Groupon Relaxation Staycation: Voucher 1

My Groupon Relaxation Staycation has arrived! Including the weekend, I've been off a total of four days. I've redeemed one of my Groupons thus far. I got a facial and hair treatment at The Andrea Olivera Centre for Ayurveda Rituals. Price: $49.

I've had facials before, but this was a different sort of experience. It was sort of ritualistic, with scents representing different spiritual feelings or ideas. It's based on a practice that's thousands of years old from India. I'm pretty game to try things, particularly if it'll be relaxing and will make me pretty.

Funny thing, was it was located within a condo. This didn't bother me; it was a relaxing spot, but I wondered if that broke any zoning laws. The practitioner was a lovely man and I felt at ease. I got this nice-smelling oil rubbed through my hair and my scalp got some attention. The facial was similar to regular treatments elsewhere, though with maybe some more attention to my relaxation, which I liked.

When I left the place, I was red and splotchy. This often happens after a skin treatment, but in combination with my oil-slicked hair, I was pretty scary looking. Frankly, I looked liked a leper. I quickly abandoned my idea of grabbing some lunch in the area. I don't know why I even considered it. It's never been a good idea.

Now, if I were a shampooer, my hair would be oil-free right now. However, I'm committed to "no poo", so I washed it with water only. I got out the comb, the boar brush, and I scrubbed. In the morning, I was still slicked, so I scrubbed again, using my Priya cleanser on the strands.

And now? Well, it's still a little oily. But! It's soft. It's so very, very soft. And the oil is nothing one more blitz with water won't take care of. My skin is also quite soft as well. Over all, I'd say it was a good experience. I'm in better condition than how I went in.

12 more days off, 3 more vouchers, 1 happy lady.

No Shampoo Troubleshooting

Okay! My hair!

So all year I've been on this no-shampoo kick. I've told many people about this and have had reactions range from "What?!" to "Oh... ugh." to "Really? Hmm..." to "Yeah, me too."

I have run into a couple of issues. And I combed through the blog sphere looking for answers, ideas for solutions, explanations, etc. I was seeing many benefits, such as healthier hair, fewer split ends, and it's gotten thicker. My hair has always been really thick, but now it's even fuller. I loose less hair in the shower now that I'm shampoo free, so I'm wondering if it's all adding up.

My issues however have been as follows:

Waxy feeling at the roots.
Problem: Unevenly distributed sebum collecting at the scalp. It makes the hair harder to manage, and doesn't really look all that great. Often what accompanies this problem is drier hair.
Solution: Boar brush! Long strokes from root to tip spreads the sebum down the strands of hair, coating them in the protective oil and lessening the appearance of grease and making your hair softer and ultimately shinier.

White film coming off the boar brush/stickiness
Problem: More sebum issues. The scalp sheds dead skin, like any other body part, and if you have a glut of sebum at your roots, it'll collect there. It's unpleasant to find in your brush, and you're going to have to clean your brush far more frequently, as it can make your hair sticky.
Solution: Use the boar brush in the shower. First comb the hair out with a shower comb. I find this useful in loosening everything up. Then brush your hair out with the boar brush in the shower. The water and bristles will carry the sebum down the hair shafts. I noticed a significan't reduction in white film with each passing shower using this method.

Someone I told this about said that because I had thick hair it had to be easier. I'm thinking that's not terribly accurate. Scrubbing through this mane-like mass tires my fingers. As I scrub the Priya cleanser or baking soda in, I find I'm often unsure if I'm using a good amount because of all the hair I have to wade through. And I'm still working on how much apple cider vinegar I need to use and how much to dilute it.

Most people would probably ask me why I'm not just going back to shampoo. Well, I'm not going to. It gives me a skin reaction and now that I know what's in it, I want to limit my exposure as much as I can. I colour my hair and that's enough chemicals for me.

The journey continues!

