No Poo Shampooing...

I think it was back when I was at uni, and was on holiday in Sweden with a group of people from Winged Fellowship (charity providing respite care for physically disabled people) on one of their Discovery Holidays - similar to this if anyone is interested in this type of overseas break is the fantastic Makin Tracks run by Dave and Debbie Jepson... for more information http://www.makintracks.eu/index.htm.&npsp; Anyway we were with a lovely lady who had stopped washing her hair with shampoo years ago - it looked fantastic!! So as you do with these things I guess I stored that away (and forgot at some point) and did nothing with the information until we were in Australia last year and decided that surely nothing was worth the screams and shouts of a reluctant 3 year old to have their hair washed.

So began our first non-washing trial. It wasn't that great, and so it ended again, with reluctance but realising that we for whatever reason just weren't getting there.

With an interest in 'green' awareness, reluctance to use unnecessary chemicals and also whilst we were in a tightening of the belt time, I started to investigate again and found some brilliant blogs with more information than the 'just leave it and it'll have a greasy phase then be fine' approach.

So what I do now is to mix 2 tablespoons of Bicarbonate of Soda with 2 cups of water in a shampoo bottle. Mix well before use and simply use as required. At the moment I'm tending to find that I wash my hair about every 2 to 4 days which is a big change from my daily pourings of shampoo down the drain, plus conditioner so it was all lovely and silky smooth... About conditioner too - I've replaced that with a Cider Vinegar rinse - again I use 2 tablespoons to 2 cups, mix it in a bottle and use probably on alternate washes.

There's quite a few blogs out there about this - and it seems even more than when I started my 'no poo' journey so just have a browse through. A couple of my favourites were:

http://naturalpapa.com/health/go-no-poo-how-to-switch-to-no-shampoo-hair-care/

And Www.babyslimelivejournal.com/174054/HTML/why

I'm pleased with it, happy to be cutting my water usage, pollutants and shampoo costs down... Roll on the summer and a little lemon juice for those natural highlights! Oh and Mick to stop excitedly removing my (cream) horses hair from my head thinking I'm catching him up going grey!!

http://babyslime.livejournal.com/174054.html#why

http://naturalpapa.com/health/go-no-poo-how-to-switch-to-no-shampoo-hair-care/

Remedies for those coughs and colds of the season...

Everyone seems to have a cough or cold at the moment - we certainly do in our house, so I thought I would share some remedy information with you... any questions give me a shout...

Belladonna: indicated where the symptoms have come on suddenly and there is fever, throbbing and pain, with great irritability, and symptoms worse from jarring.

Bryonia:  the symptoms are slow to come on, there is much dryness and pains are worse from even the slightest movement. Children are irritable and may reject what they just asked for. The cough is dry, worse after eating or drinking. There is increased thirst.

Gelsemium: the number one flu remedy, with symptoms slow to come on, where there is much heaviness and drooping, fatigue, clammy skin, flushes of hot and cold, dizziness and congestion.

Pulsatilla: mucus is sticky and difficult to cough up. The child might be tearful and need constant cuddles. They are better in the fresh air, and thirstless despite having a dry mouth.  

Phosphorus: this is a hacking, tickling cough, often with sweating. The child is worse at night and might ask for icy drinks or ice cream, which may be vomited up immediately. They may be hoarse, and are better for affection and massage, and worse for cold air.

 

NB These tips are not intended as a substitute for medical advice and should not be taken as so - should you need to please consult a GP or medical practitioner.

International Women's Day

On International Women's Day I thought it would be good to have a story of an inspiring woman and what Homeopathy did to help her and her family...

Please use the link below to access Nadia Sawalha's story (it's a good one!)

http://www.britishhomeopathic.org/export/sites/bha_site/hh_article_bank/interviews/Nadia_Sawalha_may2010.pdf

Happy Women's Day Everyone!

Homeopathy for Bump, Baby and Beyond...

Our local NCT group is organising a Bump, Baby and Beyond Fair which promises to be a fantastic day out for all - we have activity trials, seminar sessions, talks, demonstrations, a Table Top Sale (great for bargains and sellers alike - just the right time to have a good old clear out and re-stock with some fab recycling of toys!), I'm facepainting for the day and we obviously have lots and lots of exhibitors (around 60 and counting) coming along to make it a day worth attending with everything you need from pregnancy to early school years...

I've decided that I'm going to circulate a copy of my newsletter there with tips for remedies, minor complaints and ideas for incorporating some complementary therapies into your pregnancy so on the theme of Homeopathy and little ones, here's some ideas of what you could help with at home and some remedy tips...

Teething - Chamomilla 30C give where the child is angry and inconsolable

Colic – Magnesium Phos 30C give when the baby is doubled over in pain

Nappy Rash – Calendula 30C and Calendula cream (soothing and antiseptic)

Earache – Pulsatilla 30C give when the child is clingy with a greenish discharge from their ear

Fever - Aconite 30C for sudden fevers after getting chilled; Belladonna 30C when they have a very high temperature with a red face; Gelsemium 30C for slow fevers with chills, bone pain and fatigue

Coughs and Colds – Bryonia 30C when they are miserable, irritable and better for keeping still; Pulsatilla 30C when there is plenty of yellow/green mucous, clingy and upset

Vomiting – Nux Vomica 30C for bilious and bad tempered states; Arsenicum Album 30C for after bad food, where there is diarrhoea and restlessness

Bumps and Bruises – Arnica 30C which is also great for shock and exhaustion

These indications are merely a guide and should not be used in place of medical intervention.  For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, please consult your doctor.

If you’ve given the remedy several times and there is no response it is likely that the remedy doesn’t fully match the symptom picture and a different remedy may be required. 

Here's to a healthy spring!

Happy Homeopathic Prescibing...

Em

PS The NCT Bump, Baby and Beyond Fair is on the 21st May 2011 at Skipton Auction Mart from 10-4...