The cheaper, more natural, better-for-you way to clean

A friend e-mailed me last month with link to this blog post about using oil to clean your face. I also read the one about cleaning your hair without shampoo. I'm not going to get uber-detailed here because it's all there on the Simple Mom website, but I will say that I have been doing both and I think both methods are fantastic. I highly recommend them!

Right away I tried the shampoo-free method by mixing a little bit of baking soda with water (I just eye ball it as I do everything, but they suggest 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of water). It supposedly takes a transition time for your hair to get used to not having to overcompensate by producing more oil, but I had no trouble with that.

From the first time I used it, my hair was really soft and awesome. I've always had so much trouble with my curly, fine hair and getting into these awful cycles of using more product to combat the product that I used for problem X, Y, Z. Since the baking soda the only product I've used is a tiny bit of hairspray to add a little texture to my post-baby wings (moms know what I'm talking about) from where the hair is growing back in after losing it in chunks. They recommend using apple cider vinegar as a rinse, but I haven't done that yet simply because I keep forgetting to buy it. What I'm doing is just using a little bit of conditioner - a fraction of what I used before - after the baking soda mixture (or is it a solution?). Each time I wash my hair I actually use less and less conditioner.

My hair's better than it's ever been. Way less frizzy, the curl holds all day long without product, way less snarly. I think everyone should try it! Oh, and the best part about it is that I spend way less time on my hair than before!

I'm also doing the washing-your-face-with-oil one too. I'm wicked excited about that too, but am thinking this one will be a little more gross to some people. I mixed equal parts extra virgin olive oil and castor oil (the only thing I didn't already have on hand), a few drops of lavender oil, and some baobab oil for kicks just because I had it. I've been using oils therapeutically and to replace other moisturizers for years anyway, so this was right up my alley. I love it. That's all I can really say until you try it yourself.


wash my hair with baking soda and water, and wash my face with the oil mixture.