Groupon Staycation

I am taking a Relaxation Staycation next month. For two weeks in mid-March, I will be using spa-related Groupons to chill out all over the city. So far I have three: a facial, foot reflexology and a pedicure. Way I see it, if I can get a massage, a manicure and something else delightful I'm set to go.

I've been Grouponing it up as of late. I'm pretty sure the company's going to go under soon enough, so best to get as much use of it while I can. I bought 12 training sessions at The Motion Room for something like $39. You make an appointment to train in a small group, get personal attention from someone to show you how to do the exercises right and ensures you don't slack off. For someone as lazy and undisciplined as myself, this suits my needs. I've had three classes and two were great.

The first one was awful, but that wasn't their fault. I was backed up a la IBS and after 20 minutes, my abdomen was doing clenching agonizing waves and I thought I would puke. I lost all the colour in my face, which is quite something because I have so little, and staff rushed over to me. I had to sit, and because I was shaky from exercise, my hands were rattling as I reached for water. Because I was nauseas I couldn't articulate very well, and due to embarrassment I could only manage cryptic explanations.

They took my blood pressure, which was normal, and I went home feeling ridiculous. Half a bottle of Citro-Mag later and I was ready to try again. I've been sore, which is good, and I think the remaining nine workouts are going to go well. I'm seriously considering making a commitment to this place. I respond well to programs that build in accountability. I can't be trusted to exercise entirely on my own.

But back to the Staycation, I sort of accumulated a glut of vacation time. I was earning three weeks a year and taking about two, which caused the days to pile up. My company changed hands, which altered the vacation tally and suddenly I had something like seven weeks to take. And now I'm earning four weeks a year, so if I don't get on this, I'm going to have more time than I'll be able to manage taking. And what's the point of having the days if you don't use them?

I took a week before my wedding, a week at Christmas and a week for the honeymoon. And still I was swimming in time off and for some reason wasn't taking it. And that's just silly. But what's pretty cool is that not since school have I had two weeks off for vacation. I'm seriously looking forward to this. My last year in my 20s is a great time to take a rejuvenating break. And frankly, a good time to get in shape. And if I finish my book (30,000 words, y'all!) then I'll have really entered my 30s with a real bang, and good health to boot.

I'll blog about my Relaxation Staycation when it happens in less than a month (squee!)

Oh, and quite randomly, here is a picture of my hair. It's not been shampooed since I got it coloured back in February, and I often only use hot water now, with only occasional use of Priya Means Love or baking soda and apple cidar vinegar. I'll make a more in-depth entry about that soon:

It's seriously never been this healthy before.

No Shampoo Experiment: Day 47

And then there was shampoo.

I coloured my hair at the salon (It was so very necessary) and now my hair is red, glorious and holy crap is it soft. It's never this soft. Ever.

I'd gotten to a point with my hair where I was washing it using the non-detergent methods of baking soda or Priya Means Love and apple cider vinegar, and it was still oily. A little less oily as time dragged by, sure. But really, my hair was coated in its sebum and stayed that way. It wasn't gross, but it wasn't the best feeling.

It looked clean enough, smelled like nothing and I'd noticed it had grown thicker. It was soooo thick. Thicker-than-tension-in-sex-ed thick. Also, by now, almost three months after a haircut, I'd usually have split ends, crunchy and breaking and looking like ass. But not so this time. In fact, I have no split ends and my hair has a tad more growth than normal.

I made my appointment at the salon when I could no longer tolerate my roots, I got the colour and inevitable shampooing and I'm thinking my month-plus of allowing oils to do their thing, mostly undisturbed, has paid off. My hair has never felt this amazing in my life. It's got this silky softness I'm loving on. I'm also curious to see if my scalp has adjusted its oil output after all this time. That should be very interesting. I averaged about 5 days before oily hair would begin and 7 days before a wash prior to starting this whole thing. If I get a boost of even a few days extra before the oil starts to pile on, it'll be very encouraging.

Also, should I reset my day counter? I mean, I've shampooed. But I suppose it's all part in parsel of the same experiment and I like the chronology of counting the days.

