I have read that too but we have used it for over 20 years and I have only had to go to the dentist twice in that 20 years. I dunno what else to use.

I used to use baking soda...it cleaned alright, but after a while the taste got to me. Now I just brush w/ my toothbrush + some water and it's fine. Combine that w/ all paleo and my teeth don't seem to get 'fuzzy' (thats so gross, I know) for at least a week or more.

Well I'm glad it works for you!

Hi all, I'm jumping in kind of late in the game, but I read the last few pages, and had a few thoughts. Capo, I wonder why your hair is getting oilier. I've been no-pooing for about a year, and if anything, my hair tends to get dried out. I have to add jojoba oil to my hair after showers. Could it depend on the person's hair? Or maybe your hair still has to adjust.

As for brushing teeth, I believe that teeth health is primarily nutritional as per the WAPF. Toothpaste probably promotes dental health, but I don't think it's necessary. There are too many cultures that get by without it and have perfect teeth.

ETA: Bat Spit, I use organic sunscreen, which does have chemicals in it, but no unnecessary ones. I've also heard you can combine shea butter with titanium oxide, which is a sun block , though it will have that whitish tone that oxides have. Shea butter by itself has some sun protection as well. I am not fanatical about sunscreen, but I do think it has the potential to expedite everything from wrinkles to cancer, so I choose to wear sunscreen. Paleolithic people just lived with wrinkles, but I'm too vain for that.

Wow - so much activity here!

Still no-pooing, and it's going well. Hair is shiny and easier to manage (usually it's fine, limp, dry, frizzy and doesn't hold a style). It's darker though and I'm not jazzed about that. I am searching for a natural henna to boost my highlights. Natural hair lighteners, anyone? I'm a brunette with red highlights. I used to be a strawberry blonde...*sigh*

Capo, that sux about the oiliness, were you brushing the oils through your hair? I saw a website once that gave recipes for all sorts of hair treatments...if I can find it again, I'll post it here.

I got my Pascalite clay in the mail, woo hoo! I use the powder mixed with water as a face mask - wow. No blackheads afterwards. It gets extremely tight as it dries, and my face was pink after, but so super-smooth! I also have been brushing my teeth with the powder, dipping my wet brush in and using natural toothpaste with it, and for the first time in ages my gums aren't bleeding. I have one spot that bleeds - I tested, and when I don't use the clay I bleed. When I do, no bleeding.

I'm using the soap as well and really like it - ingredients are clay, lard, soy oil, coconut oil, lye and rosemary oil.

My lips are healing - I am using coconut oil on them, but I have to say that Vaseline works best, mainly bc my lips are peeling and if I Vaseline them, I can't pick. I am a horrible lip-picker.

Natural makeup...Burt's Bees?

I visited the Burt's Bees site, and I think I'm going to try some of their products.

Lucysdream, I too am a little concerned of getting wrinkles, but not skin cancer really because I have read that if you build up a tan naturally over a moderate period of time, you will be less likely to get skin cancer. Doesn't the skin need to absorb UV from the sun to generate vitamin D? Also, I know that it's important not to wear sunglasses, because direct sunlight stimulates the pineal gland to produce melatonin which affects our whole body and circadian rhythm. John Ott PhD. found that a large portion of cancer patients spending time outside without eyeglasses on had faster and total recoveries. His book was written awhile ago, but like I put faith in the WAP book, I also believe the Health and Light book by Ott. Healthcare can ignore a problem for so long, testing all the competing drugs and non-homeopathic remedies for diseases such as chemotherapy, eating a low fat, high carb diet, radiation, taking lots of pills. It's no wonder why so many people get and die of cancer and heart disease each year in America. Anyway, I would be interested in using some sort of "age-defying" prevention to wrinkles like a natural sunblock, so long as it's not interfering with vitamin D production and not some toxic chemical.

Also, I was reading the Vitamin D experiment and some posters have had some good skin results from taking megadoses of vitamin D..as in they're like 40 years old and have younger looking skin than their friends. So perhaps aging skin is a result of not getting enough vitamin D, something the sun helps you make! But taking supplements might be even better than getting in the sun all day.

Try juicing a lemon and adding it to a big pitcher of cool water and using that as a rinse. Then rinse with more regular water. You don't want to actually leave the juice in your hair.

Thanks Spit!

I rinse daily, but only use soap maybe twice a week. I am told I have no nasty odor, so hopefully people aren't just being nice. I use regular Pantene shampoo maybe three times per week, the rest of the time I just rinse my hair when I shower. Since I have short hair, any natural oil gives me a nice spiky shine. Not that I'm oily, but you know there's got to be at least a little more oil in the hair when not shampooing. I use baking soda for brushing my teeth, regular mouthwash and floss. I use a deoderant most of the time I'm going out into the world and I do use some of my favorite colognes - Black by Kenneth Cole or Aqua di Gio.

