Claire Skerry

Lisa Whitesel wrote:Ok so I've been trying this poo-less thing for a few days, just rinsing with water. Last night I had the genius idea to do an olive oil treatment on my scalp. I didn't consider how I would get all that oil out if my hair without soap! I tried baking soda (and apple cider vinegar to condition) which seemed to have helped some, but it's still pretty oily. Any ideas? Also, any great poo-less ideas for shaving legs and armpits? Tried the olive oil for that too and it worked fairly well but I'm wondering what other people do for this. Thanks!

The oil treatment only works if you do shampoo. I actually used to dip the tips of my hair into grapeseed oil or put a drop or two on my hairbrush. But doing that with the pooless is just going the other direction fast. With shampoo you strip the oil, with oil treatments you over replace what your body produces. Better to just let it even itself out. Your body will find it's balance if you leave it be. And you'll save a lot in hair products. With the shaving legs and pits, I've replaced it with sugaring. Tons of info on the web. Takes some practice getting the mixture to the right consistency and then learning the flicking method. But if you do it long enough it has the same effect as waxing in that instead of reacting with thicker darker hair like shaving, it comes back smaller, and less noticeably. This means you have to do it less and less frequently and hopefully end having to do anything about it. That's my goal anyways. Still getting the kinks out of the recipe and method. Good luck!

Hopefully this is the right place to ask about this.

So how do you ease the transition? I live with someone who doesn't really understand the permy ways, though he's tolerant of my oddities. I get the feeling that if I just stopped soaping up he wouldn't exactly be understanding though. And from everything I've read there is a greasy stage you just have to work through. Is there a way to lessen the greasiness of said stage to make it less noticeable? I'm liking the vinegar idea since the water down here is hard. But is the only way to semi shampoo with acids and alkaloids?

Rane Wallin wrote:Has anyone tried soapberries? It's a berry from a sapindus plant. The fruit from the berries contains natural saponins. I haven't used them, but apparently they can be used completely unprocessed. Just put them in water and swish them around a few times. They are marketed for laundry, but I think you can use them as an all purpose home and body cleaner.

Probably not the place to ask, but can you use soapberries on those new HE washing machines? We got one this last fall and I'd really rather get something like a soapberry shrub in the long run. That and all the HE detergents smell like hell... So over powering.. Anyway. Can you? Or are they to sudsy?

Clover Love wrote:
Now, what I'm finding is that I love how my hair looks in the morning the day after I've washed it, full of body and lovely waves (I have long hair). However, it does look a little unkept. Once I brush it, the body is weighed down, the waves homogenize, etc. I keep thinking, what did Great Gramma do? Do I need to braid it at night? Tie it up with little swatches of rags like Nellie Olsen in Little House on the Prairie? Wear a night cap? I feel like dropping the poo is only part of it.

If you want to get the waves just do a french braid right after you're done with your shower and towel dry. It takes a bit for longer hair to dry out after that, but it's worth it because it will hold [or at least it does with mine] for over a week or until you shower next. At least this is what I do. O! Or you could do the rag rolls thing I did when I was little. That was fun too. You use rags of about an inch by six inches and you roll segments of your hair up, however big or small you want the waves to be, and then you just tie them in place with the rag strip. Sleep in it then in the morning you're good to go. Still like the braiding better because you can have a day or two of having your hair completely out of your way before you let it out and it's just wonderful after that down. My fella thought it was natural XP Good luck in your old timy hair adventures!

Heather: I had read that using rubbing alcohol the same way does something similar. Sounds like your version is a lot more eco friendly though. Especially since you can make vinegar on your own no biggy Thank you!

Greta Beach wrote:Hi Michael,

I have been Poo-less for quite a while now. This includes deodorant. I found a great recipe for a quick mix that makes just over 2 sticks of deodorant. It works as well or better than the store bought brand and for safety, you can just about eat it. I am looking for a good shampoo recipe made from anything other than castile soap. Has anyone got one to share or other things they do for themselves? I'll give you the website for my stuff if you want to try!

g

Don't suppose you could give us the recipe? We have hot summers down here and while I'm alright with loosing the shampoo, loosing the deodorant might be one step to far.

So I can't currently get out of the mainstream, however I'd love to start using some of the stuff we throw in the recycling bin. To start with
I've got a ton of 2 liter bottles, both green and clear. My idea is to cut the top off [save as a funnel?] and use it as a very mini greenhouse
for seedlings in nasty weather, etc. Maybe even a tiny terrarium to put some plants around the house, etc.

For tin cans like tuna cans, I was thinking maybe cupcakes? I'd like to get a few that have removable bottoms for crumpet making as well.
Could maybe use some of them for pots as well, though outside cause the rust water thing.

The alcohol reserves are slowly depleting and we've some interesting glass containers. Since there was a west nile thing down here last year
so I was thinking a citronella torch/candle thing, using some worn out old cotton shirts as the wick, and maybe a length of wire to hold the
wick in place. Easy peasy!

What I'm having the most issue with is the printed on cardboard you get with things like noodles or a thing of cookies. What in the world do
I do with those? Can I compost them? A bit wary of putting that in with my lovely worms.

What do you do with your random package materials?

Was wondering if anyone has any experience using locusts for hedges. Watched this spiffy
youtube where they took small trees, cut a notch 2/3 into the trunk and weaved it into the hedge.
Plausible to do this with a locust? or are they just to strong to go bending into shrubberies?

For a mix of plants I was thinking Honey Locust, Mesquite, Wisteria [all nitrogen fixers], Roses [for the hips],
Raspberries [and other berries], and Holly [Cause I think it's pretty.. and the evergreen would be nice].
To much?

Would it be possible to get a few rootings or seeds as well? Don't know what I could send in return. Been looking for some for a while now.

Rebecca~
Try and find out what kind of wasps you have, because that will help you a lot with deterring them.
On that note, watch their behavior, because that is very telling. If it's walking along wooden structures nibbling away, you have paper wasps, which I find to be the most mild mannered bugs. I've gone and destroyed their homes [was tearing down an old barn] and they didn't even put up a fight. Sort of made me sad to take them out.. However, if they go for your hot dog or some other meat things, you've most likely got Yellow jackets. Those buggers will sting you as soon as look at you, and their hives are usually underground with one guy guarding it. Those are the ones you need to get rid of because they really are overly protective and rather dangerous if you've got a kid or animals around that might stumble on their hive. Also, they make picnics a nightmare. Problem is paper wasps and yellow jackets look almost identical. I was the only one in my entomology class that could tell the difference without watching the behavior.
In trying to get rid of them, look at their food source. If they are using something you can't just get rid of then you'll have to hunt out the hive. Also, a good yellow jacket trap in the spring is worth more than you know. You'll catch the queen most likely then, and the paper wasps can get out of them usually. You might not like them but that made me happy. Come August [northern hemisphere] there's nothing you can really do, and the colony will collapse soon anyway.