Huzzah!

Le Honeymoon

Relaxing at Xel-Ha.

We're home!

What a lovely and relaxing holiday. Great wedding, wonderful honeymoon. Everything's bitchin'. And I'm sunburnt. That part ain't so grand, but otherwise I'm feeling spiffy.

I got burnt the last day I was there. I'm not sure how. I had sunscreen on and I spent most of the time in the shade. But I got crisped all up my thighs and around my armpits. The backs of my hands are also very red. When I got home I made a matcha tea bath and soaked, hoping it would take my burn down. It did cool my skin, which was nice.

But let me describe the week. Every day was something special and fun. Sunday we had a special honeymooners' dinner after spending the day relaxing by the pool.

Monday we went to Tulum and swam in the warm teal waters by the ruins. That was wicked. However, I think I still have sand in my hair. Afterwards we ate some good Mexican food at a nearby restaurant and took the Collectivo home.

Tuesday and Wednesday we went to the spa. We had $1,500 resort credits and spent them all at the resort spa. Massages, facials, wraps, etc. And it was a huge spa experience. Usually with the day spas I go to, you go to the spa, get your service and go home. At this place you can show up an hour early and do the hydrotherapy.

You go in the sauna, then a cool spray in the shower. Then the steam room, cool spray in the shower. Then the hottest hot tub. Then a walk through the cool mineral water. Then the other somewhat cooler hot tub. Then the mineral foot soak.

And after all that, you go in for your service. You leave feeling like a new person.

Thursday we went to Xel-Ha. It's a natural aquarium-type place. You can cliff dive, swim in cenotes, snorkel, zip line and so on. You can eat and drink all day. It's gorgeous and immaculately clean. There were hammocks and beach chairs all over, parrots and lizards, grottos and inlets. There were many walking trails and a bike path. You could ride the river down the park, through this beautiful canopy of vines and tree branches.

I attempted to do the cliff jump. It was 4 metres high and I couldn't do it. I was gung ho, thinking, oh yeah, I got this. See, I thought it'd be like the 3-metre diving board at the pool. But it wasn't. I physically tried to jump, my heart was in it, my brain said yes. My body said no. I felt my body restrain itself against my decision.

So weird. But I think I've reached a point in my life where my ability to take these sorts of risks has passed. Self-preservation has kicked in and leaping from cliffs is not doable. I've never been the person who did extreme things and I'm thinking starting in your 30th year is not really going to work out.

I realized also that bungee jumping and sky diving, thoughts I'd entertained, were definitely now not going to ever happen. If you can't jump 4-metres into water, water that is deemed deep enough and marked for your safety, then anything higher is not gonna fly. Oh well. There's always rollercoasters.

Our last day was Friday. It was the Dude's birthday and he did a spa treatment, and that's when I got burnt, while lounging by the pool, listening to A Game Of Thrones on my iPod. We went out to dinner, had the Mayan coffee,which was a performance in the making of it, and sadly packed our bags. We were being picked up at 7:05 the next morning.

The trip home was a real bummer, not just because we were leaving, but because the transportation was 40 minutes late and when we got there our plane was delayed by two hours.

And now we're home, relaxed and calm. I'm feeling ready to re-tackle my work with renewed energy, the Dude is readying himself for a busy month and we're really mellowed out.

I kept up my no shampoo commitment as well. It was hard, with the sands of Tulum haunting my scalp, but I managed.

And now back to the real world.

No Shampoo Experiment: Day 26

Over three weeks! And just look at this hair. I've got a nice natural wave going on, no grease and everything's coming up Milhouse. Priya Means Love is good stuff. Using the famous apple cider vinegar as a diluted rinse really upped the outcome. It's still not to where I think it's going to be, but slowly, slowly my scalp is becoming increasingly cleaner, less oily, more neutral. My actual hair is a little softer and shinier and the ends aren't breaking off, which they usually would by now this stage of my hair colouring/trim cycle.

