Once upon a time there was a little toehead who loved to sing. She would dance around the house singing opera at the top of her lungs, and force those around to listen. The little girl would demand an answer to the question, "Do I sound good?" This little girl's mother believed in frankness and truth, so the mother would always reply, in fairness, with "No." She was probably hoping the little girl would give up if she were honest. One's ears can only stand so much opera, after all. Especially the 10 year old version.
Even those of you lacking an imagination have probably guessed that I was the little girl. Strange music tastes aside, I have never been a good singer. People have always said that voice lessons really helped the music impaired. I never believed it would help me. Seriously, an entire life of being embarrassed to sing in front of people (after I outgrew my opera voyeurism, anyway) is not something a few voice lessons could erase.
I remember singing my heart out in church once as a tween when a friend (who was in her school's choir) turned to me and said, "Wow. You're a really bad singer!" In fairness to her, she did try to coach me a bit before giving me up as a lost cause. Something about singing through my nose. I have since learned to sing softly to myself.
Groupon undid all of this societal suppression of my voice, however, and now you must all live with the consequences. I got 3 voice lessons. My instructor wanted me to open my mouth more and to sing more loudly. I usually leave the lessons singing at the top of my voice in my car on the drive home. In class, however, I was afraid to peep. You know how little girls giggle when they're embarrassed? I did that in class. Whenever I messed up, the embarrassment got worse, and then so did my performance. Vicious cycles.
My poor, exasperated instructor finally made me sing in front of a mirror to see how I wasn't opening my mouth. I hate my mouth. Why would I want to show it off to someone? Coffee on the way to lessons was a bad idea. Nonetheless, I persevered through the embarrassment and the bad breath. I swung wildly back and forth between being too petrified to sing and not caring one whit what people thought. The results are humorously (and unsurprisingly) mixed.
Mostly, I think people are happy or at least amused when they see someone bucking societal norms and living fancy free. It's the reason you grin when you catch someone singing in the car, or absentmindedly dancing to some music they're listening to. It's why you are cheered up a bit when you catch some unadulterated, unbridled bit of joy bursting forth. A child's squeal of delight, a gasp, an arms-flung hug. Those moments are powerful, inspiring, and brought on by things that are worthwhile in life - music, art, expression, family, your cat. Erm, maybe not that last one. That might just be me.
The people who weren't so happy were the ones who had to listen to me fumble through for any length of time, repeatedly, day after day. Oh well, I'll get better or they'll learn to "tune" me out. Punny!
In class I was too busy worrying about singing correctly and was being so hard on myself I forgot why you sing - because it's fun!
The point is, go sign up for some lessons you're terrified of. You might just bring someone a bit of joy one day, or at the very least become less worried by what other people think and find some moments of joy for yourself.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
The Best Homemade Shampoo
There's a new craze on the internet. Okay, well, not new, but new to me. No-'poo. Apparently there is a whole wave of people who have decided NOT to shampoo their hair. The internet's a funny place. Which is really just a covered-up way of saying humanity is.
Anyway, keeping with my trend of chemical free cleaners, I decided to see what these no-poo folks had to say. I tried a few things, but ended up with a clear winner. Look out nostrils, this is the best smelling stuff EVAR. Eeps!
A friend linked me to this website. I modified the shampoo recipe a bit for my tastes. If you're into that sorta thing, have at it. If not, here's what I did:
1/4 cup Dr. Bronner's peppermint castile soap
1/4 cup water*
2 tsps jojoba oil
1/4 tsp tea tree oil
I accidentally went a little crazy with the tea tree oil. I'll cut it down next time. And add chamomile tea instead of water! It you don't know where the chamomile came in, you clearly aren't one of those people who sees a footnote and must run, immediately, to the bottom of the page for an extra tidbit.
I had tried using straight castile soap once before. Do NOT do this. Hello, frizz. It is much too drying to use by itself. Make sure you dilute this if you're going to go the no-poo route.
Wanna know the crazy thing about this experiment? I still have a bit of Pantene Pro-V left. Every time I use that instead of my no-poo castile stuff, my hair is a grease ball the next day. Seriously, you'd think I hadn't washed my hair the night before. My body must really be reacting to chemicals now that I've been cutting them out so completely.
