Wikipedia says that Necrophilia is the sexual attraction to corpses, the term has been around for about 160 years.
OK, two things…
First, me and the hubby love a good game of “oooh look, a naked dead body” in the bedroom but that’s just a game (I think). I’m a pretty open-minded girl, but even I have my limits and sex with a dead body just sends my weird-o-meter through the roof. Second, and more importantly…how many people have really enjoyed a “who’s stiffer” competition before they gave it a name?
Now, you’re probably wondering if there’s a “Living Clean” point to all of this or if I’m going to recommend the healthiest soil to dig up a date from. Actually this is all about washing your hair and how often you do it. Stay with me on this…
Early on in my journey into the green I started washing my hair only a few days a week. I would only use shampoo and conditioners that didn’t contain harsh chemicals like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), silicone and parabens. Some hardcore followers have gone a step further and given up shampoo completely and let their hair clean itself. Apparently this ideology has a name…no poo/low-poo. I’m going to focus more on the low-poo side of things. Maybe one day you’ll be able to read an equally disgusting post from me about no-poo which is not shampooing at all, but that’s a tale for another day.
Let’s talk about that name…now if it was me I wouldn’t have used “poo” in the title. I think this causes a lot of confusion as to what kind of “movement” it is referring to. I mean seriously, are we talking about hair care or a fiber-less diet? My best educated guess is it’s a reference to the word “shampoo” but I still think no-shamp/low-shamp sounds a little more “standing in the shower” than “sitting on the can”.
This is another small step you can take to reduce toxins in your world and it’s not more expensive. I was afraid that finding healthier shampoos/conditioners in my local pharmacy would be a dead-end but I was pleasantly surprised and the cost was roughly the same. My unofficial test subject (let’s call him husband) loved his shampoo and when asked to switch he would proclaim…..wait for it…..”Over my dead body”. Well, it took some convincing (draw your own conclusions) but he tried my low-poo option and really couldn’t tell much of a difference. One warning, without SLS they don’t get as soapy as traditional ones but I think it’s still worth making the switch. Also, this is another great way to choose cruelty-free products. Really, do you still need to test on animals? I don’t think they are creating a super-shampoo that will deflect bullets or help you solve crimes, but if testing is really still needed then my suggestion would be to test on scientists instead. Let’s see how long that lasts before the practice is dead in the water.
To check for cruelty-free products, I use PETA’s database or the database on Leaping Bunny. Some products have the leaping bunny icon on them so you know they’re cruelty-free (on the back of the bottle/tube is actually a leaping rabbit). Lots of people haven’t noticed the bunny or even know what it means. Also, there are lots of great products that don’t have the bunny on the bottle but are cruelty-free so double check to see if they test on animals. Some companies have that information on their websites and if you love a product you can always contact them directly to ask about their animal testing policy. I, of course, take it a step further and I want to make sure that the whole product is not tested on animals. There are no laws regarding cruelty-free labeling so companies can create their own definitions and labels so do your research.
Some companies don’t test the final product on animals but the ingredients used still are. Thanks, but no thanks…you’re still dead to me. I like to throw my dead presidents (that’s slang for money) to companies that are cruelty free from the cradle to the grave.
So what have we learned…low-poo really just means being smarter about shampoo/conditioner and skipping washing it a few days a week. Less chemicals, less damage, less waste.
Like I said, going low-poo is not a huge endeavor and probably won’t kill you, you may already be low-poo and didn’t even know it. My family has been low-poo for years and I’m still not dead-set against the idea of no-poo at some point.
So think of me next time you are in the shower and maybe skip washing your hair. Instead, think of how impressive it was that I made 13 references to dead bodies while talking about hair care in an article you thought was going to be about taking a crap.
