Tag: shared articles

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Poo-Free Attempt…

… or if you prefer, Going Shampoo-Free Attempt 1 – abandoned!

That’s right – i’m throwing in the towel on my efforts to go shampoo-free after 2 weeks of trying.

OK let’s back up why do i wanna go shampoo-free?

Well, because a few of my friends were trying it with mixed results and because i read this post from Simple Mom and was inspired. It sounded easy enough, switch from using shampoo which is filled with detergents and chemicals to a natural way of cleaning / conditioning your hair with ingredients which you use to cook with. If you can eat it, it can only do good – yes?

Now i wanna say upfront that i was really very happy using commercial shampoo and conditioner and actually love my fine and quite thick Asian hair, which was soft and easy to manage. The only thing that it lacked was volume or body and it doesn’t hold styles very well without tons of product, which i hate and do not use.

i’m the kind of gal who likes to wash and conditioner every other day and leave to air-dry (don’t believe in using the hair-dryer as the name suggests it would dry your hair literally and leave you with split ends – at least i believe so). i was happy with my easy hair-care routine and didn’t really set out wanting to change the ease of it. i wanted to just improve it and have nice shiny hair which has volume and holds styles better, which looks like the one in this post (another poo-free lady).

(You should read this entry to learn more about going shampoo-free, the whys and how-tos before going on to read the rest of my post.)

This is my unwashed hair before going poo-free.
This is my unwashed hair before going poo-free.

That leads me to the first reason i am abandoning this attempt. Because it is no longer easy hair-care. i have to think and analyse what is going on with my hair. i had to decide if i was using too much baking soda? too much vinegar? should i skip the vinegar rinse today? Why is my hair so greasy? There were days i could not decide if it was too dry or too greasy. Some dry bits stick out when combed through and other oily bits clump together. The oil seems to stay at the top, leaving my ends dry and hard to manage, which, to me, seems ridiculous for this length of hair.

After a week, i decided to change the formula and method of washing a little, that’s when i got white residue which as i read was a result of too much baking soda, the results of which i am still trying to wash out and correct after a week.

The second reason i’m quitting this after 2 weeks: i have suffered 2 weeks of helmet hair! It has been greasy, which i expected (the transition period those blogs pointed out). But i didn’t expect it to feel like wearing a helmet all day. Styling became difficult. After the first wash, i could not pull my brush through my hair easily, there were tangles at the ends which is uncommon for my previously long hair, let alone my currently short hair.

i am used to wash, brush, air-dry and done for the day. i don’t run a comb or a brush through my hair more than a few times a day before going poo-free. Since starting this experiment, i have had to switch from a brush back to a comb so my hair doesn’t sit in greasy clumps and i have had to comb so much more. Because it is greasy, it tends to get messy and stay messy. Before all i do to smooth out messy hair is run my fingers through my hair.

This is my hair after a week poo-free. i don't think the greasiness shows well in the photo. But trust me, it was greasy!
This is my hair after a week poo-free. i don’t think the greasy-ness shows well in the photo. But trust me, it was greasy!

The third reason? Well, all that greasy hair is giving me pimples! My skin is temperamental at best, a T-zone that seems to never go away. But i have had it under control and was able to be pimple free for at least 2.5 weeks of the month. The other 1.5 weeks i blame the hormones. But now, even during what is supposed to be my clear weeks, i have a huge pimple on my nose bridge (nope, not going to show you a picture of that!) and a few on my forehead and temples!

Now i know i am being impatient and that if i stick to it just a few more weeks, i might, i just might, get poo-free beautiful hair. And i was in two minds about giving up… BUT then i read this blog entry from The Herbwife’s Kitchen.

There was another way to poo-free – without the yucky transition period! Sure it would take longer but no helmet hair, no pimples from greasy hair. A gentler way! i say Yes! to that.

So i’m going to stop my current attempt at going shampoo-free, which was stressing me out (my only vanity is my hair – really! i’m not vain about anything else). And i will attempt the gentler way in a few months.

