Plastic: A closer understanding

     Are you confused about the numbers on the bottoms of your plastics? We may have briefly been taught what they meant in school, but who was listening? As a rule, I try to stay away from plastic as much as possible. If you look around your house, chances are it will only take a second to spot the plastic that is your life. It would make sense to be educated about the very man-made product we surround ourselves and our children with each day. So, back to the numbers on plastic ... I had a lot of questions and I was sure a lot of people probably asked the same questions. So, my friends, I took it upon myself to do some research and this is what I found ...
     You can spend a lot of time diving into what plastic is and how it's made. There are various types of plastic and they can be quite different down to the molecular level. I'm not going to get into all the new types of natural plastics that are being dabbled with or the new ways scientists have found of getting plastic back to its natural state, but it is definitely worth looking into!
     Most of us already know most plastic is made of oil and that you can store just about anything in it without there being a chemical reaction i.e. the plastic doesn't break down when you put water or cleaning chemicals inside it. We also know that there are many types of plastic out there. They can be put into different categories. Now for the part you've been waiting for-the numbers. According to the EPA's website, these numbers on the bottom of your plastic containers are called resin identification codes. These codes were introduced because municipal recycling programs only accept certain types of plastic for recycling. The numbers are very helpful in determining what we, as consumers, can throw in the recycling bin. This link to the EPA's website will provide you with the table that breaks down which type of plastic each number represents. Check with your local municipal recycling center for which types they accept and if you need to remove the lids and/or labels. Recycling centers have a tough time recycling plastic. Other materials, such as glass, are much easier to recycle. With glass, they sort by color. With plastic, it is much more difficult. One product can have numerous types of plastic and some may not be recyclable. This is one good reason to stay away from plastic as much as possible. Another reason is the health risks plastic poses.
    What I found in all my research is that some plastics tend to be less of a risk than others. You may have heard of the term BPA which was a huge focus in the news for a long time. It made a lot of parents concerned when news of its health affects surfaced. BPA is found in some types of plastic and was/is used in baby bottles and other products designed for babies and children which is especially concerning. This is a link to the mayo clinic's website with information on BPA. It seems to be general consensus that plastic type #1 is of little risk but should only be used once account of chemicals leaching out after some time and that plastic types #3,6, and 7 should be avoided as much as possible. For more information on chemical leaching, health risks, and which plastics to avoid most visit this link to world public union.
     Hopefully this clears up some recycling questions and plastic wonders for all of you. I have a lot of great plastic-alternative products I will share with you all in a later post. As always, if you have a question or something to share, please feel free to leave a comment or message me! Thanks!

 



 

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Make your own natural cleaning products

    I have a lot of people asking about the natural cleaning products I make. I thought I would share some recipes with you all. I'm only going to do a couple for now, but if you have something in particular you would like to know about, message me or leave a comment and I can do it later.
     So first, I want to say that vinegar is a wonderful cleaner. It takes odors away and it can leave things shining. However, it does not kill germs. Keep this in mind when concocting your own cleaning solutions.
      The most useful cleaning solution I make is in a spray bottle and it is good for cleaning just about everything. I use it on my countertops and my windows, my stove, sinks, microwave, etc. I wouldn't use it on wood or on cloth. I take a spray bottle and fill it half and half vinegar and water. I add about a teaspoon of tea tree oil and shake. Tea tree oil can cause allergic reactions and skin irritation. Test it before using. Also, tea tree oil is toxic if ingested. Don't eat it! That's it. It's very affordable and cleans great. The tea tree oil is believed to kill germs and fungus. Also, as a side note, people use tea tree oil to kill lice. To clean the toilet seat and rim(not the bowl), I would just add hydrogen peroxide to the mix. Please be careful using peroxide. It can bleach things!
     For homemade laundry detergent, I use a bar of all natural soap, borax, washing soda, and an essential oil. First, I shave the bar of soap down with a cheese grater and put the grated soap and two cups water into a sauce pan and heat it on the stove until all the soap has dissolved. Then, in a five gallon bucket, I add 4 gallons HOT water. I add the soap water, 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda and 15-20 drops of the essential oil(I use lavender). Next, I stir up the entire contents of the bucket, making sure everything dissolves into the water. I cover the bucket with foil and let it sit overnight. Then, in the morning, I stir it up. It should have thickened up by this point. Next, I get a measuring cup with a pour spout and scoop the detergent into my bottles or jugs. That's it. You can use between half a cup and a cup of detergent per load depending on how big the load is.
     I want to add that if you are using essential oils, please be sure they are 100% natural. It's actually quite easy to find cheaper versions that aren't actually essential oils. If it only cost you a dollar, chances are it isn't the real thing. I hope it helps you all out. I will post more recipes another time. If you have one in particular you would like to see, please let me know. Also, if you have some to share, feel free! I love to hear new recipes. Thanks!

