Thursday DIY: Natural Hair Dye

If you're like me, you certainly don't color your hair. Nope, because there's no way we're old enough to have gray hairs! Nope. No way. My grandmother is in her mid-80s and is still as gray-free as she was in her 40s. (Just don't look in her linen closet.)

However...

If, say, you wanted to try out an all natural way to color your hair for when you might eventually need to do so, this is it. As with many of my DIY experiments, I found this on the DIY Natural site.What I really like about them is that they allow comments for people to say what's worked, what hasn't, and ask questions. And hey, the people who run the site actually answer those questions! 

They also offer links to where to purchase certain herbs and oils they use, but I've found that my local health store stocks everything I need, is locally owned and operated (I'm a huge fan of small, local businesses!) and doesn't require far to travel, thus cutting my personal carbon footprint.

What herbs to use for certain hair colors

All hair is different and may take longer to soak up color or maybe no time at all. Some hair grows faster while others just plug along slowly. Some colors of hair react differently to different colors. Here’s a list of herbs that work best for each hair color type.

Blonde
Blonde hair will usually take up more color that most others. Lemon juice works well for light blonde and some darker blondes. A tea made from chamomile and calendula will work for darker blonde types. (Find dried chamomile flowers here and dried calendula flowers here.)

Rhubarb root makes golden honey tones. Simmer the root in water and cool. Use as you would with other tea methods.

It’s also possible that other berberine-containing roots such as mahonia (Oregon Grape Root), yellowroot, bayberry or yellow dock could work, but I have found no reports of individuals using them.

Brown
For brown hair, use a strong black tea or coffee solution.

You can also make a tea from nettle, rosemary and sage. Sage has long been used to cover gray hair. Use it weekly to get better coverage on gray that keeps coming back. (Find dried nettle leaf, dried rosemary, and dried sage leaf here.)

Red
For red hair, nothing beats tomato juice. Massage a generous amount into hair, lightly squeeze out any excess, then pile on top of head. Cover with a plastic bag or shower cap, and leave on for at least 30 minutes.

You can also make a tea from hibiscus flowers and calendula. By adjusting the amount of each, you can vary the shade of brown. And both are full of antioxidants, which are very healthy for you hair. (Find hibiscus flowers here and dried calendula flowers here.)

Reddish

Pureed beets will give your hair a reddish purple tone. And all red tones of hair will pick up highlights from a vinegar rinse (like this) used after any hair color.

Black
True black hair is difficult to work with. Black walnut powder will give you very dark, almost black hair. Indigo will give you blue-black hair, but most sources say it should be used with or after henna treatments. (Find black walnut powder here.)

 Natural Herbal Hair Dyes
While most herbal material can be made into a strong tea and rinsed through the hair, there are a few more steps that can make the dye last longer. And for anyone who has dark hair with gray coming through, you know how important that is! Here’s the basic method:

• Chop or mash your herbal material. (See rest of article for suggestions on what to use for your hair color.) You can use fresh or dried for most applications, though specifics are noted with certain herbs. The smaller the material is, the more surface area can be exposed to hair, and therefore, creates a stronger and darker dye.
• Make a paste by mixing the herbs with some hot water. Add a small amount of water at a time until you get a thick paste the consistency of toothpaste. Hot water will open the pores of the herbs and allow more color to be released.
• For colors that require making a tea, use a large amount of herbs - ½ cup of herbs to 2 cups water. Use hot water and steep as long as it takes to cool off. Strain herbs out and transfer tea to a squirt bottle to make application easier.
• If using a tea, squirt onto scalp and hair, repeating until tea is gone. Twist hair, secure on top of head, and cover with a damp towel or shower cap. If using a paste, apply the paste to the roots and cover with a damp towel or shower cap.
• For both types of preparation, leave on for a half hour or so and rinse out. I suggest doing it in the shower or over a bathtub because it can make quite a mess.
• If possible, dry your hair in the sun. It will give it more natural highlights.
• Most of these dyes are semi-permanent. They will last a few weeks. Hair usually grows out faster than color fades. To keep the color, reapply a few times per month or more.

