We are inching up to eleven months of quarantine. Originally we knew it was a terrible virus but mistakenly thought if everyone was careful, we would get back to normal life in a few weeks. We had no idea it would become so political and turn into a big fat mess. In April of 2020, I wrote about it. I thought it would make families closer and I said my husband and myself took to it very well. It turns out what I wrote was pure bologna. I was very wrong. Although temporarily families bonded and enjoyed each other, it basically fell apart when the stresses of working at home and virtual schooling became an everyday thing. Fortunately the only things I actually miss are running to the grocery store if I am out of something or going out for breakfast. I also miss going on day trips either alone or with friends. My husband and I could safely go somewhere in the car, but at our age we need bathroom breaks and a public bathroom is the last place I want to go.
Mike, my husband, is still doing well. He is content just doing his thing. He has a much better handle on our situation. He has a very level personality. I guess I don't. Today he told me not to break the law in any way because I would die in prison in one day. He watches a lot of You Tube videos on building things so I told him not to build a tiny house or he would have to live in it alone. The upside is that I get a lot of steps each day just wandering around my house.
In an attempt to occupy myself, I decided to research shampoo bars. This isn't the first time. http://www.thecabincountess.com/2018/02/shampoo-bar.html I know I am scraping the bottom of the barrel of activities with this one, but a pet peeve of mine is a shower full of shampoo and conditioner bottles. It's all on me. Anyone who knows me will know my husband does not need anything but a bar of soap and a washcloth to wash his head. A few years ago, I attempted to make soap. It worked out well and at that time I used that homemade soap to wash my hair. It was wonderful but as the time went on, it dried out my hair even more. I ended up going back to the bottles. I bought the purple shampoo for blonde (or in my case white) hair. It was good but when I checked it out on the Think Dirty app, it turned out those shampoos are full of junk. On a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being the worst, most of them scored an 8 or more.
I found several shampoo bar options but settled on J.R. Liggetts Shampoo Bar. I found their Tea Tree and Hemp Oil third on a top ten list although some of the Amazon reviews are terrible. There were also some good reviews. As with everything in life, not everyone sees things exactly the same. Excuse the picture. I ripped it apart before I realized I should have taken a photo.
When I got this bar of soap, I was disappointed. It was so tiny. The picture online made it look like a normal sized bar or soap. When I saw how small it was, I thought I got ripped off. The bar itself is only 2" by 2.5" by 1.25" thick. It was not cheap. The cost ranges from $9 to $12 per bar. It can be purchased online or some specialty stores. I noticed a local Amish store carries it, but I have no idea the cost. It comes in several varieties. Since my hair is dry and hasn't been cut for almost a year, I chose the moisturizing bar.
I have little mesh bags and some crocheted bags. These work great for bars of soap and can be hung up to dry. A slippery soggy bar of soap isn't much better than having shampoo bottles, so hanging to dry is the best solution.
Now for the results of my first shampoo with this little bar of soap. I have never had so many suds. It was so sudsy that I was certain I would never be able to rinse them all out. I was wrong. It rinsed out very well, and my hair actually squeaked which hasn't happened for a long time. The information about this product says you don't have to use conditioner so I didn't. It was true. My hair combed out easily. At first look, it seems smoother but that can be deceiving. It reminds me of my last experience with a dry hair treatment. I decided to put coconut oil on my hair. I was told to apply the coconut oil, wrap my head in a towel and allow the oil to penetrate the hair for a while, then shampoo and rinse. I followed instructions. My hair combed out nicely and I thought I had found the answer to my static hair. What I didn't know was that my hair was smooth because it was greasy. I am not familiar with oily hair because my hair is so dry but when I got up in the morning, my neck felt greasy. I went outside to feed the birds and my hair turned hard. I then realized that the coconut oil left in my hair had hardened and my oily neck was actually the warmed up oil. I hope to have better luck with this shampoo.
It looks better right at this moment, and hopefully in the morning that will continue but I suspect I will look like I got my finger caught in a light socket. After this photo, I put a sweater on over my head and I briefly looked like a chia pet. Maybe things will improve after a few more washings or maybe they won't.
