Bringing Back the Fanny Pack

Burn Notice. You watch it? The series came to an end earlier this year, but Mike and I have been watching it since season one. There's so much to love about it--the characters, the plot, the action, the humor, the fashion and the useful spy tips. It's just a quality show. Mike and I are still mourning the loss of new episodes, so we've been watching it from season one all over again when there's nothing else on TV.

I don't mind telling you that 26-year-old me idolizes Fiona Glenanne, a fictional character played by Garbielle Anwar. Fiona is a strong, sassy, intelligent, hot-headed Irish woman who knows her way around explosives and guns. Not to mention her rockin' body. That girl is FIT. I should litter my home, office and car with photos of her as inspiration to not eat junk and to work out.

So not only did I fall in love with Fiona, but I fell in love with her purse. It was like a modern fanny pack. Leather, worn around the waist, adorable. Not at all like the touristy fanny pack you're picturing. I just had to have one, so I turned to my friend Google and together we found it. And then, Mike bought it for me for Christmas. (We exchanged gifts in September this year... Waiting 'til Christmas is hard, OK?!)

It's made by a company called Happy Cow in Australia. You can see the bag Fiona wears here: http://www.happycow.com.au/products/leather-hip-bags.html. The one I settled on is a bit different. It's essentially the same, but it's convertible--meaning the strap has little spinning buckles that attach to the bag so it can be worn on my waist or shoulder comfortably. This is mine: http://www.happycow.com.au/products/convertible-bags-leather-hip-bags-buy-online-793.html.

I just love it. It has forced me to downsize. I usually carry big, big bags and fill it with everything imaginable. It feels GREAT to minimize. I only carry what I need. I eliminated my makeup bag, my planner, etc and don't miss any of it. My new bag fits my wallet, my birth control, my phone, a pen, lip gloss and even my LCP when I choose to not carry it on me. Carrying it around my waist is SO convenient when I'm out and about. I never liked to set my purse in my shopping cart because someone could easily grab it and run (paranoid...). I started to buckle my purse into the child seat, but then I was scared someone could just stick their hand in and go. Or, casually just switch carts if I wasn't paying attention. So I always carried my luggage, I mean purse, and it could be such a nuisance when it'd fall down my shoulder and knock products off the shelf. I would also hit other shoppers with it a lot in passing. Woops.

About a month after using it, I was a bit bummed, because the magnetic snap on the front broke, but Mike fixed it and it hasn't come apart since--whew. The only design flaw is the inside pocket on the flap. It is upside down... When you are wearing the bag on your waist or shoulder, if you open the pocket, anything in it will come falling out (darn gravity). I just so happen to keep a panty liner and tampon or two in there, so I don't access it too often, but wouldn't exactly want a panty liner to float to the ground in the check out line at the store... 

Below  you can see what I mean...

I opted to get the convertible bag because I wanted it to sit properly if I was just grabbing it to go to work. I don't need it wear it on my waist to just sit in the car and office. Plus, this way I can just keep it sized to my waist and use the clips to wrap it on my waist, opposed to actually using the belt. Seemed quicker to me. 

Anyway, the message for the day is to watch Burn Notice, fall in love with Fiona and get a hip bag. You can also fall in love with Michael Weston. He's the main character... He's also pretty darn handsome. I wouldn't mind littering my home, office and car with photos of him for inspiration either...

My Experience With The No 'Poo Method

As promised in this post about the OCM, I wanted to share my experience with the No 'Poo Method. The OCM already makes me feel like a hippy, and this REALLY makes me feel like one.

So, those of us using the No 'Poo Method means we do not use shampoo or conditioner. Instead we use baking soda and vinegar to wash and condition our hair. The baking soda is what helps break up the dirt, grime, grease, etc from your roots, while the vinegar conditions your hair.

Why...?

Basically, shampoo and conditioner are constantly stripping your hair of its natural oils with their unnatural chemicals. Thus, your hair produces even more oil to compensate for this. That's why I can never go over 24 hours before needing to wash my hair again. I'm a grease bucket, addicted to shampoo and conditioner.

Benefits
The benefits of No 'Poo are that your hair can naturally be shiny, thick and wonderful, and you can go days without washing, because your hair regulates itself. Because of No 'Poo, some people only need to wash their hair once a week, and some can go even longer between washings! Your hair also dries faster, and if you use heated styling tools (which you should try to avoid), it holds curl really well.


So when I saw this post on Pinterest, I was intrigued and started my research. A lot of women have had success stories, saying it has made their hair amazing. There are some who haven't. Some who even say it's ruined their hair. So do your own research and do what you think is best. I've never had too many bad things to say about my hair. It's stuck around through A LOT of home colorings and bleaching misfortunes, so I'm grateful for that. My natural "curl" is more like a crimp, and only in some spots, so I have always used a flat iron to style my every day hair. But, I always wanted to not wash my hair and have it look like Jax Teller's. (Charlie Hunnam is so much better with short hair anyway... I digress.) So, I thought, why not try this method?