 



   

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The no poo method

      Firstly, I would like to apologize to my readers for not posting in a while. I have been quite caught up in life, but postings should be back to normal now. So ...
     Those of you who have not heard of the "no poo" method are probably pretty curious and slightly confused. Let me clarify. By "poo" I mean shampoo. Finally, people are seeing the harm of commercial shampoo not only to themselves but also to the environment. Let me give you a little background info.
     So, whoever the first guy was who decided he wanted to wash his locks, was using all natural components i.e. plants, roots, and nuts. Early "shampooing" was basically a massage of scents into the hair to make it smell good and for relaxation. Then it turned into more of a soap for the hair to wash out all of the dirt. Things were added to make hair look nice and smell good and then finally, in the 1920's, liquid shampoo was made.
     The problems with many of today's drugstore shampoos is that there are so many synthetic and chemical components added, and it's primarily just for show. Chemicals are added for lather, viscosity, color, shimmer, fragrance, homogenization, etc, etc, etc. A lot of these things are not good for your hair, your scalp, your organs, or, again, the environment. But, thankfully, there are much more natural alternatives. These include shampoos without parabens, pthalates, sulfates, synthetic fragrance, etc. I've tried a lot of these more natural alternatives and some do not have the cleaning power desired. I prefer nature's gate. They have many scents and different shampoos for different hair types. It cleans well and feels nice in my hair.
     However, to give you a bit of background on me, I have had stick-straight hair my entire life (with the exception of the past month or so. I have noticed some waves just in one spot in the back.) My hair is very fine and silky, so there isn't a lot of volume. I use hairspray just about every day to help with volume. I think part of the problem is that commercial shampoo and conditioner weighs it down. My hair also gets very greasy. I wash my hair every morning and by the next morning it feels and looks gross, which makes sleepovers or camping a lot less desirable. This is part of the reason the no poo method appeals to me. I want some extra volume and I don't want all the extra grease. The theory is that because we have to wash our hair every day the scalp secretes more sebum, thus making your hair greasier and starting the cycle over. Also, it can save you money not buying shampoo as often, as even buying natural shampoos I have to wash every day and they are more expensive than most others. I've heard many people say their hair has never looked better than when they did the no poo method. (And I've also heard the opposite.)
 
     So, my friends, I have officially started the no poo method. My goal is to only wash my hair once or twice a week with bar shampoo. I will not be blow drying or using any gels, mouse, or hairspray.

     Yesterday I woke up and washed my hair and conditioned it as per usual. I then put some vitamin e in my hair and left it in for a few hours. This made my hair greasy because it was oil, but I wanted to give my hair a fair shot just in case this experiment might completely dry out my hair! So, after a few hours of my hair sitting with the vitamin e, I brushed my hair and I got in the shower and used a baking soda wash and a vinegar conditioner. I would not recommend doing this often! If done too much it will dry out your hair! I used the baking soda because I wanted to try to break down all the buildup created by the shampoo, conditioner, and hairspray I usually put on my hair. I put some baking soda in a cup before my shower and got my apple cider vinegar too. When in the shower, I just filled the cup with baking soda up the whole way with water and stirred it. I then applied this to my wet hair and massaged for a few minutes. I did this to all of my hair from scalp to ends. My hair is very long so it took a while. When I felt that I had thoroughly washed it, I rinsed. I have to say I now understand the meaning of squeaky clean. My hair was squeaking as I rinsed! I rinsed very thoroughly as to get all of the baking soda out. At this point, I would say my hair didn't feel ideal. It felt dry and I was scared. Hahaha. However, I did notice it was less knotty than after normally shampooing. I have about half a foot of hair dye left in my hair from a couple years ago which is
the most problematic for knotting up. (Yes, I know. I no longer dye my hair.) I got my "conditioner"
ready by taking four caps  full of my vinegar (Keep in mind my hair is very long, so if you are trying this and your hair is short you may want to only use two.) and put the vinegar into my cup and filled it the rest of the way with water. I also added about three drops of lavender essential oil, because I simply don't care for the smell of apple cider vinegar. It masked the smell quite well. If you are going to use essential oils, keep in mind almost all of them are good for our hair, but may end up in your eye and don't add too much or you will make your hair oily. Also, make sure the baking soda mixture doesn't enter your eye. It will be quite painful! Anyways, I stirred up my concoction and massaged into my wet hair from top to bottom, leaving it in about a minute and then rinsing out.
     What did I notice when I got out of the shower? My hair felt great. It was surprisingly soft after the vinegar rinse and I had almost no knots. I usually blow out my hair after washing, because I despise the feeling of wet hair after a shower, but I felt no need to. Besides the fact that during this experiment I won't be blow drying, my hair didn't have the weighed down, coated feeling it normally had after a shower. So I blotted my hair with a towel and let it air dry. It felt and looked so nice after it dried. But waking up in the morning would be the real test. I should also say that I switched my pillow case so as to start out with a clean one to really be able to see how oily my hair got in one night after the baking soda. You should be cleaning your pillow case once a week to help keep skin and hair clean anyway. I also cleaned out all the hair from my brushes and washed with warm water, which I will be doing every day or every other day to prevent extra dirt and oil from getting on my hair and scalp.
     This morning, upon waking, I noticed my hair was not nearly as oily as usual. There was a tad bit in the back, but not much. It still felt very silky and soft. When I got in the shower, all I did was massage my hair thoroughly for a few minutes. No shampoo. No vinegar. Nothing but water. It was just oily enough that I didn't feel okay about walking around looking like that. Until my scalp is used to not shampooing as often, I will be rinsing with only water in between washing. The rinse was adequate. There was no need for washing. After my hair dried it was perfect. I'm hoping that for a little while I can wash every other day and rinse alternatively. After a while maybe push it back to washing, wearing a shower cap, rinsing, washing, and so on until I am only washing once or twice a week and wearing a shower cap the rest of the time, but we shall see. I would call the initial baking soda "stripping" of the buildup a success.
     Today, my goal is to find a shampoo bar to use tomorrow. I will keep you all updated on which brands I choose and how this turns out until I can either label it as a success or a fail. Let me know if you have any questions. If you are doing or have done the no poo method, let me know how it is working or has worked out for you! Thanks for reading!

 



 

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