Just Say No (to 'Poo)

Today, because my vinegar and baking soda was under the sink and I was too lazy to get it out, I got the bright idea of using shampoo just once to save time.

Ugh.

I knew I shouldn't, but the minty-fresh smell of my Whole Foods shampoo taunted me until I gave in. I'd been wanting to use it for days. It felt nice as I lathered up and scrubbed, but then it came time to rinse, and that's when I began to regret.

My hair felt slightly gummy and unclean. Then when I went to brush it, there were tangles. Now I've brushed it five or six times and it still looks the same: frizzly, frumpy and big. And this is natural shampoo! Can you imagine what regular drug store shampoo would do to me? I think I'd forgotten what my hair used to be like on shampoo.

Yuck. Never again.

Let's have a quickie!

I was reading one of my new favorite blogs, Crunchy Domestic Goddess, and saw this challenge to reduce shower time to five minutes. At first I didn't sign up because I didn't think I could commit to that (my showers take at least ten minutes and that's when I don't wash my hair). Then the other day I was reading an update in which Amy mentioned we were allowed to turn off the water while we shaved legs/washed hair and as long as no water was running, it was dead time. Hey, I thought, even I can do that! I am pretty sure I didn't use any more than five minutes of water this morning, even though I spent about 20 minutes total in the shower. It's actually easier to wash my hair (using baking soda and vinegar) without the water on. Too much water makes it hard to scrub in the baking soda. Today I bought a little timer so I can know for sure how long I'm taking. This might be fun!

There's one more tip I'd like to add: Wash your hair last. I used to wash my hair first, but if you get it wet first and then wash it last, the water and humidity have a few minutes to sink in and it's just all-around more amenable to being washed. It doesn't take me quite as long to wash and rinse that way. This was true when I was using shampoo and is still true now that I'm "'poo free."

How are you all doing on shower time? Do you already take short showers? Would you be willing to start? If so, head on over to Crunchy Domestic Goddess and sign up!