State of the Game

The game being volleyball; and the state being terrible. 

But really, volleyball has sucked lately and usually leaves me in a worse mood than the one I started with which is the opposite of what I want. I want to play and have fun and also get a good workout in, that's not so much to ask, is it?!? 

There are a few reasons why volleyball has had the suck factor lately. The first, and biggest, is the fact that I'm playing below my skill level. My team is just not working hard enough and it's because they just don't have the skill set to do so. Which leads into the second, and just as large, frankly, problem: my anger or rage if you will. 

I used to blame my anger issues on the fact that my entire family is hot headed, like that made it okay. Stupid, right? Since living on my own and getting married my temper has calmed a lot and I've even gotten a tattoo right on my wrist to help calm me in times of great rage. So I'm not a hopeless case, I have gotten markedly better; but lately volleyball has been getting under my skin and undoing all the work I've done these past few years. I'm not proud of my anger and I know the negative effects it has on myself and everyone around me, not to mention my relationship with my husband and my physical body as well. That's what's annoying about this whole thing, I know what my problem is and I even know how to [temporarily] fix it, but in the heat of the moment I am unstoppable. 

With all of this being said I am using you, my few readers, as a source of accountability. I am getting help. I will not let my family's anger control my life anymore. I will no longer be known as Rage Sage. I will get well and be happy. I will have fun again. As you as my witness, I will overcome. 

I'm giving it a week.

It's been almost three days since I've last washed my hair and let me tell you, I've almost had enough. My hair feels gross; so heavy, oily and thick (but not in a good way). I'm doing all I can to keep my head up and stick with it. So I've decided: I'm giving it a week. If I don't see some sort of improvement by this Thursday I'm using the good stuff, the Dove shampoo and conditioner I have waiting on the sidelines, yearning to be used. Haha, but really, I don't know if I can take this. 

I'm sure it's super healthy for you and whatnot but what has shampoo and conditioner ever actually done? And I'm talking about the good stuff, not the cheap crap that could make your hair fall out (hopefully nothing like that actually exists). It's definitely something worth looking in to...maybe a later post...

Either way I've about had it. This might work for some but I don't think it's right for me. Especially with all the exercising (volleyball) I do. Right now my hair sucks. Hopefully it will get better but if not, I will have lovely, nice smelling hair come Thursday night. 

My adventures in no poo...

It's almost been two weeks since I've stopped using 'traditional' shampoo [and conditioner] and I'll be honest, it has not been the easiest. Sometimes you just want to use the regular stuff and have hair that smells wonderful, and it's easier but I tell myself, "NO! Just stick with it!" That has to be one of my biggest problems, quitting when the going gets tough. I'm a quitter, there, I said it.

But today I took yet another no poo shower and afterwards my hair feels normal, light and clean. It's just a reminder that using baking soda and vinegar works just as well as Dove. Well, maybe that's a stretch, but it works almost as good, haha! I am getting kind of scared though, because Thursday is my last day of 'normal' washing before just using water for 4-5 weeks! It just sounds so gross! I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but I'm going to try. My husband is doing it with me too, so that should help a lot. I will say that I am noticing certain things about my hair. It feels softer and I'm getting more ringlet curls that ever before. But it tangles so easy! Such an issue with curly hair. Also, since I play volleyball so much my hair gets gross pretty fast. I find that I have to take a shower the night of playing volleyball [after, of course] or else my hair the next day is downright disgusting. It looks alright, but the back is a tangled mess!

Okay, so it doesn't look perfect [or even close to it, ha!] but it feels great and I can style it to look decent. This picture below I actually used product for my tips and they ended up being the frizzy mess you see there! The top is just natural curl! So crazy. I haven't tried using a curling iron, or wand yet, but I may in the future (if I can get up early enough!)

 This little ringlet is natural! I couldn't believe it myself!!

If you're interested I think you should try it. Obviously it won't work for everyone, but it's pretty cool and really inexpensive too! And, if you end up not doing it you have baking soda and vinegar, things everyone uses! Oh and vinegar has many, many uses. Like these!

If you're truly interested check out this site. It's the best and the one I use. She also has another post three years after using the no poo method! Check it out!

No Poo Movement

I'm not the first person, nor will I be the last, to write a blog post about the No Poo Movement. If you haven't heard about it, let me enlighten you.

Despite the title, it has nothing to do with actual poo. Rather it's talking about shampoo, or the lack thereof. The movement is about not using commercial shampoo [and conditioner] and instead using baking soda and apple cider vinegar if you do condition your hair, which you should. What?!?! But that's crazy talk!! I can't not use shampoo and conditioner!! Those were my reactions and I was the one who decided to do this! Let me tell you, it's weird not using the store-bought-stuff but now, after taking two showers without, I'll be hard pressed to go back.

Beside the obvious, there are a few differences when using baking soda and vinegar. The first being that neither of these lather. This kind of sucks... there's no reassuring lather to tell you it's working. Instead the baking soda makes your hair feel grainy and dry while the vinegar feels like nothing at all, but you can smell it, so there's that...I guess... The magic happens when you rinse out the vinegar. You hair feels smooth and silky, just like it does when using the 'real' stuff. Then I thought, "okay, it feels good now, but it's going to be a bear to brush (I have super curly hair, prone to tangling). Nope! I wrapped my hair in a towel, as I always do, and waited <10 minutes before brushing, again, what I always do. My hair was surprisingly easy to brush and manage. It didn't look or feel any different either, which was surprising.

My next step in my post-shower routine is to apply argan oil. This stuff is amazing and if you don't use it, go flipping get some. Not only does it smell ah-mazing, but it also makes your hair super silky soft and gives a beautiful luster. Then I let my hair air dry, it's jut easiest. The first time I didn't apply any mousse or curling agent and my hair looked pretty good; a little frizzy, but that's normal.

Today I took a shower again, using this same method and routine, but I added mousse to my hair after the argan oil. I've added some pictures to show you that my hair doesn't look gross. Haha! It doesn't look amazing, by any means, but again, that's normal for me. I, like most people I suspect, have my good days and my 'meh' days; today is a meh day. Oh and be nice, because I also don't have any makeup on (four consecutive snow days = no makeup or bra, although I do have one of those blasted things on, just for you guys).

A lot [all] of these photos are similar and that makes sense as I took them at the same time. If you think my hair looks normal and you'd like to try the No Poo Movement for yourself which has many benefits including major monetary savings as well as being environmentally friendly, then check out how I do it below. Or you can type it into Google and check out all the countless others who use it too.

I don't have a container yet, so I've been using a measuring cup, the plastic kind with a spout. I add one tablespoon of baking soda to one cup of warm shower water. This is the 'shampoo' part. If you do it right your hair will feel sort of smooth, that is, if you distribute the mixture evenly. Now leave this on for a few minutes (1-3) before you rinse. The next step is to add one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to one cup of warm shower water. Now, before I go on, it's super important that you use apple cider vinegar and not white distilled vinegar or else your hair will stink of vinegar even after you rinse. Pour this mixture over your hair just like you did with the baking soda mixture. I like to dip the ends of my hair into the mix first, then pour the rest on my head and massage into my scalp, just a little trick! Let this sit for another few minutes before rinsing. If you didn't add too much vinegar then your hair will not smell, but no promises.

The amounts above are perfect for my hair length, which should be obvious from the photos. I might even use a tad bit more next time. So, if you have shorter or longer hair, please adjust accordingly!

Overall, I'm very happy with this method and I intend on using it for awhile. So far my hair feels great and it's reacting well. That's not to say everyone's will, and some might experience more oil than others as their hair adjusts to the change. But stick with it! Nothing truly good comes easy.