Anyway, what I wanted to write here today was not about time, but about hair and natural stuff for it. I just bought some new things for my hair and I wanted to share my joy. I know that buying new things, owning more stuff is not the greenest thing one can do. That’s why I promise to balance this post with a following one about how I transform old things into new with my sewing machine and my sewing hands. But today I need to show you some things that I bought.
First of all, there is the horn comb. I have found out that one can buy anything on the Internet. Even old-fashioned horn combs, like I haven’t seen since I was a toddler, in my grandmother’s house. Actually, we had a “bone comb” then. A little difference. On my last trip to Romania I bought some wooden hair brushes and a wood comb, and I was thrilled – all my family was going to stop using plastic in their hair. It turned out that nobody really likes to use brushes, so I had to look for more combs. I found out that horn combs don’t produce static electricity in your hair, disperse the natural oils evenly and even prevent premature greying and hair loss, not to mention that they have been proved by traditional Chinese medicine to help blood circulation in the scalp, even (apparently) help with headaches and rheumatic diseases. Horns contain keratin, just like human hair, so it makes sense that it should be nothing but beneficial, right?
Many of these combs are hand made and of incredible quality too. Aren’t they beautiful? I think they should last a lifetime. I do not intend to ever buy another comb again.
Another great thing for my hair is the Flexi-8 hair clip. Here I have to thank my friend Noor, whom I miss badly, for introducing me to these things. Never before this have I experienced a hair clip that didn’t hurt at all, didn’t feel heavy in my hair (I have very, very fine hair). And it is metal, not plastic! I have bought these things for my whole family. And again, I don’t know if I will ever need another hair clip in my life. This is it.
I have issues with my hair and finding things that work for it is a big thing for me. Remember those beautiful natural hair soaps that I blogged about once? Well, those didn’t really work for me. My hair simply looks sticky and awful after using a soap bar. Even if I use vinegar water to rinse, as my mother had taught me once. So I am back to liquid shampoo now, which doesn’t make me very happy because liquid shampoos tend to have longer ingredients lists.
My craziness about no plastic in hair is affecting my daughter too. I have found a few minuscule metal clips for her growing hair, but I guess they are more traumatizing on her scalp than plastic would be. She holds on to them until I pick her up from preschool. As soon as she sees me, she starts pulling the clips out of her hair. I am still trying to find a perfect solution for her baby hair. No, Mom, I am not cutting her bangs!
I know that most of us are trying to get rid of plastics especially in the kitchen, because it leaks into foods, and that is a big scare. I have done the no-plastic kitchen some time ago, and now it’s the turn of the rest of the house. I banish plastic from wherever I can. I try to not buy anything made of plastic anymore, if there is an alternative out there.
When I went to the optical store at the mall to order new glasses, I told the lady over there that I want some frames with no plastic on them, or as little as possible. Sure, I know plastic frames are highly fashionable right now. They look cool indeed. But I don’t want plastic on my face every second of every day. I don’t. She asked me “But why? Why don’t you like plastic?”. Because it is unnatural and cheap (in the sense of poor quality) and it breaks easily. It is the epitome of the consumerist society: buy pretty and cheap things that break, so that you can go to the store again and buy again other pretty and cheap things, that will break. Again. The lady from the optical store seemed puzzled: “Come here, I will show you some pairs of $500 plastic frames! You won’t say it is cheap then!”. Well, I will let you think about it: what could a pair of $500 plastic frames be the epitome of?