Tonight the Dude and I are planning on meeting our new niece. Matt's brother is a new dad and he and his wife live a five-minute walk from here. I've seen a picture of the kid, and she looks a lot like her pa, with her ma's nose. You can already see she's got some good features on her. Really lovely baby, and you can't honestly say that about all them, precious as they all may be.

It's always totally wild to me, you know, going from child-free to parents. And it happens irrevocably in a moment. Pregnancy is, for a woman, a transition stage, but you still have your freedom, if not your body. But whamo! Suddenly you are chained to your baby, exclusively for the next few months at least. And I don't mean chained in a negative way, I mean it in an accurate description sense. Like, that baby needs you and there's no bones about it, no leaving wee one behind unattended. It is in a near constant state of need and you must attend to those needs.

What a massive adjustment. And you would feel all this focused type of love, amidst hormone levels dropping, and your body making all new sorts of changes like lactation and hair loss, all while recovering from your pregnancy and delivery. Dude.

Yeah, I still want to do it.

But really, it's something, eh? To know people for years and suddenly they're almost like new people, because they've undergone a massive life change and no doubt their perspectives have altered as a result. Such a massive thing to have happen. Being a parent is a huge part of a person's identity.

Also kind of wild to think a person could be as young as a few days old, isn't it? A wee little person who couldn't be more brand new. It's the oldest trick in the biological organism handbook, reproduction, and yet it never stops looking like a damn miracle.

No Shampoo Experiment: Day 19

Day after using Priya Means Love

So, my hair looks pretty clean, eh? Not too bad indeed. However, I've encountered a similar issue I had with the baking soda. It's kind of greasy in the back. Reason? I don't think I'm reaching it very well when I wash. Like I've said, I have a hella ton of hair. Like, tons. So I think I need to put more effort into scrubbing the back, not to mention brushing it out to redistribute the oils.

So basically, I need to use more elbow grease.

The Dude's away on a work trip for a few days. I haven't given much thought as to how I'll spend my time. Drawing and writing, probably. I went for a nice long walk yesterday and managed to fall asleep at a decent hour, despite waking up multiple times. Makes me realize how sedentary I've become. I think it's my natural state, though obviously not the best for my health.

I always sat around. It's a wonder I never became fat. Though I never really ate that much as a kid, so never mind. I'm not fat now either, though I'm... soft. If this were the Renaissance, man, I'd be set. But this being the 21st century, it'd probably behove me to get some more exercise.

If only I cared enough to ever really make a concerted effort. I mean, I do care. My appearance matters to me. I just have always concentrated my efforts on my skin, hair, clothes, basically dressing the body I have, caring for what I've got.

It's not like I have my ideal body, but a long time ago I gave up worrying about it. I have the shortest, highest waist I've ever seen, so that elegant longer, tinier-waisted torso is not mine to have. My breasts are small and that's the way it is. I'm also 5'2". Five pounds makes a big difference on my figure. Going up or down in either direction moves me a full dress size. Five pounds isn't all that hard to lose either, not when I try.

I just don't like trying. How ridiculous does that sound? I really should, though. I'm entering my 30s and it would probably be wise to have a good base of health and fitness to start out with, lest I become one of those frumpy women who look like they've thrown in the towel.

Know what's got me actually bummed, though? My first real wrinkle. It's on my forehead. Between that and my slowly greying hair, it's becoming apparent that I won't in fact stay young forever after all. When I was younger, despite all my anti-aging measures, I still sort of considered in my fantasy brain that perhaps I would somehow be exempt from aging. Heh. Well, it begins. Awesome.

Though if all goes well with this experiment, I should at least enter my 30s with exemplary hair (Grey hairs obscured by a tasteful red, of course).

No Shampoo Experiment: Day 18 - Pryia Means Love Review

Today I went out to Grassroots in the Danforth and picked up Lavender Mud Hair and Scalp Cleanser. I normally would have bought right off the Etsy store, but I kinda wanted the cleanser now.

