Nothing helped very much or if it did the results only lasted a week or so.

Now that I live in Seattle, and have for going on 8 month now, I'm in an even dryer climate which is not good for my condition to say the least. The culture here is a bit different in that many in this area are more focused on natural living and removing chemicals and unneeded toxins from their daily lives. With that as my focus I started doing research on what was really in all of the products I was putting on my head and so close to my brain. What I found was somewhat shocking and made me re-think using any sort of shampoo/detergent to cleanse my hair and scalp. I discovered mounds of websites completely disregarding shampoos and conditioners all together. This sort of shocked me at first because I've had to shampoo and condition my hair daily for years to avoid the everyday oil buildup.

With this new information I've tried something for a week now and have been pleasantly surprised at the results. By simply washing my hair with a baking soda/water mixture about every other day and conditioning my hair and scalp with plain white vinegar diluted with water, my scalp irritation/flakiness and oily hair have vanished! My scalp feels clean and healthy plus it doesn't drive me crazy all day anymore. I'm truly astounded by these results and delighted I've finally found a way to remedy this life-long issue.

New blog new path

Welcome to my new blog!

Recently I've wanted to change several aspects of very regular things in my life. Mainly because I'm developing more health problems as I grow older, but also because products in my every day life are throwing up brighter and more toxic red flags. As a kid I had skin problems that caused almost constant irritation along with hair and scalp issues that I'll get into as this blog progresses. I've seen countless dermatologists, doctors and specialists to remedy the dozens of ailments that have plagued my life. Unfortunately, all of their advisement's, prescriptions, biopsies and testing have led me to simply deal with my issues until I'm so uncomfortable that I seek out medical help once again or suffer with it because I know I can't afford the tremendous cost of these visits. I couldn't even begin to count the different chemicals I've applied to my skin in order to alleviate the rashes, hives and genetic blessings I've been so lucky to inherit. My body has been through a rough time of it but I've been doing a lot of research in my spare time and have found some astoundingly simple solutions to these incredibly awful problems in my life.

I not only hope you take some of this knowledge with you but wish you the best in applying it to living a better and more enjoyable life.