So, let
me introduce us…this is my mimi, my momma, my sisters and myself! Even though we all have totally different skin and hair,
none of us were adopted (or so they tell us…). On my mom’s side, there are no grandsons in the family…all of our
cousins are girls, making us nine granddaughters in total! My dad, on the other hand, grew up with
two older brothers and one younger brother…needless to say, he PRAYED
for girls and he got us!!! YAY for
girls!!! Lots of drama, but lots of love…totally worth it!
In
2005, we found out that my grandma (not mimi) had cancer. Her doctor told her that she was no
longer allowed to use nail polish because of how the chemicals seep in through the nails and skin, into the bloodstream. I started to wonder why anyone
was allowed to use nail polish, so I stopped (except when a friend or
sister wanted to treat me to a spa pedicure and manicure…). Not only did I stop painting my nails,
but I tried to use only “all-natural” products. For years, my sisters have thought that I was a cRaZy, dramatic,
tree-hugging hippy. But…FINALLY…they
have begun to come around!!! One by one, my sisters and my mom have
been convinced to drop some of their chemical filled products. This is saying a lot for a house full
of girls…you can probably imagine how many products have accumulated over the
years! Even I have made MAJOR changes…I thought that I was SUPER careful,
but it turns out that even I
needed to throw out some of my products!!!
I’m going to tell you about each of our transitions
separately because we are all five SOOOOOOO different. Although my mimi is in the photo above,
she hasn’t been a part of our process…This is our mom, Cindy. I keep telling her that if I look like her in 25 years, I will be VERY VERY VERY happy! Her mom (my mimi…above) looks beautiful too…I really hope that it all runs in the family!!!
Hair:
My mom started
by clarifying her hair with Dr. Bronners
Liquid Castile Soap (her favorite is Peppermint), but it made her hair this
weird combination of dried out and gunky.
So, a few days after clarifying, she did a coconut oil hair mask before washing her hair. She tried to wash her hair and the
coconut oil with the Dr. Bronners, but after washing and washing and washing,
she gave up and walked around for a few days with gunky, wet looking hair. She finally went out and bought Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo
and did a Low-Poo wash and her hair immediately improved. So, she has just continued to use the
Low-Poo option and only washes her hair about twice a week. My sisters and I have never spent much
time on our hair, so dropping the hair dryer, curling iron, straightener and
hot rollers was easy. But, my mom
has very dry, course, unruly hair, so although she has dropped the chemicals,
she says that she just can’t quit heat
styling her hair.
Skin:
Her skin looks GREAT, right?!!?!?!?!!? I'm repeating…I hope this runs in the family!!! She uses the Jojoba Oil, for
the Oil Cleansing Method, every
night. She also uses Kopi Lingzhi Black Coffee, makes it into
a paste, and leaves it on her face for about 10 minutes per day. It is said to help with skin
discoloration and wrinkles. Since
she has started using the coffee mask and OCM, I have seen a HUGE improvement
in her skin!!!
Now my turn...I am the 1st and oldest sister and have had the most difficult transition!!! I keep wanting to give up, but I don’t want to go back to chemicals, so I keep trudging onwards!!!
Hair:
I
started my No-Poo transition by clarifying with the Baking Soda Paste and then using the Baking Soda/Apple Cider Vinegar method. I have always washed my hair EVERY
SINGLE DAY, so I have slowly washed less and less, starting with washing every other day, then every three days, until
I got to once per week. Everyone talks so highly of coconut oil hair
masks, so I wanted to do one, but had to switch my method first. I switched to using Dr. Bronners (my favorite is Citrus),
but I still could never get all of the oil out of my hair. I have also had problems with ACV…my hair always seems to stay wet
looking and gunky after washing, if I do a hair mask or rinse with ACV. So, I tried Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo
(stole it from my mom’s house) Low-Poo option for shampoo and I still had to
wash my hair six times to get the coconut oil hair mask out of my hair! So, I am still trying to figure the
best method for me to wash my hair without chemicals. No-Poo doesn’t seem to work for me because the ACV makes my
hair wet looking and gunky. Low-Poo
works, but I feel like it’s “not as good” as going No-Poo and I still can’t use
the coconut oil hair masks…ugh. I
would like to try the Rinse Only Method! Although I have had a difficult transition, the positive
things are that my hair seems to be growing faster, it has more body, it is
thicker and I can go days without washing…and I’m not using harmful chemicals!
Skin:
I have always had very oily skin, but very
sensitive. So, if I used acne
washes, I might not break out, but my face would be red with dry patches. But, if I didn’t use acne washes, I
would break out and have major blackheads. Because of this, I would go back and forth between many
different face washes and scrubs, trying to keep it all under control. On top of those problems, I also have
many scars, redness and skin discoloration. So, even when my face would be clear, it was still uneven.
I found
the OCM on Pinterest, Fall 2012, and
decided to try it out! I just
started using Extra Virgin Olive Oil
and my face instantly improved!
Even my family complimented me on my face! I used the EVOO for about three months and my skin continued
to do well. However, I saw another
recipe on Pinterest and whipped up a batch of Coconut Oil Baking Soda scrub and started using that. For a while it did really well, but
then all of a sudden my face started breaking out very badly. I kept using it until I read that some people have problems
with Coconut Oil clogging up their pores.