Using it was a lot more pleasant than baking soda. More expensive, by far, but the goal is infrequent washings, so I'm down with that, and in any case my goal is to get off of shampoo, stop the allergic reactions on my fingers, cease rubbing the chemicals into my scalp and improve the quality of my hair.

You have to shake it till it's mixed and thickened up. You pour a small amount into your hair and scrub it into your scalp. I needed a little extra. I have super thick hair and it always takes more of everything to reach everywhere. It felt a little gritty, but not in a bad way. It has an earthy, herbal aroma.

It washed out easily enough and my hair, which had begun to smell funky yesterday now smells like normal hair again. I can run my fingers through my hair and it doesn't feel dirty or oily. It's air drying now and I can already feel the volume. Ah, success.

I didn't need conditioner or anything. It was enough just the way it was. We'll see how long the clean lasts, what it's like dry and how much headway I've made into this shampoo-free life.

No Shampoo Experiment: Day 17

I bought a boar bristle brush today. I have really thick hair and it takes a long time to brush it through, but it does make my hair shinier and evenly distributes the oil.

I spent three days in a row washing my hair with water, and I haven't wet it since for two days. Some interesting results. It's not nearly as oily as you might expect. I mean, it is oily, but all things considered, it's okay. I've gone eight days without any cleaning agents, and while my scalp isn't producing as much oil, it's still too much and the excess needs to go. I'm going to be looking into a non-detergent non-foaming cleanser tomorrow. It's red clay, herbs, aloe and essential oils. I'll give it a go and write about my results.

With the addition of my boar bristle brush, it should prevent the oils from sitting on the top of my head and that should improve the quality of my hair and make it look more presentable.

I'm kind of excited about the cleanser, but at the same time, I'm wondering if I should plough ahead and go without anything. I suppose managing the grease while I'm going through transition is helpful, and so long as it doesn't strip the hair of sebum, I should be okay. My scalp hasn't been irritated in two and a half weeks, and so long as that continues to be the case with this new product, I'm still going shampoo free.

No Shampoo Experiment: Day 13

I washed my hair with only water this evening. Funnily enough, though it's still damp, it feels the best it has so far. Slightly oily, no more dryness and softer than usual.

Ha, as I type this, Bea is crawling into my lap and giving me head butts and cuddles. I can't deny her charms. Good kitty <3

Anyhoo, my experiment is going exceedingly well. I feel like I'm over a major hump here. Not quite where I need to be, but I think there's improvement beginning to occur. And that pleases me.

I'm not sure yet how a couple things are going to go. For instance, I colour my hair. I'm not a natural redhead, quel dommage, and so I purchase a lovely shade of auburn from ye olde hairdresser. I can't bear the thought of going back to my natural colour. I mean, for one, it's nothing special and two, I've begun to gray. It's not everywhere, but it's happening. Genes. What can you do.

So, perhaps I can ask them not to shampoo my colour out, only rinse. I don't want to undo my patient, hard work, but I also don't want to go without hair colouring because I do so love my red 'do.

Just ran my fingers through my hair and it does feel really nice. Conditioner coats your hair and it does have a really smooth feeling. It's silky feeling, right? Slick. My natural hair feels soft. It's not smooth, not dry, not anything. I don't know, it feels like hair kinda should. That slick feeling always made me feel like there was still gunk in my hair, which, really, there was. Now it's bare and air drying and it's an interesting sensation.

I'm totally into this. Only two weeks in and I think I might be hooked.

No Shampoo Experiment: Day 11

You know what? I'm kind of granola. It's come on me so slowly and gradually as I learned things and became comfortable with my body and who I am, but there's no denying it anymore. I'm granola.

Did you know that if you stop washing your face and wearing makeup for a week, your skin starts to glow, your pores unclog and dead skin wipes away on a washcloth? I've been applying the same philosophy to my skin as I have with my hair, only not intentionally. It sort of happened quietly.

