poo bar [and another diva cup] update

Well, I really wasnt happy with using the Lush poo bar. It was a great introduction to removing the plastic bottle backlog that was our shower experience and getting us all in the habit of using a poo without the squirty factor. But, despite it being package free, it still had the water unfriendly phosphates, sulfates and chemical surfactants and it was drying out the locks a little. Changing to a poo bar was so much less painful than I thought it would be. I really had imagined B1; the very teen, really going to hyperbole town on the awfulness of not using her favourite hair product. But, not so. She's even told me a regular soap does a pretty good job! who woulda thunk it? ( it is olive oil soap but its the principle thats counting here) So, months later we're still happily using a bar, but have switched to a Sugar Shack olive oil, locally made bar in recycled cardboard. I could make my own i know, and i do get inspired to do these things, but time...

*warning* diva cup details about to follow.

I have been using the Diva Cup now since my period returned after the bean was born; so six months or so. I had a few issues along the way that nearly made me stop using it, but i persevered and all problems seems to have resolved. I was getting rather 'internally achy' and i think i just needed to find a better 'fit' or else it was just 'that' month, coz i havent had that weird ache since. It really was quite uncomfortable in there! The issue some people have had with the tiny holes in the side being difficult to clean, i resolved easily by holding each 'hole' under running water while similtaneously squeesing either side to open the hole. No need to use a needle to clean it; it just rinses right out very easily this way. The most challenging issues around using the diva cup is when your only have access to work or public toilets. i usually avoid it if possible due to a) the bloody (no pun intended) noise *schlerrrrrrrrrrrrrrp POP* ...could be my technique; too much speed? will have to work on that as its most socially disconcerting and b) rinsing. I usually just tip, wipe it and keep on going!
Haven't died yet..

the poo bar

well, that's a post title to make your eyes water (or your stomach turn).

Ive 'been there done that' soo many times over the years, trying to go 'no poo'. The first time would be, ohh god, nearly 20 years ago (@#%!) ...young feminist hits university, majors in third world political economy and womens studies, the intellect gets sharpened, the politics heightened and the legs grow a forest, the pits too. Permaculture gets explored, passive solar makes it into my vocab and i start saving seeds and homesteading in the back garden... so, ive been at it a while. But nothing to this day has made me give up 'the poo' long term. I just like that clean, stripped bare to the roots but silky kinda feeling. Im with Crunchy all the way; that chalky saline soloution and cold vinegar rinse just dont make me feel like getting out of bed in the morning and as for the thought of trying to put a comb through the resulting nest. Staus quo remains.

Cut too 2009 and many attempts at' no poo' later and the plastic bottles in the shower are really starting to piss me off; that shelf is the last frontier in this household. Now i know I could get a haircut and i think the day is getting closer but 'the problem' is a teenage girl in the house with hair dramas (well, make that daily crises); only a mercenary could remove the Pantene. We have tried many, M.A.N.Y herbal, biodynamic, vegan, paraben free, SLS free concoctions but nothing cuts it with the very picky and very vocal teen "im going to die if you dont buy the shampoo mum" or "that is social suicide dont you know and Im not willing to try it" and a mum with particular fussies about the feel. Until now.

Yesterday, I finally bit my eco-pride bullet and came home tentatively sporting a *hand over the mouth in hushed tones* Lush shampoo bar. Ive never been into a Lush store before; you can smell them a mile away and quite frankly, to my senses, they stink. But the shop in town was well ventilated with double doors in the wedge shaped shop and seemed quite approachable on the orrofice front and the enourmous wheels of earthy looking solids had my inner aesthete drooling. And I had a mission. No bottle!

The chunk looks soo at home, happy, sitting on the wooden shelf in the shower. The most incredible thing is, we all LOVE IT!!!!! Its soft, creamy, silky and probably non-biodegradable, but...no plastic bottles. Its given me the impetus to make my own. Anyone got a creamy olive oil recipe they swear by?

**Addendum: lush also do a solid conditioner which i will try out this week.