Precautions

There are very few precautions you need to take while using herbs to color you hair, but some should always be followed. The most important ones are to use gloves and protect the surface you’re working on. Remember, you’re working with dye. Black walnut powder should not be used by those with thyroid problems. And always be sure your solutions are cool before using. DO NOT use them hot! Injury to the scalp could occur. Don’t allow any of the dyes to get into your eyes or mouth. And don’t be afraid to experiment!

DIY Thursday: No-hands toilet bowl cleaner

I'm a big fan of DIY. Not building a house DIY, that's more than a bit extreme. But little things that help my budget and allow me to use less chemicals. I found these toilet bowl bombs on Maria's Self Blog: she has them for sale, if you don't want to make them.

I give Maria's Self full credit for these (and the picture) and thank her profusely for posting her how-to so I could replicate them! They're amazing and smell great. I bought my citric acid and essential oils from my local health foods store since I originally did this as an experiment and didn't want to buy in bulk. I bought a candy mold to use as the mold since there was no way I'd use the candy molds I use for candy!

WHAT I USE: (for approx. 24 bombs)

--1 1/3 cup Baking Soda - amazing for all-natural cleaning AND deodorizing!

--1/2 cup Citric Acid - (low-strength acid that exists naturally in fruits like lemons & oranges) - used in many kitchen & bathroom cleaners for its cleaning, whitening & deodorizing properties

--30 drops Lavender Essential Oil***

--30 drops Peppermint Essential Oil***

--30 drops Lemon Essential Oil*** --Medical Mask

WHAT I DO:

Since I work with citric acid and baking soda, I always put medical mask first and then mix together soda and acid. After that I put oils in a spray bottle and spray little by little stirring the mixture at the same time in order to not let it fizz away. If the mixture isn't damp enough I add just A TINY BIT of water in my spray bottle and spray the mixture - but again, I try to prevent the acid from fizzing away, because bombs won't explode and will just sink without fizzing if they're too moist.

After that I put the mixture in silicone molds and let them dry for about 6 hours. And then I store the bombs in a container with a lid - don't they look adorable?...I usually drop one in the toilet bowl whenever I feel like it;-) 

Thursday DIY: Keeping chipmunks away the organic way

Something was eating my veggies. Leaves were gone, in some cases the leaves were totally stripped. Like in the case of my poor tomato plants. All the leaves were stripped from the stem.

At first I thought it was a mole or vole or some other mole-vole-like creature--are gophers and groundhogs related? No, wasn't any of them. Moles eat grubs and slugs (gross!) then move on to another grub and slug endowed lawn. They can have the grubs and slugs. Groundhogs eat fruits and veggies, not the leaves. Rabbits? Probably, but I did have a fence.

Chipmunks. I had chipmunks. Cute from a distance or in a cartoon but not when they're in your yard. How does one go about getting rid of them? I wanted organic non-lethal methods.

Turns out two of my favorite seasonings keep them away! A mixture of garlic and cayenne does the trick. A lot of sites offer permanent ways of getting rid of chipmunks, but I see no reason to kill them; I just wanted them to stop eating my veggie leaves!

The Garden Guides website was specific for tomato plants, but I think this mixture helps for everything. I sprayed it around my entire garden. (It's not the chipmunk's fault the rain rotted my plants.)

Step 1: Combine a pint of water, a clove worth of minced garlic and 2 tbsp. cayenne pepper in an airtight container. Keep the solution sealed in the container for 48 hours.

Step 2: Strain the solution into the spray bottle and throw away any remnants of the garlic.

Step 3: Spray the solution on your tomatoes and tomato plants. This will make the tomatoes smell and taste unpleasant to the chipmunks. Spraying the leaves will increase the unappetizing smell even though chipmunks do not actually eat the leaves of the plants. Respray once a week or after a rain.

