I haven't washed my hair with shampoo for 6 weeks

Yup. You read that right.

I haven't washed my hair with shampoo for over 6 weeks.

And those of you who have seen me on a regular basis can vouch that my hair is not greasy or dirty or smelly or gross in any way. Why? Because your hair doesn't actually need shampoo.

Let me back up. This started right before my Daniel fast, which was near the beginning of February. When I mentioned that I was going to do the fast, my friend Kyle asked if I was going to be not shampooing my hair for the duration of the fast. I sort of laughed it off, and made a comment about how my hair wouldn't be very happy if I did that. But he was actually kind of serious and told me that I should research it, and I figured, Hey, the guy's in pharmacy school, he was a chemistry major, he probably knows what he's talking about. Turns out he really did.

I started looking online, and found out there is this whole "go green" movement that involves not shampooing or conditioning your hair. It's called "going poo-less" (I know, hilarious). This lady's blog post was the most helpful one that I found: How to wash your hair without shampoo. She also gives a pretty good explanation as to why it's actually better for your hair in the long run. Basically, your scalp naturally produces oils that help keep your hair strong and healthy. Shampoo strips that oil off your hair and tries to do the work instead, so your scalp produces extra oil to replace what's been stripped by the shampoo. It does clean your hair, but it cleans it too well, and your hair gets confused. Then when you don't shampoo your hair for a few days, your scalp goes overboard producing oil, and so your hair looks greasy. The more you shampoo your hair, the more often you have to shampoo your hair.

Per her suggestions, I started washing my hair with a solution of one tablespoon of baking soda for every 8 oz of water. As a conditioner, I use a solution of one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar for every 8 oz of water. Initially, I used the solutions every day. After about a month, I started using it three or four times a week. It's amazing how well it actually works. My hair doesn't come out smelling like vinegar. I had a transition of about a week and a half where my hair was slightly more greasy than usual, but nothing crazy or out of control. My hair is still soft and silky (in fact, I think I've gotten more compliments in the last month and a half about how soft my hair is than I have in awhile). And the best benefit of all: It effectively gets paint out of my hair on the first try. Seriously, I used to have paint in my hair for months at a time because regular shampoo couldn't get it out.

It's definitely something worth trying, especially if you want to save money on shampoo and conditioner, which can be ridiculously expensive... this method is dirt cheap! Especially if you just steal baking soda and vinegar from your mom's kitchen cupboard. :) But even if not, baking soda and vinegar aren't THAT expensive. And since I'm diluting it with water, I only use a few tablespoons of each in a week's time.

Now if only I could find a way to do this and still get my hair to smell like shampoo... because I really just liked the smell of my shampoo. My hair doesn't smell bad now, it just doesn't really have a smell at all. And I kind of miss the Dove shampoo smell.

Learning

So my Daniel Fast has come to an end this week. It's really amazing to look back and see all that God has done for me in the last 40 days. This post is not to brag about how "Christian" I am or to claim that "everything gets better when you fast." If anything, this fast has shown me how much I still have to work on. Rather, I want to share my experience, and encourage anyone who has not fasted before to take it into consideration. Parts of this fast were definitely less than fun. But the lasting benefits outweigh the temporary sucky stuff.

This is the first time in my life that I feel like I was able to really trust implicitly and put my life in God's hands, instead of trying to do my own thing. I started this fast as a way to find clarity in my life and get myself on the right track before I start a career. I had no intention of staying in Lancaster this summer. I really just wanted to get out. And I still do, sometimes. But I was blessed with an incredible internship opportunity at PRiMA theatre in Lancaster (check out their website here) and a full time job offer at Cherry Crest (I blogged about that here). Definitely not what I was expecting to be doing on the other side of my fast. But I was able to take extra time to pray and really consider my options and possibilities, and in the end, made one of my first real life decisions. We all know how I feel about decisions... I hate making them. It felt good to make one, and know that it was a good thing.

Conflict resolution. Many of you know that Kayleigh (she blogs here) and I have had some issues with each other in the past. Major issues. Like, she's-dating-my-ex-boyfriend issues. We've tried to resolve things in the past, mostly because we felt like we had to, but it never worked. Ever. I very rarely dislike someone to the point of almost hating them, but I admit: there were times when I hated her. Fortunately for both of us (and all of our mutual friends), something changed in the last month or so. We took the time to listen to each other, for real this time, and put ourselves in the other person's shoes. We realized that we aren't necessarily going to be BFFs... and that it's okay. Instead, putting God first in our lives (individually) will help us both to work through our issues (together). It won't be easy. It will require an effort. But the first step has been made.