What You Need

• 2 spray bottles (at least 8 oz.)
• Apple Cider Vinegar or White Vinegar
• Baking Soda

I followed the recipe from the blog linked above. So, in one water bottle I have a mixture of 1 Tbs of baking soda mixed with 8 ounces of water. In the other spray bottle I have 2 Tbs of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) mixed with 8 ounces of water. I bought my 8 oz. spray bottles at ShopKo, but I'm sure they're available elsewhere. *My ACV mixture is a bit shy of 8 oz. of water because my spray bottle is only 8 oz. total. I haven't died yet, so I'm sure it's OK.

How You Do It
In the shower, you spray the baking soda mixture on your roots only. Massage well and rinse. Then you spray the ACV mixture on the length of your hair, let it sit and rinse it out at the end of the shower. You're supposed to go as many days as you can stand in between washings. When I first started out, I didn't really know that... So I was doing it every day at first. My hair was so greasy that one day I slathered on pure baking soda and boy did that take the grease out. Turns out, that's not really the best thing for your hair, so don't do that. It really dries your hair out. I typically do a rinse-only when I shower and am not washing my hair. But, last night I knew I didn't have time for my hair to dry before bed, so I just pulled it up in the shower and didn't get it wet. I think whatever works best for you, giver 'er a go.

The Dreaded Transition Period
This transition period happens because your hair is wondering why you're not stripping it of its oils, so it's still producing more, or going dry or both. It's confused. The transition period seems to vary for everyone. Some it's two weeks, some it's MONTHS.

I'm not gonna lie, guys... The transition period is a real killer. My hair was both frizzy and greasy. Freasy, if you will. I wore my hair up a lot. Which was cool in a way, because it forced me to style my hair and try out my Pinterest Hairstyles. It was also cold, because it's Fall in Wisconsin. 

I've heard that transition periods end abruptly; it's like over night your hair magically balances out, and all is right with the world. I'm pretty darn close to that stage right now, and think I'm ready to extend my washings to every third day.

I'm going on my 7th week of No 'Poo, and I'm finally starting to see the benefits. My natural curl/wave/kink is more tamed and natural looking, so using the flat iron isn't necessary. My hair is shiny, smooth and soft. I'm hoping it starts to pack up the volume, though.

In the middle of the process I decided to switch to showering at night to avoid styling my hair with heat. This in itself has been a challenge. I shower around 7 p.m. and am in bed at 9 p.m. This way I can give my hair time to dry. I have tried sleeping in braids, in French braids, in pony tails, elastic headbands and buns. So far, the only thing that kind of works is a high bun.

The problem is that if I sleep with my hair down while it's slightly damp, the next morning it's a frizzy, crimpy mess.  If I sleep with it in braids, the next morning it's a frizzy, crimpy mess. If I sleep in a pony tail, the next morning it's a frizzy, crimpy mess. Do you see the pattern? This past summer I tried pin curls. I slept with a bandana over the curls, and still my hair ended up like this lovely photo below. Pretty much no matter how I sleep with my hair, the next morning it's a frizz ball.

Sleeping with a high, loose bun seems to be my best bet. My hair is less frizzy, and the wave comes out pretty natural looking. I do usually need to get the curling iron out for some touch ups. I use very low heat, and it holds all day. Below is a photo of my Day 2 hair, slept in a high bun and touched up with a curling iron. I also use coconut oil to tame fly-aways. This photo below was taken during my 5th week of No 'Poo. It's nothing like the YouTube video goddesses who demonstrate several ways to sleep with your hair up and damp and wake up with beautiful, flowing locks of waves, but it's what I got. (If you're interested in finding ways to style your hair over night, just search for "heatless waves/curls" and you'll find tons of examples!)

The first day I did No 'Poo was actually the day I had my engagement photos taken. I noticed that my hair held the curl really, really well. I've never had my hair curled (by me) so well before. I used mousse and hairspray. Here's what it looked like.

Of course, since I had product in my hair I didn't know that I could continue with No 'Poo, so I washed with my Herbal Essences, and started back up on October 7, and haven't switched back since.

FYI--You can still use product in your hair when you use No 'Poo. I still use hairspray, but I never really used mousse too much. I've found the hairspray just rinses out on days you do not wash with baking soda, but otherwise the baking soda does a good job at breaking up the products for you.

I shamelessly took a selfie in my car to share what my hair looks like today... It's not that great, since it's just the side of my hair, and some is caught on my coat, but... It's my day 2 hair. I didn't do a hot rinse last night, and randomly slept with a single three-strand braid, so I added some more curl with the iron this morning and sprayed it a bit with hairspray... It's pretty flat here on my lunch break, but I prefer it to be more soft like this anyway. 

