Simple Suggestion #148 revisited: Naturals of the World, Unite!

It's been a year since my hairstylist/neighbour put some natural plant-based dyes into a small swatch of my bangs. Since that bit of silly blue hair, I've decided that I'm done with all haircolour, and I've been delighting in the folks I know who are leaving their hair to be its natural tint. As my hair moves beyond ash to glacial grey, it's nice to know that others are comfortable with colour changes. We are aging gracefully, or something!

And there are solid ecological reasons to leave our hair in a natural state. To put it simply, with places like Johannesburg living with water shortages, droughts in other parts of the globe, and what's sure to be another dangerous wildfire season in parts of Canada again this year because of climate change, the idea of spoiling our local freshwater with all those chemicals for the sake of haircolour seems just plain wrong. I can live very happily with what Mother Nature has given me, even if it isn't trendy.

In an effort to encourage others to live more simply and less chemically, I thought I'd offer a poem I wrote almost ten years ago. Feel free to share it with all the Naturals you know.

Naturals of the World, Unite!

Naturals of the world, unite!

Those whose tresses have some grey or white,

All who are whom they’re meant to be,

Join in uncoloured unity.

We refuse to join the throng

who sit in salon chairs all day long

In chemicals and net and foil

while stylists all around them toil.

They say, “Hair that is ash or white or grey

makes you look like you’ve had your day.

Auburn, burgundy or maroon

will have you looking younger, soon!”

The beauty business stole my mind.

It brainwashed me, but now I find

that a haircolour “personality” quiz

can’t tell me what my true colour is.

Mother Nature seems to know best

the colour I need, so here’s the test:

Can I accept Nature’s reality

as party of my “personality?”

Why so much stress on eternal youth?

What’s so wrong with living the truth?

Does grey hair make me less than the ones

who live by the adage, “Blondes have more fun”?

My head may not look as young as theirs,

but I’ve worked hard for my grey hairs,

and I don’t feel the need to be

masked like a celebrity.

Greys like me used to be the main target

of the hair colouring industry market

but things have changed in the last ten years.

Now it’s going after my teen daughters and their peers!

“But Mom, everyone is colouring their hair,

and if I can’t do it, that’s just not fair!”

The incidence of hair colouring is up 50 percent

but the hair industry won’t tell us how much we’ve spent.

So Clairol, L’oreal and Garnier

over my head will have no say.

Nor will I give them a single cent

for their brand of hair luxuriant.

For when I think of the water I drink

running through the beautician’s sink

full of chemicals and dyes,

I ask myself, is colouring wise?

Where does that coloured water end?

How many ecosystems do I spend

to have that manufactured look

we see in many a beauty book?

If I want to be treated or pampered,

the planet’s environment shouldn’t be hampered.

And neither should I be with chemicals

or with psychological pressure from hair-dye commercials.

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free

from chasing my roots eternally.

So friends, please join me in my quest

to lay these hair colour demons to rest.

I am who I am, I’m real, I’m free

in voluntary simplicity

I’ll forgo hair dye’s needless mask,

and am sure to tell others, if they ask:

Naturals of the world, Unite!

Those with tresses dirty blonde or mousy brown or plain black or silver or white

All who are whom they’re meant to be

Join in uncoloured unity!

JOIN THE MOVEMENT TO NATURAL!

Simple Suggestion #192... Try natural hair care

After many months of living without shampoo and conditioner, I figured it was time for an update on a Simple Suggestion I posted back in April. That one suggested checking out the Queen of Green, Lindsay Coulter, who is a wonderful resource when it comes to simple and sustainable living, but it was actually about alternative hair care.

The idea of low chem hair care seems to be catching on. In the past week, a friend told me she has dropped shampoo from her life thanks to apple cider vinegar, and I've seen two Facebook posts about soda/vinegar hair cleansing. People are slowly waking up to the fact that the chemicals and parfums in shampoos, conditioners and other personal care products just aren't good for our overall health. So they're opting for simpler solutions.

I'll admit that I was skeptical about the soda and vinegar idea, but since starting the routine back in April, I've had softer hair than ever before, with less dandruff. It only makes sense, if you think about it. Shampoo tends to strip hair of its natural oils, and then conditioner cakes on other chemicals so hair and scalp have to work harder to get back into balance. But the soda/vinegar routine has fewer chemicals and a better pH balance without the hormone disrupters and neurotoxins sometimes found in so-called professional products. On occasion, I've tried my old shampoo again, and discovered that it turned my hair into scented straw and gave me an itchy scalp.

So here's what I do for my natural hair care: I keep an old 1 cup (250ml) measure, a bottle of apple cider vinegar and a box of baking soda in my bathroom cupboard. I put a splash (maybe 2 tbsp or 30 mL) of vinegar in the bottom of the measuring cup, set it on the bottom of the shower, and pour a little baking soda (again, maybe 2 tbsp or 30 mL) into my hand. Once in the shower, I wet the soda a little and work it through my hair. Then I fill the vinegar measuring cup to the top with water for a rinse. Easy peasy! Just have to be careful not to get the vinegar in my eyes and nose. A spray bottle of vinegar water would make it easy to clean my body the same way, but I haven't found a spray bottle yet.

And for those who like to put a little something in their hair to spike it up or smooth it down, honey has a similar texture to many store-bought pomades. Granted, it's a bit sticky, but I'd rather have sticky than something full of questionable substances with names that I can't pronounce. For those who wonder, bees have never paid any attention whatsoever to my hair, and I'm out in the garden with them a fair bit in the summer. I usually add a little water to the honey (a quarter teaspoon of each, warmed in the microwave) when I'm smoothing my hair down, and when dry, my hair feels like it's been hairsprayed.

In our chemically complicated world, there are ways to make personal care simple. If you have any that work for you and that you're willing to share, I'd love to hear about them!

P.S. For more Simple Suggestions, click here.