mad-tante

review: Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:37:21 -0500

This is purported to be one of the least "chemical" -Ihealth store workers mean is it's the least unnatural contrivance by The Man commercial shampoos on the market. It's offered with complementary conditioner but I've never been brand-loyal enough to bother purchasing "matching" shampoo and conditioner.

Val recommended Aubrey's line of shampoos and since I've used some of their other products, it seemed a good choice to try next.

Ingredients:
Deionized Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein (made from organic, non-GMO soybeans), Coconut Oil-Corn Oil Soap, Sweet Almond Oil, White Camellia Oil, Carrageenan, Organic Geranium Oil, Organic Lavender Oil, Linoleic Acid (Vitamin F), Organic Rosa Mosqueta® Rose Hip Seed Oil, Vitamin E, Macadamia Nut and Aloe Vera Oils, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

Mmm, carrageenan. You'll remember it from soda pop, ice cream and toothpaste, right? There are only two ingredients that give me pause and you'll probably be surprised: Vegetable Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein.

What could be wrong with veggie stuffins, right? Well, I've learned to be careful with shampoos pushing protein. My hair, in its crowning glory, is extremely ... sensitive, as sensitive as something dead can be.* After the Borax experiment and resultant flogging by my hair-stylist, she reminded me that my hair has special needs. While I'm white (save the freckles), my hair needs to be treated similarly to black hair. Extra protein can turn hair brittle when over-used. You have to experiment to find if your hair likes more rather than less. Glycerin, long-loved by vegans and Hippie-types, can dehydrate. "Dehydrate? Why, we thought it was a moisturizer!"

Well, how it works is by sucking water out of your skin and suspending it in a waxy film on top of your skin, thereby making your skin feel smoother or at least that's the idea. Personally, I've always felt that it just plain sucked the moisture out of my skin. When I receive Hippie gifts like scented glycerin soaps, I promptly deposit them in their proper place: the drawer that holds my drawers. They're "smelly-goods," as we like to say in the hills.

Pressing on: I shook the bottle furiously (it instructs us to do this prior to each use) and poured some of the thin, milky product into my palm. I slapped it onto my head and attempted to follow the instructions to "lather." It didn't lather and that's okay. I'd expect no lather from a product with the ingredient list above but they instructed me to do so. I follow instructions, what can I say? Tell me to leap off a bridge...

Applying some more, I rubbed my head without poking any fingers into the hair, pretending to lather and then rinsed. My hair felt like vegetable soap had gone through it: slightly clingy, not smooth, with a residue. This is normal and to be expected -- at least on my hair texture. I ran some more through my hair to be sure of an even application ("repeat," said the instructions) and rinsed well. I let my hair "sit" for a while in the shower before applying conditioner and ran my hands over it to see what it felt like.

I couldn't run my hands through my short hair because it was fairly matted (again, expected) but it felt as normal as water-only-wetted hair would feel. This is good! I applied my eponymous TJ's Nourish conditioner and let that steep while I epilated. After rinsing the conditioner, my hair felt a-okay.

I styled my hair as usual, which is quite a process of heat, hair oils, styling gel or mousse, hair de-frizzer and then a shot of hair spray. My hair looked as it normally would and I have no complaints.

As to the "Ultra Smoothing" quality, I cannot recommend; however, perhaps compared to Aubrey's other products, my hair was smoother. All in all, the scent was mild. I had some concern over "camellia" because I find that a slightly offensive scent -- I chose it anyway since my hair has "smoothing" needs!

For the consumer wishing to make a commercial choice for the least amount of gook put into the environment, it seems excellent. I like to run any of my commercial products through this site, although I'll use any level if I really-really like it. Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo comes up a level 1 out of 10 (10 being the most toxic to humans and 0 being none). So, if personal risk is your focus, I'd call that pretty good, too.

I've no qualms about finishing this bottle of Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo. The cost is about $11 for 11 ounces. That's far more expensive than mixing up a gallon of Borax household cleanser that can double as shampoo but far easier on my hair. It's less expensive than Ojon Ultra Hydrating Shampoo, which left my hair feeling drier than Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo but that may have been the salt from my tears at spending more than twice the amount. I've stone cold stopped using that, I'll tell you.

I liked Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo for its non-damage to the farm (whatever comes out of us goes into the land and whatever food and water we get comes from the same place!) and its non-damage to me. I'd prefer to have a greater "smoothing" effect when using it but I can add that with conditioner. I recommend this product with only slight hesitation in that I didn't find it "smoothing" or "moisturizing" (it's advertised to help dry hair that needs smoothing). It's a good basic shampoo for my fine, thin and kinky hair.

* I can't swear by that answer but I know that it's dead and it contains keratin. I just like the way "-anon" responded.

