Spotlight On: No Poo And The Most Awesomest Lavender Stuff EVER

Although you may be blessed with happy, vibrant and easy to care for skin, I was cursed with what must be the most sensitive skin in existence. I'm allergic to everything on my face, including water in too large a dose, and have yet to find a single make up product that doesn't result in Dalmatian style hives. To go with my hate everything skin, I have painfully thin practically nonexistent hair. This combination, while a pain in the ass, hasn't been too much of a problem until now. Weddings require not only a large amount of make up, but also elaborate hair do's, most of which call for more hair than I've got.

To combat this, I've been trying to go "No Poo", that is to say, stop using shampoo and conditioner. While this might sound uber gross to most people, the oil in your hair is made on a supply and demand basis. Stop stripping it out with harsh chemicals and your glands will stop making so much of it. My hair is actually fairly dry/normal, so I barely noticed any excess oil when I stopped using shampoo but I did have an issue with it being too dry. For most people going No Poo, their hair experiences a weird transitioning period where it hasn't realized you're not stripping oil out anymore and it can get a little funky and gross. The best way to combat this is to wash your hair with baking soda, 1-2 tbsp mixed into about 16oz of hot water will make an excellent shampoo that can be poured on, massaged in and rinsed out. Your hair will feel clean and smooth but can be a little dry. The best way to fix this is to condition with apple cider vinegar (It's not as weird as it sounds, I promise) that you can mix with honey, lemon and essential oils. Although vinegar smells pretty nasty, the apple cider variety washes out completely and you're left with the smell of whatever you added in, the honey/lemon/etc. You use 1 tbsp in 1 cup of water, and can scale up as needed.

While this worked great for me, my greaseball honey absolutely refused to stop using shampoo. His lovely golden locks make so much oil, that if he showers early in the morning he's usually pretty gross by the end of the day. This brings me to a happy discovery I made back in 2007, organic lavender products free from any chemicals. In Seattle, in the famous Pike's Place Market, is a tiny little kiosk straight past and behind the fish tossing stall. There they sell absolutely delicious lavender products with citrus and spearmint, and a couple times a year when we make the drive up to Seattle to visit our best friend, we always stop there for me to restock. My favorite products are their lip balm, and more recently their shampoo and body wash. My honey loves the lavender shampoo I bought and the tingly lavender mint body wash is absolutely delicious.

Luscious Lavender Lip Balm

Invigorating Body Wash and Shampoo

For those that don't live in Seattle, some of their products are available online at www.thewearygardener.com and www.sequimlavenderfarms.com. The lavender citrus lotion from Sequim Farms and lavender lemon cream from Weary Gardener are also divine, and the culinary lavender is fantastic.

Another absolute staple in our house is basic Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. We buy their classic peppermint or lavender liquid soap by the gallon and use it to wash faces, bodies, clothing, hair and as a cleaning product. My honey uses it for his acne face wash and it controls his acne just as well as those products with salicylic acid. I use it as my everyday body wash, bra wash if I can't lay my hands on the bra wash, laundry soap, toothpaste, and face wash after working out. You can even use it in the garden for pests, washing dishes, and washing the dog. It's really excellent, all natural, and comes in a variety of other scents including a fragrance free baby variety for sensitive skin. I think once we finish this gallon of peppermint that we'll be giving their citrus a try.

You can find it here http://www.drbronner.com/, at your local Trader Joes or more recently, at select Targets. I would Highly recommend everyone give Dr. Bronner's a try.