Extending the Life of Your Hairstyle

I promised my friend Rebekah I'd write about this many moons ago. Last January I was perusing some of my fav blogs when I found this article called "Going poo-free" (as in no shampoo ever again). I also let a friend/hairstylist cut my hair.* She told me she washed her hair once or twice a week. I talked about it with another friend who's mom washes her hair once a week (I think), and uses a specific product for her scalp. Here are the tips I heard for going more than one day without washing your hair:

1. If your scalp starts to get oily, lightly sprinkle/rub some baby powder or corn starch in. It absorbs the oil and deters future oil.

2. Spritz roots with hair spray before going to bed; it'll dry up the oil, but your hair won't be stiff in the morning.

3. Rat just the roots. Gives hair lift, so there's less contact with scalp oils, and it doesn't look matted down.

4. Nioxin used once a week to help with the scalp.

5. If you have your hair colored or highlighted, you shouldn't wash as often anyway; coloring dries out the hair.


So, my story. Starting in January, I began by going every other day without washing my hair. After about two weeks my hair was starting to get used to it. Then I went to every three days. Then, twice a week. And last, I made a big jump to once a week. (I waited a month before making any changes.) For now, once a week is my limit. If I try to go farther than that my scalp itches and I just don't like it. Not that I've seriously tried. I like once a week. Every Saturday morning, I pamper myself a little. I do a face mask; I exfoliate my skin and heels; I wash and spend time styling my hair. I take that one morning where I spend 45 min. or so on me. For a mom, that's a lot.

My routine is this (pics are under the day of the week I took them on):

Sat - Wash and style hair. If I don't style it on wash day, it looks kind of bad the rest of the week.

Sun - Just wake up, put my hair up to shower, and go. No styling necessary, and it's my best hair day.


Mon. - use baby powder at the roots and rat roots. I can wear it down, up, half-up, whatever.

Tues.- Maybe use baby powder, but usually not. I usually start wearing my hair at least halfway up.



Wed.- pony tail or pig tails or back in a hair clip


Thurs - Definitely a pony tail and headband. Almost every week.

Fri - Pony tail, french braid, tight bun, or dork knots. Kind of sucks for my hair to feel it's icky if I'm on a date, but I still prefer Sat as my wash day.

Here are my big pros for this: I spend less time in the shower and save money and water; I feel better about my hair because, overall, it looks much better than when I tried to style it every single day (even my ponytails look better); I use less shampoo. Cons: Sometimes I have an itchy scalp on the last day; my hair doesn't always look nice Wed-Fri, so if I go out on those nights, it's not quite as fun... but hair still looks ok.

Note that I don't use tips 2, 4, or 5. So, there's plenty more you can do, I just don't. Happy hair styling!


*Please note: I have cut my hair since high school with three exceptions by two friends I watched VERY closely before I let them touch my hair. After many many bad experiences, I figured that if I was going to be angry at anyone for my bad haircut, it would be me. And before I let those two ladies cut my hair, I made absolutely sure I'd seen enough that they couldn't disappoint me. So, it took me a long time before I actually heard any of this advice.

Little Girl Dress from Shirt

So, I have this shirt from the Australia Zoo that I bought on a vacation several years ago and I never wear. Often the things I decide I will never wear that are bright colors go in my girls dress-up clothes. My youngest found this and wanted it to be a dress, so I obliged.

It started out like this:
And ended up like the first pic. How? Well, you can kind of see it on the pic below. I ran darts (for those familiar with sewing), two on the back and two on the front, from the neckline to the hip area. It helped to bring it in and also created a bit more of a flare for a skirt. Then, I put elastic thread in my bobbin and ran a regular stitch under the arm and around to the top of the shoulder (almost to the neckline; about 1" away). That gathered it enough to make a poofy sleeve. If I remember right, I also did that around the bottom of the sleeve to complete the "poof."


I will leave one tid-bit I discovered. This was one of my first times using elastic thread. You only need it in the bobbin, so don't waste it on the main thread. My tid-bit, though, is to leave enough of a lead at the start and tail at the end that you can tie a knot with the elastic and main thread. Otherwise, when it's stretched, the elastic will come right out. Ah, the great teacher experience....

Knit/Crochet Dishloth with Tulle and Yarn

So, perhaps this isn't the most loverly dishcloth you've ever seen. For me, I had some extra green tulle a friend had given me and didn't know what to do with it. I also had some leftover cotton yarn. I had seen knit and crocheted dishcloths before. They looked like fun, but I regretted them not having more scrubbing power. Inspiration was in combining the cotton yarn with the tulle.

I just used a garter stitch for the rough part. To make that, I simply wrapped 1/2"-1" strips of tulle around the yarn as I went. I did that for 1"-2", making a nice scrubbing edge. Then I did the stockinette stitch for the rest. Total, it measures about 4"x6". You could crochet as well; the cloth may come out a bit thicker, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I would suggest looking at Lion Brand Yarn for some of their free patterns. I really like them.



