Friday, July 8, 2011

new page

my adventures abroad are over... for now
I had an amazing time and I have been back home for a little over a week.
I have adjusted fairly well into the American life. I am very much enjoying the free refills and free bathrooms is public!

I would still like to continue blogging, but what about? I tended to post after my travels or doing something novel, so I will try and keep the same perspective back in America. I will start with one thing that I have changed since I have been back.

I no longer wash my hair. Rather, I should say that I no longer use shampoo. A conversation between myself and my friend Casey Ryan (mentioned in previous post) spurred this idea. She had read several blogs where ladies had discontinued their use of shampoo for carious reasons. Some didn't like the chemicals shampoo contains, some were doing their part to minimize their carbon footprint and use less plastics, and so on.

I do not have a definite reason for why I am doing this. The closest answer I can come to is the same reason I do half of what I do, because I feel like it. I thought there may not be a better time. I am not in school and I do not have a job. Yes, it is true, i tried and failed at getting a job as a burrito roller. Burn. I know. Anyways, the process of "no-poo" starts with a few days of grease on your head and after a certain amount of time, which differs for each person, your scalp with start your natural regulation of oils. Shampoo reduces these oils and causes the body to over produce to compensate for the oil that you are habitually removing.

So here is the dirty truth. The last time I washed my hair (with shampoo) was around midnight on the night of June 28/29th in my shower in Haus Erasmus in Vienna. That is right, I haven't "washed" my hair since I have been back in America. I guessing I am just exercising my rights. I went about 4 days without doing anything before I started to wash it with water. On June 6th I prepared a natural shampoo (1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 cup water) to reduce the amount of grease going on up top. I conditioned with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water, one cup of each. I braided my hair, left it in for two days and just took my braid out.

I think it looks pretty good and my ends feel really soft. I will continue updates on my hair until I start doing other worth while things. With that, I will leave you with a song and a picture of my golden locks.