Tag: no-poo motivation

hey crunchies! today taylor is here to share her no-poo story to help others gather up more motivation to either take the plunge or stick to it!

she’s incredible and incredibly open! 😀

be sure to leave her some love and check out her blog!

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Hey y’all! I’m Taylor, a small town girl born and bred in Oklahoma! I don’t know about you, but I loved gettin down and dirty in the mud (mostly by playing sports) and to compensate, used a TON of “science” to keep myself clean. I had never really thought much about what I was putting into my body(I’m a horrible eater, but I’m trying to fix that) much less what I was putting ON it! Did you know that it takes an average of 27 seconds for a ____________ (fill in the blank here) to enter your bloodstream once it has hit your skin? That’s not even what enters your body through your mouth!

A few quick facts:

• I’m a 20 year old with normal skin.
• My cheeks are way too rosy for my liking, but since following Alex’s blog it’s gotten A LOT better!
• I currently do the BS/ACV rinse for my hair and looooove it!
• I live in Boise, ID and the hard water is BAAAAAD. (NO CASTILE SOAP!)
• My eating habits are awful so I’m working from the outside-in
• If it’s on Alex’s blog, I have or will try it! (No exaggeration, and she didn’t pay me to say that! 😉 )

SO. How did I find out about no ‘poo and how awful factory–made, chemical-laden shampoo and conditioners are? Through Almost Exactly and its amazing author, Alex Raye, of course! The real journey didn’t start out that way though… In June 2013, I made the courageous decision to get a Pixie cut. My hair was long enough to donate to Locks of Love at that point (unfortunately, I couldn’t donate it because it had been un-virginized [is that a thing, un-virginized? Haha!] by the hair salon); however, I had taken the plunge into Emma Watson world and LOVED it! The dead and damaged hair of before was gone and my thirsty hair could start over fresh!

Fast forward a few months… I was sick of the Pixie. I loved it in the summer, but how I missed long flowing locks of hazelnut colored hair. (When I cut my hair, I was living in the mountains of Virginia and it was HOT.) And now I live in Idaho and it’s winter. And FREEZING. Did I say freezing?

Disclaimer: I am HORRIBLE at writing concise anything, so I apologize!

I found Alex’s “Grow it Long, Grow it Strong” post on Pinterest and had to click on it (Have you seen her hair? It’s GORGEOUS!). Thus begins my journey into no ‘poo… My roommate decided to try it with me but ditched a few weeks in. We have really bad hard water here in Boise and I forgot that castile soap and hard water don’t mix. Since I forgot about it, I didn’t tell her, aaaaanddddd yeah. Not pretty!

HOWEVER! I chose to stick with the BS/ACV route and didn’t have a problem! I started October 19, 2013 and my hair has never felt better! Unfortunately, I didn’t keep a journal as suggested but it’s really easy to figure out what your hair needs. Like waaaay easy! My dad (who is a doctor) loves to tell me, “Your body is the best doctor you will ever have. LISTEN TO IT!” So I applied that to my hair. J

A few tips…

• If you use a coconut oil hair mask and you are on the BS/ACV route: You HAVE to use a low poo! I didn’t even try to take it out with BS/ACV, but here is what I DID do.
  • I used the Shea Moisture shampoo. For me personally(I have slightly fine hair. Not fine, but not quite as thick as most people’s), I should have diluted it. It took entirely too long for my hair to even itself out after using the Shea Moisture shampoo and it was irritating.
  • BE PATIENT. Pleasepleaseplease be patient and don’t give up! It is so so so worth it!
  • Find unique ways to style your hair during the transition period. My solution with my growing out pixie was bobby pinning the ends up. The front just suffered and shone in all of its grease ball glory. Luckily, I don’t work a normal job and don’t have a dress code. Well, I have to be modest, but otherwise I can wear sweats to work. J
  • People will probably judge you, but that’s okay. They can be jealous of your gorgeous hair that you only have to wash once a week!

Here is what else I have added to my arsenal of crunchiness:

• Homemade lotion – I need to perfect it, it’s a little too greasy for me! It works wonderfully though – once the coconut oil soaks in.
• Dry shampoo – Found here on AE! I use it on the 5^th or 6^th day and I can go a couple more days without washing it! And my bathroom smells like chocolate when I rinse it out! Yummy!
• Dr. Bronner’s lip balm – I use the peppermint. I am OBSESSED with peppermint EO! If you don’t want to purchase it online(DB’s has a $20 minimum) you can find it at Natural Grocer’s if you have one in your area!
• All – natural household cleaners – found on FrugalFaye.com! It’s AWESOME!
• Eating more fruits and veggies. Down South we LOVE ribs and pretty much any red meat so I’m working on reducing my intake of it.
• I bought stuff for homemade deodorant but haven’t made it yet.
• Water-only-washing – I know, I know, it’s sounds disgusting, but people have actually told me that I smell really good since doing it(I just don’t tell them. It’s my dirty little secret – pun oh so definitely intended. 😉 )
• I’ve also decided to try Cowgirl Dirt makeup – I think it’s extremely appropriate for this Okie girl! They also sell samples which is a MAJOR bonus for a budget conscious gal like me!
• Ladies… This may be weird/awkward for some… BUT. Our feminine hygiene products are also laden with chemicals! Not to mention the risk of TSS (that’s another topic entirely) so that’s another area of my life that has changed and I will never go back to store bought pads and tampons again!
• Totally not a crunchy thing, but I’m also on a Spending Fast where I only buy things that are absolutely necessary so I can get out of debt! It’s only student loans, but the faster I get it paid off the better! 🙂 This month (since it’s almost Christmas) kinda turned into a Spending Diet so I could buy Christmas presents.

I’m not grossed out by much so trying all of this “hippie” stuff didn’t bother me AT ALL. I wasn’t really even concerned about the water only washing. Our bodies are made to cleanse themselves without a ton of chemicals!

This is me with no makeup on and (almost) all natural hair! I put the red in it about 2 weeks before I found Almost Exactly! 

I also have a blog! It’s mostly about my day-to-day life at work, but please feel free to stop by! I need to post more often though. 🙂

tayloralexandrahale.wordpress.com

I know that was insanely long, but thank you guys for reading! 🙂

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THANKS, taylor!! your hair is just as fantastic as you are 😉 lol