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No Poo and Proud
I haven’t used shampoo for four years. I’d like to keep this a secret from TODAY’s Kathie Lee and Hoda, however. If they find out, they might laugh and ridicule me like they lambasted Jacquelyn Byers.
Jacquelyn has written about her decision to stop using shampoo on her blog Little Owl Crunchy Momma. The media picked up on her chemical avoidance, including NBC’s TODAY show. Before you continue, view this 2-minute conversation on TODAY’s Health Page.
(*Kathie Lee and Hoda’s exchange is the second video on the page. The clip starts at 6:40 mins.)
I understand that Kathie Lee and Hoda are personalities and are encouraged to engage in negative chatter, but the segment saddens me for some reasons.
1. Jacquelyn is a real person with real feelings. She is doing her best to raise her kids in a chemically crazed culture. She’s even trying to help others do the same. Kathie and Hoda, even if you don’t understand her perspective, must you demean a young mom in this way?
2. Their conversation perpetuates the belief that chemicals have no consequences. We’ve been told we need to use multiple personal care products every day. Our generation represents a giant experiment when it comes to the use of chemicals on our bodies, and ills like endocrine disruption. Skin flora erosion and cancer are now linked to petroleum based substances such as DEA, 1-4-dioxane, and toluene.
3. I relate to Kathie Lee and Hoda. I might not have said it, but I thought people like Jacquelyn (and now me) were crazy. I dismissed them. I viewed them with disdain. Only my family’s health crisis led me to re-evaluate my presumptive conclusions. Watching Kathie Lee and Hoda reminds me that I can be, and have been, insensitive and oblivious to the feelings of others.
4. Most women in the world can’t afford perfume and personal care products. The average American woman uses 12 different products every day according to the Environmental Working Group. The average teenage girl uses 17. While affordable to most in America, women around the globe are too busy struggling to survive and care for their children.
The one person I don’t feel sad for is Jacquelyn. While I’m sorry she had to endure this type of treatment, I’m confident she is ahead of the game. Thinking outside of the box for herself and her family will yield significant benefits. I hope her blog grows by leaps and bounds because of this publicity.
Meanwhile, I’ll keep washing my hair with mud. I say mud because I use rhassoul clay, and that’s what it feels like when I mix it with water. But again, please don’t mention this to Kathie Lee or Hoda. Oh, and between you and me, my hair has never felt better, and no one has complained of any odor.
See more about rhassoul clay in this post, and more about natural shampoo alternatives here.
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Thank you for refuting the attitude of total consumerism. I am currently working on my health and use baking soda instead of shampoo and apple cider vinegar diluted as a conditioner / rinse.
Thanks for chiming in, Eileen!