If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person.
For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1
Corinthians 3:17 (NRSV)
Well, it’s official. I have joined the ranks of the
crunchy-granola moms. Sure, some would have classified me here years ago—I
recall baking bread for a friend, probably in 2010, who was taken aback by the
nuts and seeds he encountered in the loaf and said, “Oh, you’re one of those
crunchy-granola types, aren’t you?” I had not thought of myself that way but
realized that even then, I had strayed considerably from my S.A.D. days of
eating.
Now, though, I’m confident that I’ve attained No Poo status.
One of the things that contributes to this confidence is, oddly enough, my
scattered way of thinking and lack of organization—which ensures that I cannot
always find the specific reference I want because it’s not in the place that I
believe it was left.
Back in November, around Thanksgiving, I stopped using
shampoo. Who needs all those chemicals? Not me! I tried baking soda-and-water
rinses, apple cider vinegar (ACV) conditioners, clays and oils and honey in
various combinations, and dry shampoos.
By reading the blog posts and comment threads of many of the
talented young crunchy-granola blogger moms, I learned that clay absorbs oils,
honey acts as a humectant—replacing the moisture drawn off by the clay, ACV
restores the hair’s naturally acidic pH balance. So many women are writing
informative blogs these days. One of my favorites is Wellness Mama. I started
there.
The clay-vinegar-honey-filtered water mixture was the one I
liked best, but I was cowed by one blogger’s recipe that called for using the
exact amounts listed in the exact order, and—try though I might—something was
always either amiss with the concoction or the washing experience.
Then earlier in the week, I had a new squeeze bottle of raw
honey and was ready for a wash, only to find that that particular No Poo
recipe, the one I had “settled” upon was not where I looked and did not pop up
right away in Google searches. That, though, was a blessing, because I perused
several other blogs and noticed that while ingredients might be similar, most
every person used a different ingredient list, proportions, and even time for
leaving the masque on the hair. Yippee!
I used the ingredients I remembered, in equal proportions
because I could not recall the specifications (1 spoon of this, 1½ of that) of
my favorite recipe. The result was a large quantity of thick, green, bubbling
goo ready to nourish my hair.
1 part bentonite clay
1 part raw ACV
1 part raw honey
2 parts filtered water
Several drops of essential oil (This time I used Lemon Grass
and liked it)
I slathered it on, much more thickly than before because of
the large quantity. With the hair masque in place, I set a timer for 8 minutes.
(That recipe recommended between 5 and 15 minutes. I appreciated the leniency
and flexibility.)
Next I used it as a face masque. Its gloppy form was less
suited for a skin masque than its thinner cousin had been a couple of weeks
ago, but we tried. We did not keep it on long enough to dry and crack—but our
skin felt refreshed after rinsing nonetheless.
After rinsing (and rinsing, and rinsing) the result was
delightfully clean, shiny, bouncy, vibrant hair with no heavy oiliness. Score!
I will stick to this combination for a time now; it helps that I’ve written it
down for future reference.
Between washings, or after washings that ended with heavily
oily hair, I’ve settled upon a dry shampoo version that works well for me. I
mix arrowroot powder (some use corn starch) and raw cacao powder to get produce
a brown somewhat lighter than my natural color but that blends well since mine
is now shot through with gray. (Blondes: skip the cacao!) I like the scent of
cacao, and with my latest batch I included vanilla essential oil. The blend
smells richly wonderful.
Some blogs recommend brushing the powder onto hair with an
old makeup brush. Well, I have no makeup brushes, old or new, and have been
shaking the powder from a container onto my hair. An empty salt cellar would be
a good choice for this method.
I apply the powder liberally around any stringy, oily areas;
massage it in; and then comb it through. The powder quickly absorbs the oil
making hair manageable again. A quick shake and comb on subsequent days is all
it needs until I’m ready to repeat the wet hair masque.
(Once I have a working camera again, I will add photo
documentation. I dropped my cell phone one too many times and the glass cracked
into a spider web over the camera lens.)
Thank you, Lord, for providing for all my needs—with tools to
feed, cleanse, and heal my body—without need of resorting to man-made synthetic
chemicals.
Until anon.
Blessings,
Cynthia
24 March 2017
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