So, I bought my own Jojoba
Oil, Castor Oil and Rose Hip Seed Oil to make my own Oil Cleansing
Blend. That worked well for a
while also, but then I started to get some dry patches, rashes and breakouts
and I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. So, I went back to EVOO until my Argan Oil came in the
mail. I was using the Argan Oil for a while, but my
face was never as good as when I first started the OCM…I guess my transition period is still not over
because I can’t seem to figure out what works best for my skin! Help! On the bright side…at least my scars
have faded a little!!! Oh yea…I
use baking soda for microdermabrasion
and honey for face mask about once
per week.
This
is the 2nd sister, Mary Ashley (well, its her hair). She has always had beautiful
hair and perfect skin. Her hair used to grow so fast that she
donated to Locks-of-Love several years in a row! But, she ended up dying her beautiful strawberry-blonde hair
and then followed up with a “body wave”.
This photo to the left is the product of those bad decisions…
Hair:
Mary
Ashley’s hair used to grow about 8-12 inches per year, but in the past year, it
has only grown a few inches! Her
hair got so dried out that it began to melt together (don’t know if that can
happen, but that’s what it looked like…it was worse than dreds). She couldn’t brush it or comb it and
went for months just wearing it up in messy buns, since that was basically her
only option. Mary Ashley dropped
chemicals, clarified with the baking soda paste and did an overnight coconut
oil hair treatment. Her hair did look significantly better in the beginning,
but we had to do something more because it was looking worse and worse the
longer she went without chemicals.
Apparently, chemicals cover up bad hair and make it look better, instead
of helping it get healthier. So,
Mary Ashley and I went together and got her hair CHOPPED off…like scary chopped
off…like even the hair stylist was nervous chopped off…BUT, once it was over,
Mary Ashley’s hair was baby soft, shiny, silky, beautiful and she could brush
it, comb it and run her fingers through it! It took her a LOT of courage to make the leap, but the
drastic measure was the right decision!
Now she can get her hair back to a healthy state, grow it long again and
maybe even donate to Locks-of-Love! She has been washing her hair with the Dr. Bronners (her favorite is Rose) and ACV about every 9 days.
In between washing, she does Rinse
Only Method as her hair needs it and tames frizz with Argan Oil. Coconut Oil
hair masks do not wash out of her hair well either, so she did a Shea Moisture Hair Mask instead and was
able to wash it out with water.
Skin:
So, Mary Ashley has perfect skin. She never break outs and has no scars, but she claims that
the OCM has helped her skin to be
more even toned and soft. Her skin
still looks perfect to me. She massages
Argan Oil into her skin every night
before getting in the shower. She
allows the hot shower to be the “steam” and just washes the oil off with the
hot shower water. In the mornings,
she uses a splash of cold water to wash her face. Basically, she had the easiest, most beautiful transition
EVER!!!
This is the 3rd
sister, Maggie. She has long, thick, dirty-blonde hair, is very
athletic and gets super tan super quickly…don’t be jealous! ALL the boys at school were ALWAYS in
love with her!!! Her hair and face
are a lot like mine…We both have straighter, oilier hair and more problems with
breakouts and scaring.
Hair:
Maggie isn’t sure yet if she wants to go chemical free on
her hair, because “she likes what chemicals do” for her hair! We will have to keep working on her…
Skin:
Maggie
just started using Jojoba oil for the
OCM a little over a week ago. She uses ACV as a Toner. Her skin has already improved! She has less breakouts this week and
her skin is already beginning to look more even toned!
This
is the 4th and youngest sister, Lizzie.
Have you seen the movie BRAVE?
You know, the Irish wild, crazy, red, curly hair and walks around barefoot...”Merida”, in my opinion, is an animated “Lizzie”. Lizzie is 11 years younger than me and
basically has perfect skin and hair, so it’s hard to see any transition
whatsoever…
Hair:
Lizzie
actually didn’t understand the entire process, so she started with an overnight
coconut oil hair mask and then
washed it out with regular shampoo.
From then on, she used the ROM. Her hair eventually got so dried out
that she came to her big sis (me) for help. I didn’t realize that Lizzie had dropped chemicals, so I was
super excited to help! We
clarified her hair with the Baking Soda
Paste, letting it sit for 20 minutes and then washing it out. We immediately followed that with an Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse and let that
sit for about 5 minutes before washing it out. We did this because her hair was SO dry. That night Lizzie said that her hair
felt and looked oily, but I thought that it finally looked healthy and
moisturized (so did our other sisters, mom and dad)! Lizzie continued doing the ROM, but her hair was still super
tangly and dried out…she eventually started forming dreds underneath her hair
at the back of her neck (and didn’t want them!!!). So, after much trail and error, her best system has been to Water Only Wash her hair, then to use Shea Moisture Restorative Conditioner
so that she can comb out her hair while in the shower…she does this about every
four days. Once out of the shower,
she sprays her locks with Shea Moisture
Curl Spray…she
Face:
The only problem that my sister had with her face was little
dried bumps. She began using the OCM with Jojoba Oil and, Poof, her face is perfect! All clear, no breakouts, no blemishes,
no dry skin and especially, no dried bumps. Needless to say, she is pleased! Yet another sister with a perfect, beautiful transition!!!
So, the Jackson girls are proof that EVERY PERSON IS DIFFERENT and each of us has to see what
works best for our body, skin, hair, etc! Just between my mom, my sisters and myself, we have pretty
much tried every option, method and ingredient. I think our next transitions will
be toothpaste and deodorant!!!
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