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positivity begets positivity

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:45:37 -0500

I've been saying "we" could do this since I was a teenager. -a very long time ago

"Rather than focus on how good or how bad companies are overall, we are going to focus on whether or not they have earned a carrot. When we offer a carrot to a company, we are signaling to consumers that this company has done something good and they deserve a carrot. This "carrot" can be thought of as a "recommended status", that is finite, and doesn't imply perfection, but it means that it would be appropriate for consumers to favor that company in the future. So we will boost the company's reputation in this way, as well as give them cash with our purchases. The downside to this approach would be that we may offer a carrot to a company that is not the MOST socially responsible company in it's industry. The upside to this approach would be that this will allow us to have much bigger impact, because we can engage with the least sustainable companies and get them to take more drastic steps. My opinion is that our priority should be on maximizing our impact, rather than making sure the most overall responsible company gets the most money."

Long video (under 11 minutes) and a short version are on their site. It's something to think about.

Picture 1

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Self-portrait-y

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:39:55 -0500

Girlie-comb-over

photo.jpg

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Hello there, neighborhood.

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:05:28 -0500

I’m sorry that the comments were turned off on episode 4 of “Unscientific Science-y Tuesday” this week. I have no clue how that happened since I’ve never turned it on, off or filtered in any way prior. I've gone in and turned them on -- I think.

I’m blaming Vox. I’m also blaming them for holding comment updates and such until last night. Through “vox watch” this morning, someone commented. If I ignore you, it's the Vox's house-gods playing tricks on me.

Speaking of updates, I went in a couple days ago and my hairdresser was less-than-happy. She insisted on giving me one of those $20 deep conditioning treatments (and didn't charge me). Then she lacquered my hair (she uses this non-permanent stuff that gives it "the shiny;" me likes the shiny) and lopped more off. She said (okay, she's Bosnian but I imitate her in a Zsa Zsa Gabore accent, which is in NO way similar...fun to do, though), "How do you feel about change?"

"I don't know. I trust you to make all my hair-care decisions."

"Bangs?"

"Erm...NnnnnI'm afraid of that. I know you can do that to my hair but I don't think I have the ability to reproduce what you can create."

Comb-over

"Yeah...Bangs are hard [for your kind of hair]. Let's rise your hair line in back."

Since I had no idea what that meant and also didn't care (ah, trust): "Okey-doke."

Now my hair is all geometrical-y...in back. The front still swoops from a deep part way over to the other side. Basically, a sport a girlie-comb-over.

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bitches at work make me bitchy

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:24:09 -0500

-I know nobody "makes me" anything... that said

I'm pretty dumb. I used to think all coworkers were a team and while there are always a few challenging people in any situation, in general, everyone was friendly.

Then, people started telling lies about me or people I felt particularly close to. That sucked. If you tried to straighten it out, you've suddenly become divisive. The liar isn't divisive, no. They're just on one side of the issue. You're the PITA who started "meddling" (or whatever the situation is).

Marvinraygun

During my thirty-fourth year of this incarnation, I realized:

Life is "middle school," not even high school.

I'm all over the place with this, which is what people do, you know. When you're reactive, it's not just that you're responding to a look, something said or another stimulus. You're responding, yes, but what fuels that reaction is all the fing b.s. that went on with that person before or a previous, similar situation. Sometimes it's not even something that comes from a neighboring decade.

When I came around the corner at work a few times and heard a particular group of people (always the same group of people) talking smack about me personally, in other words not in relation to anything I did at work or for work, I held on to it. Once? Ech, you're having a bad day and grousing. A few times and you're a bitch.

Did I confront them? Hell, no! Them's scary bitches. I'll meet you pounding for pounding in the street if you press up on me but mean girls? What do I do with that?

Pretend I didn't hear it. Smile and try to win their affection.

Okay, at some point, I get some people will hate me and they'll hate me in order to hate me together. You can't break that bond. For them, befriending me or choosing not to be cruel would be adultery to their collective. I know what I could do to infiltrate them: be mean to another of their victims.

I've seen that. Where? Middle school. Hell, I saw it in the first grade and that's a fine story but I'll not share. I didn't understand the point to it all in first grade, middle school or now. What I'd gain is not being a target (at least for a time). What I'd be is weak, ugly and well... do you need more?

If you're one of those people who've slept with the enemy to save your own skin, you know who you are. Hope you liked getting fucked.

What brought on today's rant? Nothing that happened to me -- today. It's that background fuelling I was going on about toward the beginning.

I came around the same corner and heard them (as a collective, I blame all four for the sins of any single mouth amongst them) say about another coworker, "Boy, she really loves herself, doesn't she?"

The vic was sharing a video of her making an arse out of herself for her children (back when they were little). It was cute, it was pure and the person isn't always cute or pure but she didn't deserve that.

I can't have been the only person to hear it. What frosts my arse all the more is the collective all have hand-made plaques on their desks that read:

Be nice or go away.

