Home Sweet Sarah

I finally went out and purchased some products that were recommended in my hair post awhile back. I went with the L’Oreal EverPure: Sulfate-Free Color Care System (thanks, Sarah!) and I am enjoying it quite a bit. I don’t color my hair, but I don’t think that really matters. Also, I bought the volumizing formula and this is the only shampoo/conditioner that claims to volumize that actually does. Color (heh, or not) me impressed.

The one downside is it contains alcohol, which I was trying to avoid. But, I think omitting alcohol is more if you’re trying to do the natural curl thing, which I am very “meh” about. Ideally I’d embrace my natural curly/wavy hair, but to do so would mean diffusing and drying with cold air and ain’t nobody got time for that.

Since it’s been hot here, I’ve been avoiding heated products entirely, putting a (wet) topknot on my head in the morning and then taking it out mid-day. I let the locks flow free and tell myself I look like Carrie Bradshaw. (Don’t tell me differently.)

This shampoo/conditioner situation seems to work well for second- and even third-day hair, although if I workout (and with the heat), it’s more like second-day hair. I did also buy the dry shampoo Sarah recommended (Garnier Fructis Volume Extend) and I like it a lot. Nice scent (I’m looking at you Psssst!, blech) and it works well, unlike a brand I recommended awhile ago that doesn’t work (for my hair) anymore.

So that’s that! For someone who really couldn’t give two shits about hair, this has been a lot of talking about hair.

In other beauty news, since I’m here, I have been really into winged eyeliner recently. I (gasp!) betrayed my beloved M.A.C. PowerPoint eyeliner and have been using the Revlon ColorStay Liquid Eye Pen instead. It’s got a much lighter feel than the M.A.C., which has been nice with the heat (sensing a theme here?) but still of course goes on dark black. Some things won’t ever change.

About six weeks ago, I decided to stop washing my hair. It was a good time to experiment with “no poo”  (thank you Elis/zabeths for explaining to me that means “no shamPOO.” I was clearly really informed about my decision going into this experiment) because I was pretty much only hanging out with one person each day and she doesn’t really have a lot of opinions about my hair being as she EATS HERS (yes, this is a new fun thing. Yaaaaay kids.) so I could have gross-ish hair or wear hats during this time.

The point? I wanted lovely, gorgeous hair. And what better way to achieve that than by not washing it? you ask. Well, yes. Now, since I don’t do things like research before I just jump in, I don’t really know the science behind it, but what I’ve surmised is basically, most shampoos these days cause your hair to over-produce oil because the shampoo makes your hair think the oil will never come back, so you are basically forced to wash it every day to get rid of that extra oil. Lather, rinse, and repeat every day. Ostensibly, not using shampoo will cause the hair to adjust how much oil it really should be producing and thus you will eventually not need to shampoo. (Anyone who knows the actual science here, please chime in. I think I’m making most of this up.)

Beyond the science (“science”), I follow several Internet ladies who don’t wash their hair and their hair is GORGEOUS. GORGEOUS. Look at Jamie’s hair! IT IS GORGEOUS! See, I have seen it work (seen it through the Internet, whatever) and figured I would give it a shot. Here’s a little backstory on my own hair journey, so you can understand where I’m coming from.

I used to have great hair that I only needed to wash maybe twice or three times a week. I could workout and not even get it wet and it’d still be clean! It was amazing hair. Then I went and had a child and I swear, my hair hormones got royally fucked up. Within the last year or so, I went from washing every-other-day to washing every day and having my hair be greasy before day’s end. I tried dry shampoo (many different brands, some better than others), I tried dousing baby powder on my head (also very good for your Olde Maid Halloween costume), but the fact was, shit had changed and I was unhappy.

Armed with science (“science”) and the clear evidence on the Internet, I plunged into my no-shampoo experiment. I figured I would try the free way and hope it worked and if it didn’t, then I’d throw money at the problem. So, how’d it go? Well, I made it almost three weeks before I had to wash my hair. (I might have kept it going, but I got a head cold and I just felt so disgusting one day that I had to wash it.) Not gonna lie, it was a long and pretty gross road. I knew the first week would be bad. And it was. I was hoping the second week would look better. Some days I thought yes, it’s regulating itself! This is working! And it wasn’t. By the third week, I maybe could have made it. It was possibly getting better! Or not. Aaaaand then I just had to wash it.

(To allay any concerns, I did get it wet and massage it as though I was shampooing it. When I told Chris I was not washing my hair, he was like, “Like dreadlocks?” I think he was excited at the prospect of dreadlocks. NO. Also, since I got it wet everyday and slicked it back in a bun, I don’t really think you could tell it was so gross. It more felt gross on my head. I’m getting itchy just thinking about it.)

Since throwing in the (microfiber, more on that later!) towel, I’ve been washing my hair every second or third day using Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo and no conditioner. The only reason I’m using the T-Gel is because I think it contains less sulfites (the “pooiest” part of shampoo, I guess?) than the other crap in my shower and I’ve been too lazy to go out and buy new stuff. This is also why I haven’t been conditioning (but I have been applying Moroccan oil after washing, so that helps contain the static cling.)

About the towel, I’d been wrapping my hair post-shower in a microfiber towel, but I noticed late last week my hair wasn’t as nice as it had been the week prior and that’s when I realized I’d washed my microfiber towel and then put it back on the toolbench in the garage and had just been using my old terrycloth towel. I need to go grab another microfiber from the garage. For whatever reason, that seems to make a difference.

And that’s that! I feel like if anything, going three weeks without washing my hair has given me a new-found appreciation of what greasy hair really is. Now when it’s been three days or so, I’m like, hey! My hair looks goooood!

Re: products, I have natural wave/curl, so I might go with the products/methods Noemi uses (btw, I strongly urge you to read both her hair posts because she actually knows what the hell she’s talking about), but if anyone has any recommendations for “low-poo” shampoo and conditioner for straighter hair, hit me. I should mention, I know some people wash their hair with baking soda, but I have tried that and it doesn’t work for me. Also, baking soda gets on my face and in my mouth and *shudder* it tastes very gross.

My girl Lauren recently did the ol’ Here’s What’s In My Handbag post, so I thought I’d follow suit. I believe I have done one of these before, but hey, everyone loves a good repeater (plus, I’m pretty sure I didn’t carry diapers around the last time.)

Here’s the bag:

Michael Kors; a Christmas present from Chris. (I bought him almonds and licorice. He is clearly the better gift-giver.)

Here’s the inside:

I like all the pockets (four total, plus a zippered pocket in the middle, which is where I keep the diapers and wipes so when I’m without my kid I can strut around, pretending like I’m just your average chic-as-shit lady, no diapers or pullups here, PUH-LEASE.)

Here’s what I tote around:

Diapers and wipes (total badass), leopard-print card holder thingy that my grandma made me (good for toting gift cards, loyalty cards, our zoo passes, etc.), wallet, bag o’ tricks (more on this later), sunglasses, assorted lip glosses, mints, and my earbuds. I also obviously carry my phone, but I was using it to take this picture.

More on that later, here’s what’s in the bag o’ tricks, or as I sometimes call it, Sarah’s Pharmacy:

Wine-opener, crayons, more lip glosses, various emergency makeup (eyeliner, mascara, concealer), hair ties and bobby pins, pens, nail file, A TAMPON, eye drops, lotion, drugz, MORE mints, bandaids, and glasses cleaner wipes. If I’m working, this is also where I’d keep my business cards.

So that’s what’s in my bag! Mickey Mouse diapers, size 6, are all the rage, didn’t you hear? What’s in your handbag? Do tell!