kim schmidt

If you are on Pinterest, you’ve probably seen how to make your own “just about anything”, from deodorant to laundry detergent and more. One of the hot topics that I’ve come across on many occasions is the dry shampoo debate. Since I work out 5 days a week (and most of those days I teach multiple classes), I wanted to give insight on how I use homemade dry shampoo to prolong a nice blow out and protect my hair from damage.

• First up, the most important part is to take the time blow out your hair after a shower. This is key in lasting days without actually shampooing/conditioning the hair in the shower.
• Secondly, when you do workout, pull all of your hair away from your face and neck. Use the popular elastic hair ties (as seen below) – they will not tug at your hair or create creases like the Goody’s brand at the store.

• Third, when I get home from class, I brush my hair out and let it air dry. Most of the times this is all I do (since most of my classes are in the evenings), but when I teach a morning class I’ll let it dry and then add the dry shampoo.
• The dry shampoo (for brunettes) is simple: you need 5 teaspoons of cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Add to a jar, shake and you are ready to go! At one time, I was just adding the shampoo to my hands and then massaging it into my scalp. While that worked, it went everywhere! Then after some research, I discovered that many people use a makeup brush to apply it. This has revolutionized my dry shampooing days!!
• I dip the brush into the jar, tap the sides to remove excess, add to my head, allow the shampoo to sit for 5-8 minutes (usually this is the time I brush my teeth and begin applying makeup!), then really work it into the scalp like you would normal shampoo. It’s really that easy and you know exactly what you are putting on your head.

• Once the shampoo has been worked, I use a large tooth comb to make sure there aren’t any big clumps that I missed. The other comb pictured below is a teasing comb. This is essential – go out now and buy one. I finish my hair off with the teasing at the roots to give volume where it was lost after working out and sleeping. I don’t use hairspray, and rarely feel like my hair needs it to give it volume.

  

Here is my workout schedule along with when I normally wash my hair.

Monday: 1 Adult Zumba in the morning + 1 Zumba Kids in the evening
Tuesday: 3 Zumba Kids back to back in the evening
Wednesday: 1 Zumba Kids + 1 Adult Zumba in the evening
Thursday: 1 Adult Zumba in the evening
Friday: 1 Zumba Kids in the evening

I try to wash my hair on Sundays, which sets me up for a week of washing every other day or so. If I wash on Sunday, then I’ll wash on Tuesday and Friday. If I don’t wash on Sunday, then I’ll wash after my Monday morning Zumba, Wednesday and Saturday.

If you are looking for different and unique ways to style your hair, check out A Lover’s Anthology’s 30 Days of Hair.

I first blogged about the Berkey Water Filtration System back in 2011 (and there are still some great tips on that post for those just starting out in green living). I wanted to make a dedicated post to the Berkey and how it’s worked for us since we first received it as a Christmas present in 2010. While we ended up having some issues with the first few filters, the Berkey customer service was great and got us out new filters right away. I believe all and all they had to send us 3 different replacements. I’m happy to say that now at the first of 2014, the filters have been doing their job perfectly. Every few months (typically when we get back from vacation or a weekend away), I dump all the water, take it apart and give it a deep cleaning with hot soapy water.

One question I’ve been asked repeatedly is how to fill up the Berkey with tap water. We have a beer growler that we use, though I imagine we could also use the sink spray hose now that the Berkey is located near the sink!

This is looking down into the top compartment with the two black filters. Attached on the bottom (inside the bottom compartment) are two PF-2 fluoride filters.

To make sure your filters last, is to clean them regularly with a washcloth, hot water, and soap. Also, another trick that I discovered, is if you don’t feel all the water is filtering (i.e. there is still water in the top compartment), to scrap a bit of the filter off. It doesn’t damage anything other than removing some of the build up that will happen (especially if you have hard water!)

When we finally move to a more permanent location, I will begin the search for a whole house filtration system! The Berkey is the perfect solution in the meantime.

If you have any questions about our experience with the Berkey, please feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment below!