So here's some weekly insight to my journey so far:

Week 1

• Rough start
• Washing every day
• Adding extra (pure) baking soda to roots

 Week 2

• Hair is greasy and staticy
• Switched to washing every other day
• Using cornstarch as a dry shampoo to combat grease--works REALLY well (I have blond hair)
• I've heard that brunettes can use cocoa powder and red heads can use cinnamon!

 Week 3

• Getting better!
• Less static, less grease
• Wearing hair down instead of up

Week 4

• Switched to showering at night to avoid heating tools (blow dryer and flat iron)
• I read that it's best to stay away from these styling tools because your hair isn't coated with chemicals anymore, and your hair is more vulnerable because it's not protected.
• Coconut oil has been said to be a good heat protector if you want to style with a flat iron or curling iron.

Week 5

• Hair seems dry, so used an egg yolk mask
• Mask worked well--hair shinier
• Ends dry--used jojoba oil
• Still using heat to help style hair--not whole head--just spot checking
• Hair is shinier, but stringy 

Week 6

• My day 2 hair is less greasy
• Not stringy anymore
• Pretty sure I could wash every third day instead of every other
• I decided to use coconut oil to help combat dryness instead of egg yolks this week. I put it in my hair for one hour, then rinsed out in shower (per instructions on coconut oil jar). The next morning, my hair was so greasy I thought it was still wet. I even got the blow dryer out. Needless to say, I wore my hair up that day.
• I only rinsed my hair the following night, and my hair was shiny, not greasy--much better 

Lessons I'm learning as I go...

• Use weekly conditioning masks--pick your favorite--there are millions to choose from! I am partial to the egg yolk/EVOO blend.
• If using coconut oil--less is more.
• Patience, patience, patience.
• Go as long as you can stand between washings to help extend the days you don't need to wash.
• Rinse EXTREMELY well in the shower. I think that some days my grease was attributed to the fact that I just didn't rinse as well as I thought I was.
• Cornstarch for us blondies is a life saver.
• Have fun with new styles!
• Enjoy your natural hair.

 If you have any questions, please ask!

**UPDATE 11/20/2013**

Just wanted to share how my day 3 hair is with you all! This is the first time I've not washed my hair on day 2 since I began No 'Poo. Last night I just rinsed it with hot water in the shower, and wore a side pony to bed. It really wasn't too bad this morning--I was surprised. I did use cornstarch, especially on my crown (where it's always the most greasy for me). I threw on a bit of coconut oil and straightened out a few kinks. (You may notice a few flyaways on the top photo. I think it was from me getting dressed and not smoothing out my hair again... woops! Also, my hair looks a bit white on the bottom photo--I still had some cornstarch in my hair when I took this. At least the rest of it is shiny? Maybe I shouldn't have shared my update with all of you--I clearly wasn't prepared!)

My Experience With The Oil Cleansing Method

Thanks to Pinterest, I have discovered two new beauty methods that I've been trying out for about a month and a half now: The Oil Cleansing Method and the No 'Poo Method.

I am always interested in trying a natural alternative for skin, hair and (of course) food, so on October 7 I set out on my journey to stop washing my face and hair. That is, with chemicals. I still shower daily, guys. With soap even. But my face and hair are now washed with alternative products you may already have in your kitchen. It makes me feel like a hippy.

This is the post I stumbled upon via Pinterest that inspired me to try the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM): http://www.healthydiaries.com/2012/07/17/how-i-improved-my-skin-acne-scaring-overall-complexion/. Castor oil is used because it is great at pulling out the ick deep in your pores, and the EVOO is used for moisturizing. Castor oil actually has a long list of uses! (Just a heads up, if you're struggling to find it in the store like me--look by the laxatives. Yup, we're using a laxative on our face...) After learning that oil dissolves oil, I wasn't scared to put oil on my face. Seems counter intuitive based on what the beauty industry has taught us, but we didn't always have chemicals to wash our face.

After looking into this method further, I figured I'd give this a try since my skin couldn't possibly get worse. I'm 26 years old and still have acne. It's horrible. I wear natural makeup, I wash my face twice a day, I'm an adult, I wash my pillowcases weekly, I stay hydrated, I don't eat out very often... All things I feel should help fight acne, but it's a war I'm just not winning. I even saw a dermatologist a couple years ago. She prescribed me Epi-Duo and I used it for three months with no luck. I was actually going to repurchase it and keep going with it, but the promo price ended and it was close to $300 out of pocket. No lie. Needless to say, I didn't buy it again. I never went back to her either.

*Side note about my natural makeup* I wear Erth Minerals, and love it. It provides great coverage that I can build up or down. It doesn't wear off and it's organic. They even have Vegan products. I've been wearing this makeup for about three years now. Before this I was wearing Bare Minerals, but I made the switch because Erth is made locally in my area, and it was also a superior product in my opinion. It wasn't as orange as Bare Minerals.