I've been hyper about my skin since I was 13. This has been mostly positive, I think, because I'm reaping the benefits now of having avoided the sun all these years. I have few lines and wrinkles, as I've had little sun damage, though general aging can't be avoided. My mom was super into sunscreen and was always on me about protecting my skin. The daycare I went to had a policy about each child having their own bottle of sunscreen and it had to be applied three times a day, prior to each of the three scheduled playtimes outdoors.

I'd shield my face from the sun at school. I'd walk in the shade. I wore moisturizing creams that had SPF in it. I started getting facials when I was in college, and wearing anti-wrinkle cream. I never sleep in makeup, I exfoliate and wear mud masks.

But this week I did nothing except splash with water.

Oh my God. Okay, my skin is so soft. My pores are so small and they're not clogged as much as usual. Dead skin? What dead skin? My skin's own oil seems to have conditioned it and now has reached a sort of equilibrium.

I washed my face last night because I had makeup on. But this morning, my face was still good. Not oily, not shiny, not a problem. I am turning into such a damn hippy. And I love it. It's so freeing. I mean, I'm doing less and seeing improvements.

My hair is much more of a journey. But seeing how easily my face adjusted to nothing, I'm very excited to see results with my hair. After doing some research, I think I'm going to eschew baking soda altogether. It was helpful initially, but I think just some apple cider vinegar is my next step, that and getting a natural bristle brush, something that will evenly distribute the sebum through the stands and prevent build-up on my scalp.

My hair still smells like nothing. Like hair, I guess. It's a little softer than it was when I first started this whole thing. Not great, but better. Now the Dude is thinking about doing the same thing. Mostly he's just a typical lazy dude when when it comes to personal grooming. The less he can get away with, the better. At first he thought I was a little nutty for doing this, though he didn't attempt to talk me out of it. Now he's considering it for himself, though I haven't been on a campaign for him to begin.

Actually, since I was a once-a-week hair washer and he's a daily hair washer, I think he'd be in a far greater battle.

It's a two-week adjustment period-- minimum. Maybe it'll take six weeks. Some people take months. Blech, I hope I'm not among them. I'm thinking of adding some rosemary essential oils to the mix to stimulate hair growth. I've never been able to get past my current length because of split ends and such. Everyone I've seen who's gone no-shampoo for a long time has beautiful long shiny hair. I want that to be me.

No Shampoo Experiment: Third Baking Soda Wash

I've done my third wash with baking soda instead of shampoo this evening. I usually only wash my hair once a week with shampoo, but I'm going almost twice a week with the baking soda and vinegar. That doesn't seem like a big deal, right? Though it technically is double duty on the hair washing.

My hair and scalp is still adjusting. It's been over a week now. My hair looks good. It's the feel that I'm still banking on changing. The first time it was bizarre feeling, oily and dry, if that's even possible (It is). Not too terrible, really, not enough to quit, but definitely not pleasant. The second time I had more enjoyable results, probably due to the vinegar. My hair was softer and less dry feeling.

This time it's the same thing, a little softer mostly. Not the silky results you'd get from conditioner, but it's moving in the right direction. So I'm still sticking to it. This time I used a little more baking soda and I got it only damp before scrubbing it into my scalp. I think that was helpful.

Two things I've noticed that definitely has baking soda in my good books over shampoo is 1. No allergic skin reaction, no dry skin blotches all over, and 2. Less frizz.

Ploughing on ahead!

330 Days

So I have a couple of changes on the go. I suppose this could be considered New Years Resolution-like, but it's more lifestyle/growing up/future planning stuff.

As for the no-shampoo experiment, I washed it Friday and my scalp is not terribly oily now. My hair doesn't smell bad either. So I'm no worse for wear in the greasy and odour department. However, my hair has a strange consistency to it. It's sort of dry and sort of... not. I didn't do the recommended vinegar rinse, which I will be attempting next round.

When I was in the shower I took a heaping tablespoon's worth of baking soda, added water and scrubbed it into my scalp. But it was rather watery so I took another smallish heap and added less water to create a paste and scrubbed that in as well. It was all very strange feeling. If you enjoy suds and lather, this part is not very satisfying.

