…I stink. In my effort to cut down shower use, as well as discontinuing the use of shampoo and conditioner and replacing it with baking soda and apple cider vinegar, it seems that I traded monetary savings with natural body odor. I’m a little frustrated, as it’s been well over a month, and my hair is still a greasefest after two days sans shower. Not only that, and my hair still smells gross after washing it. And then, Nate says to me, “You’ve really got some body odor going on”, which prompted me to re-think the two showers a week. I’ve been trying to convert Nate over to my ways for a while – he’s not going for it (he’s more into herbal-scented products than I am AND he rides his bike 10 miles a day) and now, my scent is definitely not helping my case. I bought a shampoo bar for him recently because of it’s all-natural ingredients, and because it’s herbal scent would attract him. I’ve tried it, and it pretty much as the same effect on my hair as the baking soda/apple cider vinegar has. Cleans it, but doesn’t really make the hair smell nice.
There’s another situation that I’m hesitant to write about since there’s a little bit of an “ew” factor, but here goes…since I’ve been washing less frequently, I’ve developed small, scabby sores on my scalp. I’m pretty sure that these sores are the result of an ingrown-hair-turned-pimple that I absentmindedly picked at (so it’s nothing that needs a visit to the doctor). And to make matters worse, I’m a scab-picker. So all around, the head hygiene isn’t faring well. What to do? So far, the only solution I can come up with is a 2-part one: be mindful of the picking and stop, and rinse my scalp daily (just hang head in bathtub – if I get in, it will end up being a long hot shower).
The experiment isn’t over yet…
7 Comments
August 12, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Take a look at angrychicken’s blog. I made the deodorant recipe that she blogged about and it really works. It wasn’t exactly cheap to make but well worth it. (I could probably have found the ingredients a bit cheaper than I did.) She also mentions what she is doing in regards to her hair.
http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2008/07/homemade-deodor.html
August 13, 2008 at 6:15 am
Forgive me if I sound like a know it all, it is not my intention at all. Like you, I am frugal. I found that the large bottle of the Rosemary Mint Aveda shampoo is by far the best value I have found. For $26 (I know that doesn’t found frugal) I can buy a huge bottle of shampoo. I shampoo my hair every other day, use a dime size amount and it lasts about 9 months. The bottle I am using now, which I received as a Christmas gift, I opened in March and I still have about 1/3 of the bottle. My husband also uses it. It is natural, not tested on animals and because it is quality shampoo, you don’t need nearly as much to do the job. I also have very thick, shoulder long hair, just wanted to put that in so your not wondering if I have short hair, making it okay to use such a small amount.
August 13, 2008 at 10:32 am
Hi!
There has to be a way that you can make your own soap at home. My parents grew up in a very rural zone in a third world country and I am not lying when I tell you that they made soap out of pig fat. I don’t know the recipe or how they made it but for many years, even after they moved to the big city, my mom never used anything else but that soap. Also FOREVER, not until maybe 10 years ago all my mom used for deodorant was lemon/lime juice. There was always a half cut up lime in our fridge for her use. She would rub it against her armpits and that was that.
I also think you can keep with showering just twice a week if you implement a cleaning routine in between. Wipe with a wet towel. There has to be something you can use in the towel to help with the smell. I can’t help you with the hair part. If you would take it, and you lived in Wisconsin I would be happy to let you come grab a few bottles of the shampoo I have. but I know you didn’t give it up because you couldn’t buy it but for other reasons.
August 13, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Did you try cutting back to every other day for awhile first? maybe a gradual switch to less frequent showers would work better? Plus doing an experiment like this in the summer probably isn’t going to fare well. Maybe make it a goal to shower less in the winter than in the summer? There has got to be a happy medium one would think.
August 14, 2008 at 9:47 am
I have been making homemade soap…I have made 3 batches. I don’t use pig fat…it is made with olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, water, lye. If you are interested, send me an e-mail and I will pass on some info.
I love my homemade soap! Besides knowing exactly what is in it, it lathers wonderful, and I added some peppermint essential oil to it – awesome smell!
August 15, 2008 at 11:13 pm
i want to make my own soap too but i am scared of lye…
August 16, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Nina: I will check out the deodorant recipe – right now I have a crystal, but it doesn’t really seem to work. Thanks for the tip!
Jennifer: Yes, I started reducing the amount of showering to every other day, than every third day, and so on, until I was at twice a week.
Marcia & Rebecca: I have thought of making my own soap, however, like you, Rebecca, I’m scared of having lye around (the bottle of bleach on the top shelf above the laundry is bad enough). The other thing is that I’d like to use as many natural, household items as possible, although I’m starting to think it might not be.
With this heat wave, I’m going to have to shower more, phew it’s hot!