Anyway, back to the OCM. I was also starting to question my choice of facial cleanser as of recent--AcneFree. Found at Wal-Mart, compared to Proactive. At first Mike and I didn't realize how harsh of a cleanser this is, but when he used a washcloth to help wipe off the cleanser at night, he didn't rinse it out well and the next morning my blue washcloth was mostly white. The cleanser also bleached our pillowcases! It's not like we weren't thoroughly rinsing our faces... How scary!

Get on with it already, what's the procedure for OCM?

I use the mixture recommended in the blog post linked above. I have oily skin, so my blend is 3 parts castor oil to 1 part EVOO. I also add a few drops of jojoba oil to combat dryness. I keep this mixture in an olive oil glass which lasts both Mike and me quite a while. You can find the jars at Wal-Mart by the cooking ware. I found mine at Hobby Lobby, because it has a cover to close the spout.

You only do the OCM at night before bed. In the morning I just splash some water on my face if I feel I need to do something...

So, on to the OCM... I wipe my makeup off with a baby wipe (mostly out of habit, since almost everyone says you do not need to do this with the OCM). Next I pour a quarter size amount of the mixture into my CLEAN hands, warm it up in my hands by rubbing them together for a few seconds, then massage the oils onto my face for about a minute. Next I take a wet, hot hot hot washcloth and lay it over my face until it cools. (I hate this part... It makes me feel like a terrorist in questioning. I feel suffocated.) I gently wipe the rest of the oil off with the cloth and call it a night. Make sure to wipe the crevice of your nose and your jaw bone well. I heard some girls were forgetting those areas and were finding they were breaking out in them. Your face will feel soft to the touch, but also you'll still have some oil on your face. That's OK.

I should mention that I use organic EVOO as well as cold-pressed castor oil. Also, I've heard that jojoba oil is a less-is-more type of thing, so I was very light-handed with adding drops to my mixture. With the cold Wisconsin weather moving in, my face has been pretty dry, so I've actually been putting jojoba oil directly onto my face, which has helped significantly! Some people use coconut oil as well. Your call. I bought my jojoba oil in the organic section at Festival.

I've heard finding the perfect blend can be a bit of a trial and error. When you do your own investigating into the OCM you'll find that this isn't a new trend, people have been washing like this for YEARS. You'll also find that some people use Grape Seed Oil or Almond Oil instead of EVOO.

So how has the OCM been working for me?

The day after the first night I did the OCM, I really thought my overall complexion was cleaned up quite a bit. I had a clean glow. For the first week my face was a lot less oily. I didn't have to break out my oil blotting sheets! For the first two weeks my acne was really quite the same. The third week my acne was heavily concentrated on my right cheek. I assumed that this was because I slept on my right side. I still found it be odd, because we wash our pillow cases every Sunday.

Then on the fourth week my acne was pretty much just around my mouth--the worst place to break out, in my opinion. I HATE it. Ugh. What is up? Why isn't this the magic cure that it is for everyone else? I knew that in a lot of cases, curing acne was about fixing the root cause, which may be coming from the inside--what you eat, if you're stressed, etc. Still frustrating since I eat a heck of a lot better now than I used to. Still not the healthiest person in the world, but my insurance's health evaluation scored me with a 96 points out of 100, so I am feeling like a bit of a rock star these days... Bring on the ice cream!

Well, I just so happened to have my yearly physical scheduled with a new doctor during my fifth week of the OCM. Upon reviewing my medical history, she noticed I had been on Microgestin birth control for about three years. She also noticed my acne.

I explained my new routine, and how my acne hasn't really gotten worse, but it also hadn't gotten better. She explained that the birth control I was on could be the cause of it, because of the levels of progesterone and estrogen. The BC I was currently on had more progesterone than estrogen, which can cause the oily buildup in pores, which I am plagued with. I am constantly looking at clogged pores in the mirror. Even when I was using harsh AcneFree face wash. She also said she could prescribe me with an antibiotic that could help speed up the process, but I declined. I really want to try to do it "naturally", and not add another variable to the OCM.

So I've had the new BC in my system for a little over a week, and my acne around my mouth is calming down and fading. Thank God. While I've had a few other blemishes on my cheeks the past few days, my overall complexion is more clear. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I think my pores are slowly unclogging.

Of course Michael's skin is greatly improved from the OCM. Although it was never that bad to begin with (he'd say otherwise). So jealous. Keeping my fingers crossed that over time and with new BC I'll get there.

If you decide to give this a go, I truly hope it works wonders for you! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments! I'm not an expert, but I've done quite a bit of research.

Stay tuned for details about my journey on the No 'Poo Method!