The biggest thing I felt God saying to me was wait for Me. I am notorious for doing things on my own, and doing them now. I grew up in a world of instant gratification, I like to see my results. But there have been lots of areas in my life recently where I'm not seeing instant results... and it's frustrating. But there is a time and place for everything. There are probably things that are already set in motion that I have NO IDEA about, things that will eventually impact my life in a big way. It could become apparent tomorrow, or not til I'm 30. Retraining myself to wait has been the hardest thing, and I've barely begun. It involves the right attitude and intentionality. And a LOT of patience.

If you haven't ever done any sort of fasting, I'd encourage you to give it a try. You don't have to do a Daniel fast, you can give up coffee or sugar or tv or Facebook (it's possible, I promise) or anything else that takes priority in your life. But take the time to listen to God, pray about the big things in your life, and open your heart to new possibilities. You might be surprised.
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10 foods I just really want to eat right now

1. Chocolate. Specifically dark chocolate. And with peanut butter.

2. Coffee, with french vanilla creamer. I didn't get a caffeine headache when I stopped drinking it for the fast, but I just really miss drinking it. Especially in the morning. Mom and I have breakfast together before I leave for work, and it's just not the same without coffee.

3. Fudge. There have been three pans of fudge (Cookies and Cream, Cappuccino, and Vanilla Nut) sitting on the lunch table at work for the past few weeks. And it's driving me crazy.

4. Also, this food board has been staring me in the face all week. This picture is bad quality, but the food just looks SO GOOD. Our public relations woman really outdid herself, the pictures make me want to buy ALL THE FOOD.

5. Ice cream. Cookie Dough or Double Dunker. Or both. At the same time. With chocolate syrup and caramel.

6. Really buttery popcorn. I've been eating popcorn since we make it ourselves, and it fits with the fast because it's natural. But it's not the same when you just sprinkle a little bit of salt on it. It needs some butter. Lots of it.

7. Cheetos. Aside from not knowing exactly what a cheeto is, I have been craving them like crazy recently. And I'm not really sure why, because I don't eat them very often.

8. Cheese. Specifically port wine cheese, but really I miss all kinds. I just love cheese.

9. Milk. At least I'm not trying to eat sweets without it. That would be terrible.

10. Bacon. I mean, I miss Thursday Night Breakfast-for-Dinner in general, so also eggs and toast. But specifically bacon.


This fast has definitely been a struggle this week.

Apples

Last night I had a dream that I could split an apple perfectly in half, just by twisting it with my hands. Don't try to tell me that wouldn't be an awesome real life power.
While it may seem like a strange thing to dream about, it is no doubt brought on by the fact that I've been eating apples for lunch basically every day for the last week and a half. My mom and I have been on a Daniel Fast for Lent. It's not a total fast, but more of a super strict Vegan-like diet that is based off of two passages from the book of Daniel in the Bible:

• Daniel 1:12- "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink."
• Daniel 10:3- "I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over."

When you put these two together, you come up with two basic rules: 1. Eat only foods that grow from a seed. 2. Drink only water.

Let me tell you, this is no small feat. While the amount of food you can eat is rather astounding.... the majority of it, you can't. Our diet basically consists of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds. Because the Daniel Fast also takes into consideration traditional Jewish fasting laws, eating anything with yeast is also out of the picture, so no bread. This has produced some really tasty meals--one of my favorites so far has been the Curry Broccoli and Cauliflower. Of course, we've also had some duds... one was some sort of Tofu Frittata (if you're really into that kind of thing, the recipe is the second one on this page).

It's becoming very apparent just how much I think about food... it's crazy. I find myself constantly thinking about how many days I have left until I'm done (about 35). I'm always wanting to eat something sweet (especially chocolate). And craving things I don't normally eat that much of (like cheese curls... how often do I actually eat cheese curls, why am I craving them SO MUCH?!). It's been a great exercise in discipline and control. I've had to retrain myself to start praying when I find myself craving pleasure foods. 

But dang it, I sure do miss my coffee.

Click here if you want more information about the Daniel Fast!