Natural Products: Shampoo/Conditioner

So about two months ago we started going "clean"...as I like to call it.

No chemicals in household products...no chemicals in beauty products.  I went hardcore...even got rid of the Teflon coated pans!

We made the switch gradually...as we ran out of things we replaced them with all natural, chemical free, organic products.  I did a lot of research on different products hoping I would choose ones that we liked and that worked as well as the chemical-filled products.  We've had to do a little tweaking, like with laundry detergent, but for the most part it was an easy switch.

Shampoo and conditioner; however, is proving to be a tough one.

I'm currently using Hugo Naturals - Vanilla and Sweet Orange Volumizing shampoo and conditioner.  I ordered from iHerbs.com and they were roughly $8.50 for each 12 fl oz size.

 My hair tends to be a tangled mess after showering so conditioner is an absolute MUST.  I don't shampoo regularly,  my typical daily routine consists of scrubbing all the dirt/product out of my hair with water then using conditioner.  I might shampoo twice a week, shampoo is just so bad for your hair, so a good conditioner is what I'm really searching for.

I researched what happens to your hair when you go chemical free and it can be a tough go at first.  There are some homemade "treatments" you can use to strip the silicone and toxin-garbage from your locks quickly and forgo that rough and unruly period of hair detox.  Since I color my hair (one chemical thing I will NEVER give up) and am not due for a touch-up for weeks, my colorist said NOT to use any of the baking soda treatments because it will also strip the color.  So I had to settle for the weeks of detox...and let's just say I've been wearing my hair up almost every day for two weeks.

It's now week three and Hugo just isn't doing the trick.  The shampoo is good...nice lather, pleasant light scent and the hubby likes it, but the conditioner on the other hand...I may as well not be using any....my hair is so snarly and I end up pulling out so much trying to get the comb through it that I may be bald in another week.  On a good note, the conditioner is nice and creamy and smells amazing.

A friend recommended Melaleuca...so I ordered these today and I can't wait until they arrive.  They were a little pricier than Hugo coming in around $15.50 for each bottle (12 fl oz size) but, if the conditioner works, it'll be worth it.

Stay tuned...

WIP: Journals

I have four journals that are a work-in-progress...not sure how that happened, okay, maybe it's because I'm a hoarder saver.

This first journal is my 2014 journal...it's basically all my instagram photos.  The journal itself is an old book that I altered.

I actually had too many photos just for the first half of 2014 that I've decided to do four books broken down by quarter...this book is first quarter (I'm a little behind) so it ends with March.

I've got the other three books ready to go...I just need to order my prints from Origrami.com for second quarter so I can get caught up!

This is my junk journal...I always have one going.  As soon as every nook and cranny is filled with junk I've kept from everyday life, I will start on a new one.

This is a sewn journal made entirely of various size patterned papers, newspapers, book pages, old envelopes, etc.  Anything I thought would work as a "page" was folded in half, then sewn down the middle.  Outside cover is brown kraft paper.  These simple and inexpensive handmade journals are my favorite.

You can see there's still plenty of room for little odds and ends, bits of papers and other goodies that I stumble upon daily.  Anything that I think is pretty, interesting or has neat graphic goes in here.

This is my "treasured things" journal made from an old book cover.  I took out the inside pages and added a three ring binder insert with patterned papers and other cardstock weight papers as the pages.

Only treasured things from my daily life make it in this journal...concert tickets, theatre tickets, business cards from my favorite people/shops, etc.   I started this journal three years ago and still have lots of space.

And this last journal is my "Explore Minnesota" smash book that turned into my summer bucket list journal.   It seems every summer, around mid-July, I get a little panicked because we haven't DONE anything and summer is almost over...so this year I made a summer bucket list consisting of 23 things I'd like to do...we have 15 completed with a month to go!

 And the book is almost filled!

There's nothing I like more than filling a journal...except maybe ice cream!

Hope you're enjoying your summer!

Master Bath Remodel...

We're rehabbing our Master Bath.  Yippee!

We've come to a decision on who is going to do the work for us now I just need to decide on the shower tiles.  Not an easy decision when there are so many choices!

(http://www.dickoatts.com)

I like the small aqua squares above...but I also like these mermaid/fish scale type tiles below mixed with the patterned tiles on the base of the shower...Although, I have a feeling these tiles would be a little pricier than the small squares.

(http://www.inspirebohemia.com)

These are gorgeous!  They're called quatrefoil tiles and I can't find them for sale anywhere...again, probably really pricey..but sheesh, they're so pretty!

(http://kriciapalmerhome.blogspot.com)

Benjamin Moore paint samples...I'm really liking "f"

(http://theorderlyhome.blogspot.com)

Our vanity sits in a little alcove so will look very similar to this photo...I'm going to do the towel racks on either side but one large mirror (cause I'm too cheap to hire an electrician to convert our one light fixture to two light fixtures)

(http://pinhomeideas.com)

Target bath rug...

Home Depot double sink vanity...I'm not a marble person but this might have to do, I think I love it.

We hope to start on the project in late August.

I'll be sure to take a lot of before and after photos to show you...after that is the Hubby's man cave!

Note:  All photos are from pinterest and I tried my best to link back to the original source.