What I don't like about it: At first, the loose tulle would get some sticky things (like flour) stuck in it that were a pain to get out. Over time, the tulle has settled in and now no longer does that. I would not pick these colors again; the natural colored cotton hasn't retained too many stains, but it looks a dull gray now. I would definitely pick a medium to darker colored tone next time, or even a multi-layered color scheme.

What I do like about it: The size. It's about half the size of a normal store-bought dishcloth, but it's also thicker. My husband prefers these ones because they fit in his hand without him having to fold it over or deal with all this loose extra fabric while washing dishes. It does just fine wiping the counters even without the extra fold room. I also like the tulle for scrubbing. Especially now that it's settled in around the yarn, it's really pretty effective on non-stick surfaces while staying pretty gentle.

Ready to take the Plunge to Slave-Free Chocolate

I just wrote a whole long post ... and lost it. Grrrrr! It took me two days, too, what with kid interruptions.

So, short, less rational and less passionate version: I first heard about child/slave labor on cocoa farm here. It took me a while to really internalize that and decide to avoid child/slave labor chocolates, but now I have and I've been doing some online research. My biggest hang-up has been whether or not I need to avoid my favorite chocolatier, See's. Unless someone has already received correspondence from them, I'm going to write them and check.

There's a lot of back and forth you can read on this subject on the internet, and you can't believe everything you read, or just go with what comes up first on your google search. I've decided to believe that child/slave labor does indeed occur and that there is something however small that I can do about it. Why? Because the history of big business has depended on the exploitation of workers in the past and with political and social turmoil in the areas where cocoa is grown I wouldn't be surprised if it happened (Central African nations are of the most concern, though cocoa is also grown in Brazil and Central America-most of the slave rap focuses on Africa). Today I ran into this article, but it still leaves concerns about treatment of workers to me.

So, what to eat? Well, Consumption Rebellion has compiled a list/ranking of major chocolate companies that you can read here, though it is for Australia. I decided to check out the big players, and here's what I found:

Mars: Has a Cocoa plan thing; mostly focuses on environmental impact; depends on World Cocoa Foundation and International Cocoa Initiative - in CR's opinion these are meaningless in regards to actual working conditions, and I'm going with her viewpoint

Hersheys: Also has this Cocoa plan thing (lost the names and too tired to look them up; you can find them on each companies website); seems pretty similar to Mars; references WCF and ICI

Lindt: No mention whatsoever on website as to anything pertaining any of this as far as I could see

Nestle: Working toward Rainforest Alliance Certification by a certain year

So, it would seem from all this that of the big players, Nestle is doing the best. And it quite possibly is. I have a few concerns, mainly these:

1. One of Nestle's executives is on the Board for the Rainforest Alliance. Even if this doesn't mean their interfering now, I see this as a potential conflict of interest and compromises Rainforest Alliance's evaluation of Nestle.

2. Rainforest Alliance focuses mainly on environmental impact (which is great), but requires very little in the way of fair treatment/pay of farm workers. They don't permit child/slave labor, but due to reason #3, I'm not sure (especially 'cause I'm not sure if I read right) if this is a complete comfort.

3. Rainforest Alliance certification isn't very stringent; to get the logo only 30% of the product in question has to be certified (the actual percentage must be on the package). Why only 30%? Apparently they can't verify the sources for all of the product. Granted, they cover more than just cocoa, there are middle men, etc., but I still think that's silly. Also, from what I read, which I could be misinterpreting, it appears that the 30% in question only has to adhere to 50% of requirements. Again, not sure on that. Either way, too many loopholes. And big companies will find those.

I know some of these comments are knocking Rainforest Alliance. I think they are actually trying to work within the current system, and are actually finding a step that big companies will take, so I'm not completely opposed to Rainforest Alliance Certified products. With chocolate, though, I will only go for products with a high percentage of certified cocoa.

There is also Fair Trade and certain Organic Certified chocolate to take into account. I haven't done much research on the organic certified, and there are all sorts of organic certifications so that one is up in the air. I like what I've heard about Fair Trade. They operate with small business (which I like), and require much better payment/treatment of farmers and employees. I think that smaller business is more sustainable economically and also environmentally. Anyone who's ever had a garden and actually worked with the earth is more likely to make conscious decisions as long as their life isn't on the line.

As far as the differences between Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade Certifications, I like this article. Basically, they both have pros and cons. But, mostly, they're coming from different perspectives (environment and social ethics).

Hope this was informative! Now, go eat some chocolate and let it sink in. :)

AppleJuice Apocalypse and Nutty Nums (plus a Ricotta bonus)

Ok. Just wanted to share two quick oatmeal adventures, one good and one awful. Awful comes first.