Basically, I try to go as natural as possible without being fanatical. I avoid flouride and chlorinated water, but I do enjoy some modern grooming aids and scents.

What - what's wrong with that?

Hi Sokar (newbie ), nothing wrong with grooming. I would never do anything that made me gross or smelly in any way. Natural products definitely work for me. Just something to think about: I've heard from other people who no-poo that pantene is the worst offending of all shampoos because the "silk proteins" bind to hair and weaken it, causing hair loss in some cases. Here's an example: http://www.planetfeedback.com/index...topic_id=250739. They tell me that the cheaper the better because they can't afford the "expensive" silk proteins. I still use suave as a conditioner, but I avoid pantene.

About a year ago, I stopped using pantene, quit drinking coffee, and started taking coconut oil everyday, and I grew 25% more hair, which I'm excited about because I always had thin hair. I don't know which actually did it, but it certainly did not hurt giving up pantene and shampoo altogether. My avatar is month 3 or 4 of no-pooing.

If anyone is interested, I also use simple pure raw honey to wash my face, and jojoba oil for a moisturizer. Raw honey diminishes the occurence of break outs.

Lucysdream, I didn't know honey made zits go away. I have this one currently on my cheek and I have a feeling it's not going to go away very soon, and I'm not going to pop it because that would only worsen the matter. Do you know exactly what the honey does to make the zit go away?

And you mentioned the no-poo method of hair care and how your hair got dry and not oily. I think just like people have varying skin-types, people have varying hair types. I obviously get oily hair if I go no-poo. I think if I had gone any longer without some form of gentle real shampoo, my hair would have been plastered with oil to my head..I don't know how my mom stood it for so long. I got two hairbrushes: a boars bristle one and one that just has metal spikes with plastic on the ends and a solid back to it, and neither could even begin to ease the amount of oil my hair had accumulated. My hair was oiliest at the crown and even when I spread the oil onto the rest of my hair with either my fingers or hairbrush, it stayed oily and washing with the ACV/BS mix did not remove any of the oil. Nonetheless, I love the Avalon shampoo I use. It's all natural, no harmful chemicals, and the only scent is natural mint. And I only wash every three days. Atleast by going no-poo for around a month my hair lost its ability become oily after not washing for a day.


*Another thing: does anyone know how to get rid of dry skin? I've stopped using soap, and I don't have to because water seems to wash all the dirt and smells off of me as much as soap would do, and I try not to shower except every three days. It could be that getting out in the sun dries my skin out more, or it could be the clothes I wear contain trace amounts of laundry detergent which makes my skin kind of dry. I get plenty of good fats in my diet, so that's not why my skin is dry. Perhaps I need to start taking vitamin D3 supplements and the dry skin syndrome would go away.

Capo, raw honey has anti-bacterial properties which kill the acne bacteria. I think it has to be raw though. I sometimes use honey alone, with oat flour, or with a little bit of baking soda. As you can see, I have pretty clear skin. I don't use any other cleanser on my face unless I wear make-up, then I use cetaphil.

Personally, whenever I've had dry skin it was due to a lack of proper oils in my diet. Whenever I correct the diet, my skin gets better. I make sure to have clo and coconut oil every day. But I do have sensitivites to laundry detergent. Only shaved castille soap, baking soda, and borax for me.

You're probably right about the differences between people. But if you like the shampoo, by all means use it! Fortunately, we live in a time of choices. I have my girly estee lauder products I use too!

Hey capo, do you have central air at your house? Those systems are very drying, IME. Whenever I go visit my parents' house with central air, everything dries out - my skin, my lips, the inside of my nose. Maybe you just need a humidifier. Sometimes I think we get so fixated on diet that we forget to look at other options.

And ditto on the honey. I personally don't use any products on my face, but raw honey has antibacterial properties.

huh, I do have central air heating. That might just be it! Actually, we have a dehumidifier in the basement, which gets really humid during the summer so we have it to keep down mold growing down there. But the humidifier seems like a good idea. I wonder if I can get one for cheap. I remember my mom used to work in a lab, she's a lab technologist, that had a humidifier and my hand would get all cold when I put it over the blower. Perhaps I can get a used hospital humidifier..or not. I'll just buy one new. Do you know of a good brand to buy a humidifier?

EDIT: I don't have raw honey. Perhaps I'll try applying some honey on it and see if it goes away. Hopefully..

Honey is amazing...I love it as a face mask and scrub (mixed with sugar)

My hair is now really nice! My only beef is what Batspit mentioned, the head-smell I don't reek or anything, but if I don't wash my hair for a few days my scalp has that head-smell. Maybe BS/ACV more often would do it...but I miss having a nice scent also. I have a LUSH in my area, so I may grab one of their natural hair wash bars. Or, are there any good essential oils to use in the hair?

Sokar, I use a mixture too. I use hairspray, makeup, deoderant (I'm working up to trying the Milk of Magnesia) and perfume.