*Side note, you can substitute camomile tea for a natural lightener. Do NOT mix lemon juice with the soap, like some recipes on the internet say. Here's why.
Anyway, keeping with my trend of chemical free cleaners, I decided to see what these no-poo folks had to say. I tried a few things, but ended up with a clear winner. Look out nostrils, this is the best smelling stuff EVAR. Eeps!
A friend linked me to this website. I modified the shampoo recipe a bit for my tastes. If you're into that sorta thing, have at it. If not, here's what I did:
1/4 cup Dr. Bronner's peppermint castile soap
1/4 cup water*
2 tsps jojoba oil
1/4 tsp tea tree oil
I accidentally went a little crazy with the tea tree oil. I'll cut it down next time. And add chamomile tea instead of water! It you don't know where the chamomile came in, you clearly aren't one of those people who sees a footnote and must run, immediately, to the bottom of the page for an extra tidbit.
I had tried using straight castile soap once before. Do NOT do this. Hello, frizz. It is much too drying to use by itself. Make sure you dilute this if you're going to go the no-poo route.
Wanna know the crazy thing about this experiment? I still have a bit of Pantene Pro-V left. Every time I use that instead of my no-poo castile stuff, my hair is a grease ball the next day. Seriously, you'd think I hadn't washed my hair the night before. My body must really be reacting to chemicals now that I've been cutting them out so completely.
*Side note, you can substitute camomile tea for a natural lightener. Do NOT mix lemon juice with the soap, like some recipes on the internet say. Here's why.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Homemade Conditioner
I can save you some time, some reading. Skip to the last recipe on here and just do it.
Because I have replaced just about everything in our house now to something chemical free, it was time to find a substitute for the next common household product: hair conditioner. I looked everywhere online for recipes, and only found one not-full-of-super-weird-stuff recipe for your day to day conditioner. But it's still pretty weird.
Basic Conditioner
2 cups warm water
2 Tbl apple cider vinegar
Now, I know that sounds... smelly... but I found that all over the internet. All over it. So I figure it must be worth a shot. Some people said it made their hair feel waxy, so I'm not sure how this will hold up long term.
The first time I tried this, I forgot to warm up the water. That's right. I dumped smelly, cold water all over myself in the shower. I was not pleased. I was pretty sure I'd never do this again. My husband told me I smelled like his favorite bag of chips. I whined about this online, and a friend of mine with gorgeous hair told me she only uses vinegar to condition her hair and baking soda to wash it. So not buying it.
Nevertheless, I persevered. The apple cider vinegar WAS an amazing detangler, if nothing else. I tried, tried again.
The vinegar rinse left my hair a wonderful static ball. It also burned since I had shaved first. Because it's so runny, it's really hard to get through your hair without turning upside down and dumping it on that way, too. This means it's hard to keep off of your face and out of your eyes. Basically, this was just a bad experience. No matter how many times you try it. And you smell like chips.
Oil
There is no "recipe" for this. Smear some on your hair, comb through, and rinse out.
This made my hair greasy, and ultimately had the same long-term use problem that the vinegar rinse had. After using both of these conditioners for a little while, I quickly realized they were lacking one major ingredient to keep hair strong: protein. I cannot use vinegar long-term because very, very quickly my hair started to get brittle and frizzy. The oil kept my hair smooth and fantastic, but only after I washed my hair again.
Now, because it was fun to have nothing on my hair for a day and the vinegar was a fun detangler, I might use this once in a blue moon anyway. Unfortunately, though, vinegar and oil aren't something I can use regularly.
Deep Conditioner
2 Tbl mayonnaise
1 egg
2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tbl Honey
2 Tbl Sesame Seed Oil
*You can put essential oils in this to make it smell nice!
This makes a fair amount of conditioner. You'll have to beat it to get it smooth and blended. Keep it refrigerated between uses. It comes out runny, so put it in an appropriate bottle.
At first I was surprised by how much this recipe made (runs to grab larger bottle), but I was even MORE surprised by how much my hair kept soaking this up. Seriously, my hair just kept absorbing it even though I'd already gotten it wet! I left this on the whole time I scrubbed and shaved, then rinsed it out and washed my hair like I normally would. I couldn't stomach the idea of leaving egg in my hair without washing it... But when I got out of the shower, hello shiny!
