Adventures in Hair, Part II: Or, How to Survive Life When You Have Severus Snape Hair

Hey, remember that time we had an extensive talk about my hair? Yeah, let's revisit that. But first, a story.

I love Harry Potter. Pretty much anyone who's ever met me knows this to be true. I was one of those people who waited in line for hours to get the new book, who saw the midnight premiere of all of the movies, who obsessively read and re-read the books in preparation for a Harry Potter trivia night, who spent (and still spends, I have to admit) hours online scavenging for undiscovered information and, yes, that bane of fandom... fanfiction. I'm the adult woman who spent a small fortune traveling to and buying souvenirs at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida. And I'm not ashamed. You know why? Because Harry Potter is awesome.

Hippie Trick: Use Honey for Pretty Much Everything (But Specifically to Heal/Prevent Ingrown Hairs)

It's no secret that you can use honey for pretty much everything. It's one of those ingredients like apple cider vinegar, baking soda, or castile soap. Got a problem? Just use some _______ and it'll be fine!

For example, have some patches of dry skin on your face? Honey. Want to reduce blackheads and oiliness? Honey. Need some oomph in your 'do? Honey. Cutting back on refined sugars but still want to eat cake? Honey.

You get the picture.

So it's established that you can use honey for all sorts of health- and beauty-related dilemmas, but I'm about to tell you to put it someplace that you've never thought of before (no, not there!): your armpits. That's right, slather that stuff all up in there. Seriously, it's a godsend.

Adventures in Hair, Part I: Or, How I Learned That Maybe My Hair Isn't Completely Crap

Okay, so here's the thing: I'm just not that into my hair. This isn't to say that I don't like it -- I happen to like it quite a lot these days -- it's just that I'm not gonna do much with it. I'm not going to blow dry it. I'm not going to curl it. I'm not going to use volumizing mousse on my roots and some other stuff on the ends. I'm not going to use a round brush in one hand and juggle a chainsaw and a flat iron in the other. I'm not going to take it out for a fancy dinner. There, I said it. This is something I have to explain every time I want a hair cut.

Not to say I haven't tried. It seems like every time I get a hair cut, the stylist somehow talks me into buying some new stuff that's soooo simple and easy and you can totally do it it'll take like five minutes. I'll try it for a few days, using the product, blow drying, attempting the bit with the brush and the blow dryer together... But eventually I just stop. Because here's the thing: no matter what fancy business I try with my hair at first, it basically ends up looking the same at the end.

Here's what I'm actually going to do to my hair: Step 1, wash. Step 2, towel dry. Step 3, comb and maybe arrange with my fingers a bit so I don't look like a homeless person. Step 4, occasionally brush throughout the day. If you're lucky, maybe I'll smoosh some product into it every now and then. And you know what? I'm finally getting to the point where I'm okay with this. Do you know why?

Because my hair has become (unbeknownst to me and without too much work on my part)... wait for it... fabulous. I will now regale you with the story of my hair. It's not that long and it has a happy ending, I promise.

A Tribute to Soap

So I know that I've completely neglected this blog and I am truly, deeply sorry. It pains me at night to think of the countless anonymous internet users who may have missed out on my wisdom regarding grapeseed oil or exfoliation techniques. But have no fear! I plan on revving things up in earnest here. Partially because I need an outlet for my obsession with all natural health and beauty, but mostly because I have too much free time on my hands right now. Plus, whenever I try to talk to my wife about this sort of stuff, she gets this odd glazed expression on her face. I'm not sure it's healthy.

To really kick things off with a bang, I am composing a tribute to soap. Soap is amazing. It's simple, effective, and altogether incredible. Don't listen to those stupid Dove commercials.

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes

When I began my green journey, one of the first things I did was switch my shampoo. I'm sure that everyone's heard of the "no poo" movement by now, so I don't feel the need to go into it in detail. Suffice to say, due in part to the modern convenience of a hot shower, most average shampoos are detergents. That's right, the same stuff that goes into your dishwasher and washing machine. It's pretty rough stuff, and not good at all to your hair.

Completely ignoring the dangerous chemicals and petroleum derivatives in most products, there is a fundamental problem with the way people wash their hair. We basically get trapped in this cycle where hard detergents strip our hair of nutrients and healthy oils, then we have to use heavy conditioners that coat our hair in silicones and other nasty stuff to calm it down, then it gets greasy from the conditioner, then we have to shampoo again... Not good at all.

I'm not cool enough to go completely no poo, so instead I switched to a safe (or "clean," as the No More Dirty Looks girls say) shampoo bar from A Wild Soap Bar. Let me just say that this stuff is awesome. Here are my reasons:

#1 - The company is local. I've even met the lovely woman who started everything at the Pecan Street Festival.
#2 - All of the ingredients are safe, effective, and natural.
#3 - It works! My hair has never felt softer, it's growing out more quickly, and when I use the recommended apple cider vinegar rinse, it's very shiny and not tangled at all.

I like to use the Yucca Root Shampoo & Body Bar. I've also used the Carrot Complexion Soap, which is very nice. I like the Yucca bar because I can use it on my hair and body and it smells very fresh and invigorating. It's also helpful if you're traveling... No worries about tiny travel bottles or liquids to declare to the TSA.

I shampoo my hair every day because I'm a crazy person. I like to condition with an apple cider rinse or Aubrey Organic's Green Tea Rinse. My hair is fairly oily, so I don't like to use heavy conditioners on a regular basis.

So that's that!