Arthur Dove's 'Clouds and Water' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC
Daughter Lesley told me recently about a blog site she found of a small crafty businesswoman who posted a bunch of helpful tips for simple, green cleaning.
I haven't read about house cleaning there yet, but I will. I still have some Clorox Green cleaner to use up.
I did adopt the tips for facial care and shampoo-free hair care. She recommends this site for instructions on the poo-free hair care thing, and this site for the facial care thing.
Facial care:
I'll let you read the particulars at those sites if you're interested, but basically the facial care is merely cleansing your skin with equal parts olive oil and castor oil. Like she says, why would I put anything on my skin I wouldn't put in my mouth? I massage the oil onto my face at the end of the day, then lay a hot washcloth on it for a little facial. When the washcloth begins to cool, I gently clean and rub my face. It feels very soft when I'm done. I used to have flakiness around my chin and nose. Since cleaning my face with these oils, I have none.
Hair care:
The hair cleaning part is a little trickier, and I'm still figuring it out since we all have different hair types, lengths, etc. But since I already only washed my hair every 3 days before this, I was a good candidate to try it, since some people find that it takes a couple of weeks for their hair to adjust and stop generating extra oil, making their hair look greasy. Anyway, one tablespoon baking soda dissolved in warm water, massage into scalp and let sit a minute. Then rinse with a cup or so of water with a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar in it. I've done this twice now, and both times my hair was soft, bouncy and shiny. And it did not get the greasiness, thankfully. Please do look at those instructions for answers to questions. It does take some getting used to not having any lather. But that is just a psychological ploy someone taught us, that we need lather and suds to get things clean! Thems are chemicals that create that illusion - SLS and SLFS (sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate) - YUCK.
As the woman at this site says, shampoo got introduced in the 20th century, it's a detergent, and it strips our hair of natural oils. So, conditioner had to be invented to put the oil back in. Pretty ridiculous, and pretty typical of much of our oh-so-modern world, la-di-da! (who said in a movie "la-di-frickin-da"? Was that Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment"? Oh! No! It was Chris Farley in "Saturday Night Live.")
It's funny how this feels so radical and new when it's not. I love that.
14 comments:
Ruth. we try to be as natural 'round here as possible... haven't even used paper towels for prob. 20 years...
these suggestions sound so sensible.. I think I will give them a try... My mother has been singing the praises of Apple cider vinegar for years for 101 uses at least..... and she is a very active 74 yrs... couldn't stop her with a bulldozer...
thanks for reminding..
Hmm, Gwen, your mom should start a blog! I'd like to see the 101+ uses.
It's awesome that you three are natural up there. I'm better at some things than others. We only use cloth napkins, for instance. I'm ALMOST broken of the paper towel habit. Let's keep spurring each other on!
For a twisted guide on the evolution of soap and large-scale industrial processes, read Richard Powers' novel, "Gain." Warning: it's very depressing, chronicling the stages of a woman's fatal cancer with the stages of corporate development and industrial chemical process development since the 1800s.
Loring, life with you is just a bowl of cherries! You already made me cry once today at Icono-curmudgeon, whatareya tryin to do to me?
(As if it's all your fault.)
Sounds very interesting ... altho I wasn't sure what 'poo' free meant until I had a look at the other blog, LOL. I think industries need to do more to change things...as individuals we can do a lot but until businesses stop making this stuff it's just going to go on forever.
I have an award for you :)
Actually, Ruth, if you haven't read any of Richard Powers' works, I can't recommend him highly enough - lush, intricate, beautiful. His book on sand cranes in Kearney, Nebraska, "The Echo-Maker", won the National Book Award in 2007. Other good ones include "Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance," "Operation Wandering Soul," "The Time of Our Singing," "Goldbug Variations," "Prisoner's Dilemma," and on and on....
Drowsey, individuals are a drop in the bucket, it's true, but the good thing is that big companies are made up of individuals, so I have hope that change can happen starting with small numbers.
Hey, thank you sincerely for the award!
^ ^ ^
Loring, I am sadly one of the worst read people you know, sadly, esp. since I was an English major. I'm not much of a novel reader, and my friend Inge has been working on me in that regard. The best thing is to get personal recommendations like yours, so I take that seriously, and I will take a walk over to the library tomorrow or Wednesday. Now that it's spring, that is a lovely proposition. "Lush, intricate, beautiful" sounds like just the thing to get me through summer. What a great title: "Goldbug Variations"! :D
LA DE DA I think was Diane Keaton in one of my favorite movies, Annie Hall.
Very good tips, I read through this quickly but ill have to come back....sandy
Sandy, good one! Diane Keaton, yes I can so picture her saying that with her eyes rolling.
See if you think this regime is something you'd like when you have time to check it out. I'm adjusting it as I go along.
I have been encouraging her to use the computer... she is just becoming familiar with it...
She thinks it will take up all her time... I told her she had good self control and I think she'll be able to handle it!!
she loves recipes for natural products... I'll put a bug in her ear again... she doesn't know what she is missing...
Gwen, people of your mom's generation can be afraid of computers, and some are amazingly comfortable with it. But can you imagine if she started to build relationships with other bloggers, how much she'd love it (I would think)?
This CAN be addictive, and we all have to find our own discipline about spending too much time here, so she's got something there. As for me, I do it between other things. I call it the "Ruthie" method. I work a little, blog a little, work a little, take pictures a little, etc., usually in 30 minute work spurts and a few minute computer spurts (Don would say, "yeah, right).
I would love, love, love to hear your mom's recipes, ideas, stories, memories. I really feel her generation is missing in action here, and we could gain SO much if they participated.
trying my best to be green, it's so trendy right now! i think i might just venture to my local drug store and get everything i need to start this regime.
i'm so glad that it's working for you! you're like my guinea pig.
loves.
Les, yep, you through it at me and I jumped on it. Isn't it great that green is trendy? Like in Sweden, you would be going against the culture if you weren't. I hope we get to that point. I still feel so happy that the Bushes built a green house.
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