I was very impressed with this mix. My hair has been dull and super dry since I started using the castille soap recipe for my hair. Most gals recommended doing this once a month on various sites online. I will be doing this once a week or more, with my long, dry hair.
You can still buy all natural types of conditioner for your everyday use (I keep a bottle of Burt's Bees in the shower) but you will probably still want to do this deep conditioner once in a while during your switch!
Because I have replaced just about everything in our house now to something chemical free, it was time to find a substitute for the next common household product: hair conditioner. I looked everywhere online for recipes, and only found one not-full-of-super-weird-stuff recipe for your day to day conditioner. But it's still pretty weird.
Basic Conditioner
2 cups warm water
2 Tbl apple cider vinegar
Now, I know that sounds... smelly... but I found that all over the internet. All over it. So I figure it must be worth a shot. Some people said it made their hair feel waxy, so I'm not sure how this will hold up long term.
The first time I tried this, I forgot to warm up the water. That's right. I dumped smelly, cold water all over myself in the shower. I was not pleased. I was pretty sure I'd never do this again. My husband told me I smelled like his favorite bag of chips. I whined about this online, and a friend of mine with gorgeous hair told me she only uses vinegar to condition her hair and baking soda to wash it. So not buying it.
Nevertheless, I persevered. The apple cider vinegar WAS an amazing detangler, if nothing else. I tried, tried again.
The vinegar rinse left my hair a wonderful static ball. It also burned since I had shaved first. Because it's so runny, it's really hard to get through your hair without turning upside down and dumping it on that way, too. This means it's hard to keep off of your face and out of your eyes. Basically, this was just a bad experience. No matter how many times you try it. And you smell like chips.
Oil
There is no "recipe" for this. Smear some on your hair, comb through, and rinse out.
This made my hair greasy, and ultimately had the same long-term use problem that the vinegar rinse had. After using both of these conditioners for a little while, I quickly realized they were lacking one major ingredient to keep hair strong: protein. I cannot use vinegar long-term because very, very quickly my hair started to get brittle and frizzy. The oil kept my hair smooth and fantastic, but only after I washed my hair again.
Now, because it was fun to have nothing on my hair for a day and the vinegar was a fun detangler, I might use this once in a blue moon anyway. Unfortunately, though, vinegar and oil aren't something I can use regularly.
Deep Conditioner
2 Tbl mayonnaise
1 egg
2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tbl Honey
2 Tbl Sesame Seed Oil
*You can put essential oils in this to make it smell nice!
This makes a fair amount of conditioner. You'll have to beat it to get it smooth and blended. Keep it refrigerated between uses. It comes out runny, so put it in an appropriate bottle.
At first I was surprised by how much this recipe made (runs to grab larger bottle), but I was even MORE surprised by how much my hair kept soaking this up. Seriously, my hair just kept absorbing it even though I'd already gotten it wet! I left this on the whole time I scrubbed and shaved, then rinsed it out and washed my hair like I normally would. I couldn't stomach the idea of leaving egg in my hair without washing it... But when I got out of the shower, hello shiny!
See? Shiny!
You can still buy all natural types of conditioner for your everyday use (I keep a bottle of Burt's Bees in the shower) but you will probably still want to do this deep conditioner once in a while during your switch!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Replacing Deodorant
Now, before you are seriously grossed out and run holding your nose and screaming away from this page, you should know that I have tried all kinds of ways to stay among the ranks of the unperspired. I kid you not, it was deodorant that started this whole chemical-free quest.
Toward the end of last year I started getting hives in reaction to everything I put onto my skin. Now, this happens to me once in a while. I am not sure if it happens because my body gets tired of the same old thing, or maybe it just wants a little vindication for not exercising regularly. Either way, I end up having to completely repurchase all of my hygiene products. Sucks, huh? Or should I say, "itches?" Ahem. Moving forward.
This happened with my deodorant.
That was new. I have not had trouble with deodorant since I was a prepubescent smelly tween. And lemme tell ya, itchy armpits are the WORST. This new dilemma soon moved beyond itching, though, right into the hurt. And we are NOT going to talk about shaving. So not going there.
