Rye

Geepers. I haven't posted in forever.

So I tried the Rye flour. With mixed results.

I put 2tbsp in the gotube and added water to it until it was goopy. I did this a few weeks ago.

The first time I did it, I tried a rinse with white vinegar instead of the Apple Cider Vinegar I've been using. My hair looked alright after the rye flakes came out, but my scalp was amazingly dry. So the next time I did the rye wash, I went back to the ACV and put a little coconut oil on the ends. It worked a lot better. I went about 4 days between washes the first time, and my hair didn't even seem that greasy (though, I guess at that point I was comparing it to being super greasy after the honey/aloe mixture as I found that the honey/aloe mixture doesn't actually remove sebum). It felt more like hair. Less than grease and more than straw, so that was good, right?

I didn't need a full wash, but in between rye washes a couple weeks ago on a Wednesday I used the ACV rinse with the spray bottle. It was just a little greasy before, and it was a little less greasy with the ACV rinse, but my hair was really dull compared to what it was before this experiment. I played tennis that night and all I could smell was vinegar as I sweated which was kinda weird, but since I don't have a horrible hangup against the smell of vinegar, it was ok. i did a WO wash that night and felt better. My hair looked pretty great the next day.

I did the rye wash the following Friday with an ACV rinse. It was alright that day, and a little ok the next day (honestly, I did absolutely nothing the next day. I didn't even brush my hair or put a bra on, it was one of those - it was delightfully relaxing, but probably horrible for my hair).  After a WO wash on Sunday morning, my husband was making fun of what my hair was doing. It was stiff and greasy that day, and the next as well.

I washed again this past Thursday, so a bit less than a week between washes. Of course, the day of the wash I wake up and my hair is gorgeous. Why does that always happen to me when I'm greasy like mad the days leading up?! It seemed ok, but it does still feel rather waxy, and there really is almost NO shine to it at all. This is better, I guess, than a couple of weeks ago when I noticed that my scalp was not only crazy itchy, but also that parts were rather raw.

I think what all this means is that I'm not quite out of transition yet. Which is fine. I didn't expect it to go this quickly anyway. That's not my life. :) But the longer this transition period lasts, the less I think the payout is going to live up to my expectations.

I do rather like the body and thickness I've gained. It's possible that my hair is growing quicker because of it. It seems about time to make another appointment for my roots.

I'm really missing my shampoo hardcore right now.

Jenn's Current Status

# of days since last SLS shampoo: 55

# of days since last rye flour + ACV wash: 5

Hair Happiness Scale: 6/10

Public Perception Paranoia Scale: 6/10

Transitioning Is Hard

After reading about the alkalinity of the baking soda wash we'd been using, and experiencing the straw hair of doom, I decided a change was needed.

We're still working on getting a PH test kit, so I don't know what the PH of this solution is, but the ingredients lead me to believe it will be much more gentle, maybe even nourishing than the baking soda.

Secret formula #2: Aloe Gel & Honey

I got the recipe from Code Red Hat

Naturoo Take Two!

1/4 Aloe Gel (I used one I got at Whole Foods)
2 tbs all natural honey (I used Colorado Star Thistle from Bee Raw Honey because apparently I have a honey hookup)

I actually doubled the mixture because I wasn't sure if I was going to get enough. I totally had enough, and probably would have had MORE than plenty if I'd just used the amount in the recipe. I mixed the ingredients in a blender and got something that's vaguely the consitency of shampoo. It smelled delightful, actually, though I resisted tasting it. I did, end up tasting the honey though. You know pouring that can be such a PITA. OMFG it was the most amazing honey ever and I can't wait to put it on waffles and in coffee and everything.

I digress.

This is what the mixture looked like, and probably the coolest naturoo photo this blog has ever seen:

Hey girl, I want to eat your sebum.

I used the mixture last Thursday for the first time. It did make my hair soft and it felt really clean right after. It moved in breezes and felt light.

Happy hair!

Then the oil came right back before the day was done. Not to the point where others noticed it, but I could feel it. 

I think this was taken that night, I'm not totally sure.
Looking at this now, several days removed,
the hair actually looks pretty good.

I washed again several times this week with water only, scrubbing my scalp, trying desperately to get rid of the sebum build up. No dice.

I washed again with the aloe/honey yesterday morning. I don't think I did a great job of getting all the honey out  of the back of my hair. It still felt a little sticky. But then later last night, as I was walking home, wouldn't you know that was the cleanest feeling part of my hair? 

The sebum likes to collect in the front where that one longer piece of hair likes to dangle. Indeed, that piece is covered in greasy sebum, making it look like I haven't washed my hair in days, when I just did. 

I think they key to this for me will be washing with water only almost daily until the transition phase is over.  I played tennis last night and washed with water only (which was way easier than packing my shampoo and conditioner, actually). I think I'm going to stick with the aloe/honey mixture for now since it's not drying my roots. I might pick up some essential oils to stick in it though, and make a cocoa/cornstarch dry shampoo for my especially sebumy days.

I'm not exactly the most patient of people, so this process has me a little frustrated, to be honest. I just cannot wait for that AHA moment of wonderfulness everyone talks about when my hair feels more like hair and less like the innards of an automobile's engine. Two things I have discovered, however, in this process:

1. People honestly don't notice your hair. Hair that I've thought has been almost unbearably greasy has actually been perceived as ok or nothing to comment on by other people.
2. Hippies do not smell like patchouli!  They smell like sebum! I know this because I've been smelling a LOT of sebum recently as my hair dries. I'm not really self conscious of it because I have a super high threshold of feeling self conscious of things (thanks Mom!) and also because most people aren't really getting close enough to me to smell my hair. 

# of days since last commercial shampoo: 30

# of days since last naturoo: 2

Random Friend #1 Check: Are you still even doing that no-poo thing? 

Public Perception Paranoia Scale: 3/10

Shamless plug: no really, go check out Bee Raw's honey. It's delightful both for your insides and your outsides (the kind I used is also good for honey facials, which I didn't know is a thing, but apparently it is - this blog post is pretty good at explaining stuff on honey facials: She Knows - Why Honey Is Good For Your Skin). Their honey is also good for the bees too - they not only support artisinal beekeepers, but they've also set up a foundation to save endangered bees.