Apple Juice Apocalypse: I wanted an apple taste in my oatmeal, but didn't want dried apple or to go through the trouble of cutting up a fresh one. I had some apply juice and thought, why not? Do not do this! For some reason, I didn't think of apple juice as an acid, but when you're talking milk, it totally is. And my milk curdled while it was cooking. So, instead of a lovely hint of apple, I ended up with icky acidic whey and chunks of milk. Sound gross? Well, it was.

Nutty Nums: This is a good story. Not a love story, but a good one. Nuts. Chopped and added as a protein and flavor booster right at the end. Lovely. I used almonds. They were pretty good, but I think walnuts or another soft, creamier nut work better. Either way though, a hint of vanilla and last minute nut add-in = a nice fulfilling breakfast.

Ricotta Bonus: So, I've been making my own ricotta. Or some kind of version of it. Here's what I do -

I heat milk to about 200 degrees F (just before boiling). I add lemon juice or vinegar by the teaspoonful until the milk starts to just curdle. I add one more teaspoonful, and end up with some nice blobs of "cheese." (I seriously doubt this is a real cheese because there's no culturing to it.) I hang it over a bowl in a floursack towel (my cheesecloth's holes were too big) for about 5-10 minutes and use immediately. Great in lasagna, or ricotta almond spaghetti with pine nuts*. A half gallon of milk makes probably 2 cups of ricotta, but I could be wrong.

*Ricotta almond spaghetti: boil some spaghetti; save some of the water. At the same time, make your "ricotta." Mix together ricotta, some ground almonds (1/2 C?), salt and pepper to taste, dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a few tablespoons of pasta water (helps sauce bind to pasta). Toss mixture with spaghetti, and add pine nuts. A nice autumn pasta.

Book, Art, Magazine organizers

I found this fun idea in a Family Fun magazine I was perusing while waiting for a doctor's visit. I'm using is to organize my children's coloring books, scrap paper, art supplies, etc. I found that only the absolutely honking big cereal boxes are big enough for most coloring books or construction paper to fit flat, so I also used an empty box that my garbage bags came in. I think it's a great way to recycle and organize at the same time. I bet kids would have fun painting them, too! Or if you wanted to put them up on a shelf, maybe paint them black and find some chalkboard paint (heard of it; never used it) to use on the spines for labeling.

Applesauce Adventuring

With apples going on sale here in SoCal (39 cents a pound at one store), I have adventured into the art of applesauce. I didn't look up any recipes. In fact, my only inspiration was an experiment on "Sid, the Science Kid."

I started by microwaving my apples, 'cause I figured that would break them down. I wasn't really thinking of the nutrients being mangled by micro-waves, but I did learn that even with sufficient water, the apple forms a little bit of a skin. So, microwave cooking is probably not the best. But the texture and taste after blending weren't too bad. I just had to add water.

Which pretty much left the stovetop. I next cooked them just enough and then ran the apples through a food processor. The resulting applesauce tasted more akin in texture to babyfood than applesauce. So, if you're making homemade babyfood, by all means run it through a food processor. It wasn't horrible, just not my favorite texture.



So, I just discovered tonight, after leaving the apples on the stove on medium for too long that they kind of fell apart in the pot. I spooned up some of the resulting breakdown. Low and behold it looked and tasted very much like real applesauce.


Perhaps just cooking it until the apple falls apart is the best method. And then maybe running over it with a potato masher or something. I am a bit concerned about the breakdown of vitamin C, though. Temperatures above 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 C) can break down vitamin C. Since boiling point is 212 degrees F (100 C), that would mean boiling the apples would deplete it's nutrition. So, other than leaving it on the stove on low for a really long time, I'm not exactly sure how applesauce can be made without affecting the nutrients.

As far as how long it keeps: in the fridge, not long enough for my family to go through a big batch (maybe 2 weeks); in the freezer, I'll let you know- I'm trying that this time. Please leave any advice you might have in the applesauce department. I could probably google it, but I'm not really looking for a recipe; just techniques.

Well, in other apple related ranting, I have a question: Do you think homemade applecrisp with fresh ingredients is healthier than a sugary kids cereal (say, Trix or Cap'n Crunch)? Kids cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals, but they're also loaded with sugar. (And I just read somewhere that over-consumption of sugar can decrease the amount of certain minerals your body can take in. I just read it, so the source may not be valid, but honestly I believe it... hope I'm not wrong.) Applecrisp also has sugar, but most of the sugar is natural from the apples. And the topping I use also has oats in it. (I don't pay attention to fats unless they're hydrogenated; I feel like over-consumption of sugar is far more detrimental to my health than healthy fats.)

So, basically, which do you think is healthier for breakfast: applecrisp or kids cereal? I think you can all tell where my vote lies.