I quested forth to find a suitable deodorant for my prima donna pits, and lo and behold, I found... nothing. The all natural ones were just sticky messes. The store bought ones all made the hives worse. The expensive online ones worked for a few weeks, and then I would have to start all over once a new round of rashes hit.
So then I tried nothing. That's right, folks. I stopped wearing deodorant. You know what kept the smell away? Oil. I've already had a post about this, but my shame was too great to tell you about the 'pits. Actually, at first I was putting fragranced lotion on to fight the case of the smellies, but once I gave up on lotion I thought I'd try my fragrance-free sesame seed oil. Booyah. No more rashes, and no B.O.! Now I don't have any problems and I don't think I'll be going back to deodorant.
Update:
My oh-so-clever friend Katie gave me this recipe for homemade deodorant. I haven't tried it yet, but for those of you who aren't brave enough to share your natural scent with the rest of the world, you might want to give this a whirl:
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup baking soda
6 TB coconut oil
Update to the update:
That recipe for deodorant is the BEST. You might want to cut down on the cornstarch, though, because it can make the paste a bit gritty. You should also know that I didn't have coconut oil, so I used Gold Bond lotion instead. I also added a few drops of tea tree oil for the smell. You can customize your own way. :)
If you make this with coconut oil, Katie suggested putting it in an old deodorant container and refrigerating it. That way it will get hard, like store bought deodorant, and you can apply it the same way. I don't mind putting mine on with the softer lotion. It's really easy to smear on and absorbs right away.
Oh, and bonuses about this? I can make it smell however I want. No more white streaks on clothes. No gunked up stuff under there (yes, that's gross, but you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about). This is basically the best stuff ever. And...
I'm back among the Wearers of Deodorant!
Toward the end of last year I started getting hives in reaction to everything I put onto my skin. Now, this happens to me once in a while. I am not sure if it happens because my body gets tired of the same old thing, or maybe it just wants a little vindication for not exercising regularly. Either way, I end up having to completely repurchase all of my hygiene products. Sucks, huh? Or should I say, "itches?" Ahem. Moving forward.
This happened with my deodorant.
That was new. I have not had trouble with deodorant since I was a prepubescent smelly tween. And lemme tell ya, itchy armpits are the WORST. This new dilemma soon moved beyond itching, though, right into the hurt. And we are NOT going to talk about shaving. So not going there.
I quested forth to find a suitable deodorant for my prima donna pits, and lo and behold, I found... nothing. The all natural ones were just sticky messes. The store bought ones all made the hives worse. The expensive online ones worked for a few weeks, and then I would have to start all over once a new round of rashes hit.
So then I tried nothing. That's right, folks. I stopped wearing deodorant. You know what kept the smell away? Oil. I've already had a post about this, but my shame was too great to tell you about the 'pits. Actually, at first I was putting fragranced lotion on to fight the case of the smellies, but once I gave up on lotion I thought I'd try my fragrance-free sesame seed oil. Booyah. No more rashes, and no B.O.! Now I don't have any problems and I don't think I'll be going back to deodorant.
Update:
My oh-so-clever friend Katie gave me this recipe for homemade deodorant. I haven't tried it yet, but for those of you who aren't brave enough to share your natural scent with the rest of the world, you might want to give this a whirl:
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup baking soda
6 TB coconut oil
Update to the update:
That recipe for deodorant is the BEST. You might want to cut down on the cornstarch, though, because it can make the paste a bit gritty. You should also know that I didn't have coconut oil, so I used Gold Bond lotion instead. I also added a few drops of tea tree oil for the smell. You can customize your own way. :)
If you make this with coconut oil, Katie suggested putting it in an old deodorant container and refrigerating it. That way it will get hard, like store bought deodorant, and you can apply it the same way. I don't mind putting mine on with the softer lotion. It's really easy to smear on and absorbs right away.
Oh, and bonuses about this? I can make it smell however I want. No more white streaks on clothes. No gunked up stuff under there (yes, that's gross, but you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about). This is basically the best stuff ever. And...
I'm back among the Wearers of Deodorant!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)