No soap or shampoo?

[Aurora]

Thanks Corwen Yeah it suprised me too how much of a difference not getting my hair wet has made, but it's been a good suprise

[Teileag]

That's brilliant, Aurora! Keep going, it's really worth it...

[Owl Woman]

Hi,
I haven't washed my waist length hair since the night of the full moon in may, that just over nine weeks. It looks lovely and healthy, but it is interesting to see how it gets a little more greasy around my "moontime" and then settles down again for the rest of the month, (not surprising really). This is something I have wanted to do for years but only now have the confidence to try. No going back now!

[Teileag]

Brilliant, Owl Woman! Keep going, it isnreally worth it!!

[Cosmic Ash]

Owl woman,
Do you tie your hair up, or wear it loose all the time?
The longest I have managed to go is three weeks, but my hair gets so greasy and dull-looking I have to tie it up, and I like it loose! It's getting washed about once a week atm, which I think isn't too bad and my hair is soft and shiny. If I thought it would eventually settle into soft and shiny I might have more chance of persevering for longer.

[Owl Woman]

Hi Cosmic Ash,
I wear my hair plaited at home when I am busy, but if I am going out then I have it loose. I have had a few comments lately non how good my hair is looking!
After the first three weeks it was not too great, but it settled down by five or six. Hope you can try again.

[Rachel]

This has been an interesting thread to read. I wash my hair about once a week, but now I'm willing to go longer and keep brushing! As I've gotten older, my hair is less greasy than it used to be anyway. As far as general cleanliness goes, I very much enjoy my weekly tub, but in between, i follow my grandmother's example, which was the daily splash in the washbasin-face, hands, underarms, privates and feet before bed. Seems to be enough, and i highly recommend it-it is has a lovely sort of ritual feel to it.
For my skin, i infuse organic olive oil with herbs-I've used plantain, violets[johnny jump ups] or calendula at various times- it can be used straight on the skin or in the bath, and for my face and hands I add beeswax and turn it into a sort of salve-a little goes a long way. I'd be interested to know if anyone uses any other herbs for similar body oils- maybe that is in a different thread somewhere!
Good health to all!

[Cosmic Ash]

Thanks Owl Woman! That's really encouraging to know. It seems I was just at the worst point when I gave up. I just got fed up of having my hair tied up all the time, if I could have hung on a couple more weeks it would have been ok. Oh, well, I can start again!

Rachel, I make a body scrub that I use in the shower from sea salt, either almond or coconut oil and a few drops of essential oils (my favourites are juniperberry and cedarwood). If I haven't used the scrub then I moisturise my body with plain almond or coconut oil.
What is everyone using on their face? The only cosmetic I buy is moisture cream for my face (and then I only use it after I shower - maybe once a week, I just wash between times). I use a herbal one made by Weleda, but if there's something simpler I'd like to give it a go.

[katie bridgewater]

Hi Cosmic. On my face, I use just water and occasionally olive oil soap (Oliva) when I've got dirty in the garden or something. I use Weleda salt toothpaste on my teeth - it's the least noxious ingredients of any bought toothpaste, most have Sodium L Sulphates in however much they pretend to be 'natural'.
I know lots of people on this thread like to make all kinds of potions and rinses for their skin and bodies but I really don't think IMO anything but water and a tiny bit of unscented soap occasionally is necessary to be beautifully clean and fragrant. And the less you use, the less you have to waste time making stuff or earning money to pay for buying it! I might try to work out the time and money saving over my lifetime from not using any of this stuff. And the mooncup too - I reckon it must be weeks and weeks of time. If only I had something to show for it....

[Rachel]

Thanks for the body scrub idea, Cosmic Ash. I just use oil on my face[with the beeswax] and it works very well. The winters are cold and the coldness and dry heat inside just dry out my skin terribly-so the oil i use once a week-daily on face and hands-really helps.
And you are so right about the toothpaste, Katie- i just checked my "natural" brand. ugh. i used to brush with salt for years, but then my dentist, [who i rarely visit fortunately], told me it was too harsh and i was taking the enamel off my teeth...i'll keep thinking about that one!

[Kauz Waldheri]

Bathing, showering,washing regularly is vital to good health and longevity. I know, many others say it's unnatural to shower all the time. Bullocks! Regular bathing and massage increases life expectancy. Check out Rome. Also, if you have an all naturaldiet ... tooth brushing with baking soda and water is just fine.
p.s. Not washing your hair and not bathing is gross. Especially for a woman. *shivers*

[LoneWalker]

Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.
And what on earth makes it worse for a woman than a man?

[Lily]

and surely those points, Kauz, would have been covered over the 8 pages this thread has.
Surely you have read them all through before posting?

Druids are also very touchy about gender generalizations, so please elaborate on your opinion

[Cosmic Ash]

Katie, I think you're right just water for washing (and I use Oliva soap too for my hands) is probably the ideal, but I find it leaves the skin on my face very tight and dry - it seems to need a little extra help. I think it will also make a difference where your water comes from. When my nanna used to visit my aunt in London she couldn't wash in the water at all because it dried her skin so much. We do tend to delicate dry skin in our family, and the recycled water in London is supposed to be particularly harsh.
I've finally invested in a Mooncup, but not had chance to try it out yet. The initial purchase price was a bit daunting, especially when I'm not sure how I'll get on with it, but now my local health food shop stocks them I figured it was time to give it a go.
Back on topic, I found a whole topic on shampoo free hair care on another forum. I hope it's ok to post the link here as I found some useful information in it. http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=50999
I'm still on weekly-ish washings, but I'm not feeling bad about it.