You have to love those bitches' balls. I just wasted part of my life thinking about them. I told you that I was pretty dumb.

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Vox Hunt: Workin' Hard

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:53:44 -0500

Show us what you're working on right now.
Submitted by yygall.

Daisy primed top

chronicled at lj

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unscientific science-y Tuesday, episode 4

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:15:44 -0500

EDIT: I never turned comments "off." I apologize to the people who wished to comment and even more apologize to Valerae, who told me she couldn't comment and I thought she meant "just she" couldn't comment. I have trouble and cannot leave comments sometimes on Vox; I figured it's my connection speed. :( I wasn't giving people the cold-shoulder. Me so sorry!
**********************************************************************************************

First, thanks to John and his voxer buddy Noddy for helping out on episode 3. This vox post is to chronicle my weekend attempts and shampooing and rinsing with Borax solution and vinegar.

Friday night, when it application-time came, its watery consistency made judging how much to use difficult.

I poured a handful and slopped it on my pre-wetted head in the shower. That didn't seem to cover much (1/6 of my scalp/ hair). I switched to slowly pouring the solution. To "feel" like everything had been treated, I poured twice-over, using about 1.5 cups of solution.

That was probably far more than a person would need but I wanted to cover evenly.

Regarding the citric acid of episode 3: I was very "on" about using it because I read in two places that neither lemon juice nor ACV were strong enough to counter Borax solution. Since I had no citric acid, I used ACV.

photo.jpg

Smooth

That felt fine in the shower (wet) but my hair felt odd afterward. I made sure to completely douse with vinegar, to remove the solution. Perhaps my hair cannot tolerate much of one or the other?

My hair and scalp is "squeaky" clean but uncomfortably tight and tingling in a bad way. My hair is turning into a wiry, mess (it's still about 50% damp at time of photo, left). Naturally, my hair is fine, thin, kinky and ginger. Certainly, every hair-dresser I've met thinks they know my hair and then freak out as they try to manage it! Ah, the winning combination of Jewish and Irish ancestry! :)

BTW I wash my hair daily; it's necessary to use several styling products and blow-style to make smooth (see photo, above right). I'm air-drying with tonight's experiment, since my hair feels too dry and pouffy (and my scalp feels like I have sunburn)!

-reported Friday, 9 May 08

Normal shampoo & cond.

The next morning, my mother saw me and remarked about my, as she calls it, "Jew-fro." I told her I had used Borax solution and followed with vinegar rinse. She was aghast (she's a licensed beautician from the early 1960's). Stated above, I wanted to give it one more go but as of noon the day after, my scalp still feels like somebody tossed gasoline on it. I pondered letting my natural oils come back on their own (and skip my usual daily cleansing) but after hour upon hour of discomfort, I returned to Neutrogena "Triple Moisture" shampoo and TJs "Nourish" conditioner. My hair is much more relaxed (added oils) but my scalp feels exactly the same (see photo, bottom left; hair is almost 50% dry).

I've decided to leave well-enough alone by not trying straight Borax solution again. I may cook up a different concoction with Borax in it, but not again diluted Borax-proper. Ouch. I still recommend Borax for your laundry, bug repellent/ bug killer and outside cleaning jobs. I think as a shampoo, it's best for those with different textured hair than mine. I know tons of people use it and that's great, if it works for you!

-follow up, Saturday 10 May 08

After 30 hours of jojoba

As of four days later, my hair is behaving more "normally." Saturday afternoon, I put about one teaspoon of jojoba oil in my hair and massaged it into my scalp. That set for about 30 hours and then I washed with my normal moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. The only other thing to report is I've lost 2 rather scary chunks of hair (as wads) whilst showering. I've had similar happen after surgery and after having pneumonia, so it's not a complete shock. Those must've been the weaker hairs, eh? At any rate, my scalp is recovered after the 30 hour jojoba treatment, too.

-follow up, Tuesday 13 May 08

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Tornado weather is pretty...

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:08:07 -0500

7 AM, Fenton, MO.

photo.jpg

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comical family moment

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:27:33 -0500

My brother just rang, which is something at this workplace. We're never supposed to use our cell phones but we have only one phone for about 13 of us to share (at the front of the room) and we're not really supposed to use it (unless you're a pet).

"Hey, when mum and dad's anniversary?"

Red Roses Galore

"..." ::taking a breath::

"Wait! Is it the 15th?"

"No. That's grandma's birthday."

"Is it the 12th?"

"No. That's your anniversary."

"Well, when is it?"

"The 16th."

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aw, hell

nobody@vox.com(mad-tante) — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:59:36 -0500

My friend just told me, “Erm, you need to pull your skirt down in back.”

I felt round there and my completely huge arse was showing, skirt tucked into the top of my tights.

Classy.

We have men in this office. ::sigh::

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