All that said, please if you have tried and were successful, do share below and good for you! And to others who have not tried this and are interested to, please don’t let me put you off. This is just my experience and everyone’s hair is so different. And in my opinion, the less chemicals you have in your life, the better. Which is why i will certainly attempt this again, just using the ease-into-it method.

syc

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Too Much Parenting?…

Education vs Experience
Education vs Experience (Photo credit: gtalan)

So over the last few weeks, which i spent in my homeland of Singapore, i have observed my friends with their children and other children in general. i have eavesdropped on conversations (not intentionally, people are just in such close proximity on public transport, it can’t be helped).
My friends and we generally share the same basic principles in parenting and allowing our children to learn as much as they can on their own.

But the conversations of the kids on the trains tell me something else. They seemed so pre-occupied with issues which are non-issues really. But then they were teens and of cos i’m on a completely different wavelength.

Then i spoke to another friend who is a lecture at a technical institute and am horrified to hear that even there, the last stop before these young people face society as working adults, students hide behind their parents; getting their parents to fight for everything from a better grade to days off without valid reasons, to excuses for undone work.

All the above left me wondering and making a comparison with the way kids are taught here, what they are expected to learn and be able to do on their own here. It also reminded me of this article: Why my child will be your child’s boss – CBS News.

Have a read and let me know what you think.

My favourite line:

So, while he’s 4 and generally covered in dirt, I suspect he’ll be more prepared for leadership when we move back to the U.S. than will children who have no freedom and responsibility and face no consequences. 

That is, if he doesn’t cut off his own hand with the saw.

syc

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Please Don’t Help My Kids…

Today my son got a new toy (shhh… don’t tell my husband…).

So when we got home to Grandma’s house, he wanted to open it. i said, “Sure.” He set about happily opening it. But got kinda stuck at the last part. Grandma wanted to help him but i told her he can manage. And he did after a bit more struggle.

That was a very very tiny event. But it reminded me of this article: Please Don’t Help My Kids – Kate Bassford Baker’s Blog – Alameda, CA Patch.

Click on image to find out more about it… i think it’s a great art piece… reaching for the sky…

i completely agree with her. Kids need to learn that they have the ability to do whatever it is they need or want to get done. They just have to push themselves just that little bit harder, try again.

That has always been the spirit which we try to instill in our little guy (not so little anymore, i have to constantly remind myself).

We don’t buy every toy he wants. He saves his own money and buys some of his toys himself. (Doting grandparents buy a fair bit of his toys, we don’t.) Or i would wait till he has shown wonderfully good behaviour and surprise him by telling him he can get a toy or i would pay for half an expensive toy for him. We want him to learn the value of money as well as patience and to have the ability to save for later (delayed gratification).

We encourage him to try to do everything he can himself. We do very little for him these days (he is after all 9 already). We have always nudge him to try new things. We want him to not be afraid and to dive into life, loving what it has to offer.

We don’t fuss over every fall or cut he has. We check it, ask if he is alright and get him to carry on. We have always tried not to baby him and to allow him to fall and pick himself up.

We try to get him to solve issues with his friends himself, only offering advice as to possible solutions when he asks. Same with difficult homework.

All because we…

…want (him) to know the exhilaration of overcoming fear and doubt and achieving a hard-won success. 

…want (him) to believe in (his) own abilities and be confident and determined in (his) actions. 

…want (him) to accept (his) limitations until (he) can figure out a way past them on (his) own significant power.

…want (him) to feel capable of making (his) own decisions, developing (his) own skills, taking (his) own risks, and coping with (his) own feelings…

It is not the easiest thing to do as a parent because the first thing i wanna do is to rush over and protect him, keep him safe from all the hurts and bad things. But i will not always be there so i need to help equip him to deal with the mountains he might face.

Is this what they call “Tough Love”? Maybe. But i have seen too many kids who have grown up with a sense of entitlement, a sense of the ‘world-owes-me’ to not be tough for the sake of my little guy and his future.

syc