[Aurora]

Thanks for the link to that other forum Cosmic Ash.
Just an update, I'm now nearly 6 months shampoo free!!! and enjoying it the easy routine greatly (a water rince once a week and regular brushing) my hair is pretty settled except for around my moontime when it gets a little bit greasy. Now i'm slowly weeding out shop bought deoderant, am going to try a home made recipe that i found online and see how it goes.

[katie bridgewater]

Thats BRILLIANT! Aurora, well done you for sticking with it. It's reassuring to hear that others have survived the 'cold turkey' experience as there is always so much resistance to the idea!
I'm interested in the deodorant recipe - could you post it?

XXX

[Aurora]

Well i've got a couple of different ones and i plan on trying them out to see wich works best for me.

1:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn flour or arrow root powder
5-6 Tablespoons of cocnut oil
mix the dry ingredients together than work in as much of cocnut oil as you want to achieve a paste. (some people have melted the coconut oil and then added it to the powders as it's easier and will harden up once it cools down) also you can use less baking soda and more corn flour if your'e sensitive to baking soda.
recipe came from here: http://tammysrecipes.com/homemade_deodorant_recipe

2:
1-1/2 Tbsp grated beeswax or beeswax beads
4 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp shea butter
4 tsp clay (bentonite or other) (can also sucstitute corn flour if you don't want to use clay
20-25 drops essential oil (tea tree, rosemary, lavender, lemon, bergamot, or a mixture of any listed)
Empty, clean, sterilized deodorant container
Melt the beeswax and coconut oil on very low heat, whisking often. Once melted, add in the shea butter and whisk a few times, then remove from the heat and continue melting. After that’s melted and you have a liquid, sprinkle in the clay and continue to whisk well until everything is combined. Drop in the essential oil, whisking still. Place the pan into a cool water bath, and leave for 5 minutes or until it just begins to set up. Spoon the mixture into your deodorant container and place it in the freezer for 20-30 minutes (or until completely hard). If, for some reason, it starts to get too soft on a hot day, just put it back in the freezer for a while.
recipe came from here and has good pictures of the process : http://crunchybetty.com/not-a-secret-homemade-deodorant

3:
3 tablespoons of almond oil
3 drops of lavender oil
3 drops of rosemary oil
3 drops of lemongrass oil
1 tablespoon of beeswax
Heat the beeswax with the almond oil on a low heat. Stir well. As soon as the beeswax is melted take it off the heat and add the other oils. Pour the mixture into a pre-heated jar placed either on wood or several layers of newspaper, and allow to cool. To apply, scoop out a very small amount with the fingertips and rub under the arms.
recipe from here: http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/factsh ... ative/1454

If anyone has a go at any of them let me know how it went if you could

[wyeuro]

gday everyone,
i love what's being shared here. lifestyle so much determines what is available for hygiene. in my herb garden, i grow a robur lemon rose pelargonium, the sort they get commercial geranium oil from, and i use that as a deoderant if i have to go anywhere where people might be who can't stand the natural smell of a healthy human being's workaday sweat. i just take a leaf and lightly bruise it and then rub it on.

i cottoned on to this way after experiments to keep kid-rearing milk bottles and teats hygienic, to prevent scours. boiling wasn't doing it. soaps, sterilisation chemicals and detergents are dangerous additives, so they were out. in the end, i just rinse them immediately after use and put a herb with known anti-bacterial ability in - a square inch of the geranium leaf worked better than any of the labiatae, although thymol is a powerful 'germ'icide, and 'smart' enough to work with your body chemistry, not against it.

i and my long time best friend nellie have been achieving natural hygiene in our one acre 'self suff', fairy conscious, organic farmlet set in eighty acres of australian bushland, after totally rejecting highly toxic, energy expensive and pollutive mainstream hygiene more than thirty years ago. during that time we've kept ourselves and our animals healthy and happy without dangerous pollutants, and learnt to love dirt. that's what i grow my food in, and i know it as a beautiful, biochemically magical environment, not as something disgusting i should never touch, or get on my skin. it has healed my sense of my own body, and taught me that human sh*t (i.e., that which is or has been shed) is not a 'waste' product of human metabolism, not a by-product, but a product, like fruit from a tree, if you happen to be a tree! it is vital to the health of the soil. we know enough now not to abuse it. it is fertilizer, like the goat or poultry manure we add to our compost. we have to get over the disgust. the pathogenic potential of a handful of natural dirt, for all its organic richness, teeming as it is with microbes of all sorts, is minimal compared with that of the daily devastation of your dermal ecology in the vain pursuit of odourlessness.

not that we have no place for good laundry soap, or soap for scouring our sheep fleeces for spinning. i make good hard soap out of goat fat and caustic soda. i even use it for when mainstream rules apply and they look behind your ears.

[Dendrias]

Do they really look behind Your ears?

I've been trying the no-shampoo part, cold turkey method. That's been some two months ago. It works, although my hair seems to be a bit thicker, heavier and more prone to "deformation" (when I comb through it with my fingers, it just keeps standing).
Still my scalp itches (but less than before) and is quite flakey. And yet I think, that as long as it works, I'll keep it going.
My wife didn't even realise.

[skydove]

I've cut down to washing my hair to once a week now instead of every day but in the past month I've noticed I've got a scalp with patches of almost like cradle cap on it - I suppose it's undistributed sebum, it's not dandruff and is stuck quite hard to my scalp, any ideas on getting rid of it, picking it off just pulls the hair out- ouch?
For deodorant when I think I need some I've been using a clear rock crystal which you moisten and rub on, it's odourless and doesn't leave a deposit on clothes and looks quite pretty on the bathroom shelf. When I find the name I'll post again.