I left it in for a minute and rinsed it out. Vinegar is supposed to restore PH balance to your hair and give it a healthy sheen. And vinegar is also a cleaning agent, so it sort of finishes the job. The smell is supposed to dissipate after the hair dries.

I am soooo looking forward to no more shampoo. My hair always looks and feels like a frizzy mess after shampooing. It's toxic stuff, it's bad for your hair, your scalp and really, I'm tired of it. My exema rash breaks out when I use it. It's an oil byproduct and I don't want it on my skin anymore. I'm always red and blotchy and dried out after I use shampoo. Wherever it touches me, my skin reacts.

So that's one change. Going shampoo free 2012.

Change two is around the home. Our living room finally has all its necessary furniture. It's like a real grownup room with enough storage. It's functional. It's comfortable.

And we want to own our own house. And this being Toronto, we're in for a rough ride. The housing market is out of control and we don't want to be house poor. There is a condo bubble developing so maybe there will be deals down the road. But while we wait and see where things go there, we're looking to save up a downpayment.

We currently have a decent amount. But it's not enough to get more than a small condo. And I work from home and we'd like to have a child. So a 1-bedroom condo is not going to cut it for our future. We need at least two bedrooms and a den-like space for me to do my job.

So this be the year we save, yo. Come March, we'll be putting away about a fifth of our monthly income. Very... adult. If we lived in our hometown making what we make, we'd have a house. I love Toronto, but in this one way, I hate it. Getting into the market is a nightmare. I don't want to get a place and wind up house poor, unable to pay my mortgage and other bills. So we're waiting till the Dude's income goes up a little more and we have more in the bank.

Change three is my creativity. I'm halfway through my aunt's illustrations for her children's book. I've also started writing again. I want to get in the family track next year, so if I'm going to do something with myself in this regard, the time is now.

I've spent my 20s doing a number of things. I've been in meaningful relationships. I've travelled. I've moved around a lot. I've lived with roommates, alone, with a partner. I got married. I found a good job. I spent time in counselling to get some closure on my relationship with my father. I've figured out who I am. I'm almost 30 and I really truly finally feel like I know myself.

And now I wish to complete a couple creative projects before my 20s come to a close, before I enter my 30s and home ownership and starting a family take me in a direction away from myself. Not that I'll leave who I am, but my world will expand beyond myself, and for a time I will not be my sole focus. Heck, it isn't now. I have to share my focus with the Dude. He's my husband. We're become a team. But this last year I'm going to dedicate to me.

330 days till I'm 30.

No Shampoo For Me

I'm going to stop shampooing my hair. I've already set this in motion and I plan on documenting the experience. What else is a blog for?

For the past couple years I've trained my scalp to not need shampooing so often. Your hair gets super greasy because the detergents in the shampoo strip your scalp of its natural oils, it goes into hyperdrive to replace them and then ta-da, you need another shampoo the next day.

If you're willing to stick it out, you can get to two days. Then three. Then four. I can get to five comfortably, and seven if I'm stubborn.

But still, shampooing is a pain in the ass. And I have some exema on my finger that flares up when I wash my hair. So the Dude's been washing it for me, once a week. It's sweet, but I really feel like my body is rejecting this substance and considering all the toxicity in shampoo, methinks it's time to move on.

So tonight I used baking soda. I read that I should expect it to take 2-6 weeks for my scalp to adjust and for my hair to look good. Until then, it's going to be a rough road. Well, I believe that. It certainly doesn't look or feel good now. It's sort of dry and greasy at the same time.

Kind of overexposed, but I managed to take a good picture

in the first go, so hurrah!

So here is attempt number one. Looks fine, yes? Well, it's not too bad. Let's see how it fares throughout the week. Also, next time I'm going to do the vinegar rinse. I didn't bother this time and it may account for the blechy feeling in my hair.