DIY Thursday: Getting rid of ivy

I don't mind ivy per se, not in the I hate it and want to rip every shred by its roots and mash it until it dies way. Unless it's taken over my back yard from a neighbor's uncontrolled infestation. I think ivy looks lovely around fences, arbors, pergolas, and the like. In that ornamental greenery kind of way. And until this house, I had that as a vague backyard plan. No more.

For 5 years I've tried to get rid of the ivy that's creeping up my trees, into my garden, and around what little grass I've managed to grow and killing everything. It's destroyed my love for a pretty ivy scene.

For the last several weeks I've had someone rip out the ivy in that backyard section. Wow! I have dirt underneath it! And crap. Man there's all sorts of junk buried under the ivy. Forget the trash, which filled 2 bags, but I found a rusted basketball hoop, a strange metal hammer-thingy I can't describe, rusted something that looks vaguely like it belongs in a car, 2 tree stumps I had no idea were hiding back there (and not little stumps either!), and a rose bush. I have no idea where that came from.

Right picture is what it looks like now.  
Left picture is what's left to be done




There are a few sites on How-To stuff, this one is great but I don't want to use a pesticide. When in doubt complain to your mother: She recommended vinegar. Oh yeah, I say, I had heard about that. A quick search found this from the San Francisco Chronicler with several helpful hints. (Same as ehow.com if you wondered.)

1. Purchase or borrow a garden sprayer if you do not already own one. If borrowing a sprayer, flush it with water two or three times to remove any traces of fertilizer, herbicide or insecticide. Use a spray bottle for smaller infestations of ivy.

2. Fill the garden sprayer or spray bottle with white vinegar.

3. Spray ivy infestations thoroughly with white vinegar. Take care when spraying the vinegar not to get the spray on wanted vegetation, as vinegar is nonselective and will kill wanted grasses and plants in addition to the ivy. Saturate the ivy as much as possible with the spray.

4. Wait one week, then observe ivy infestations. Dead ivy leaves and vines will appear brown. Remove the dead ivy and dispose of it in a garbage can. If ivy is still green or there are green patches amid dead ivy, spray the ivy once more with the white vinegar. Repeat vinegar applications as necessary until you eradicate all the ivy. And a YouTube Video I found:

Thursday Thoughts

Don't forget my in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Regency Era officially beginning contest! I'm giving away random copies of my Regency Ménage Tale series. Simply leave a comment about why you like reading Regency romances to be entered! Any comment left between February 5 and Saturday February 11 will count towards the giveaways.


I think I'm already tired of election season. But on the other hand, I think instead of complaining, I need to do more myself in my community to change what I see.



There were several political cartoons I could have added, all rather humorous and apropos, but I decided on this one.

Thursday Thoughts

What if. I love that game. Not just the what if I won a million dollars, but more, like imagining what the world would be like if...playing it with history is always fun.

Today's what if:

• What if Russia landed on the moon first...would it now be colonized? Would we be visiting the moon on a regular basis like we fly to England? What would our technology be like?

It's an interesting premise and I love playing around with ideas like that. Because who knows what could've happen or what might happen? It's the great thing about fiction.

Tell me, what are some of your what ifs?

Thursday Thoughts: SOPA and Wiki

So now that everyone survived a day without Wikipedia, what do you think? Can it be done? Curious minds want to know. Because remember...the library has information for free, too!

That and your take on SOPA.

Mine? Great in theory, will never be executed well. Who's to say what's censorship? One person's interest is another's nightmare. That's why we have the First Amendment.

Photo from groomforsuccess.com

Thursdays

Is there anything ever really happening on Thursdays? I remember in college the party started on Thursdays and went until you woke up (totally hung over) on Sundays and realized you have work to do. As well, that was a long time ago.

Now I look at Thursdays and wonder. It's not the start of the week, not even the hump day where you can do fun middle of the week things. It's Thursday. Or maybe I'm underappreciating the day.

What is there to do on Thursdays?

• Thursday night football


• Hockey (it's an any day of the week game)


• Bowling (I add this because friends and I plan to do that tonight. First time any of us have been in, oh, a decade at least!)

When I searched "What to do on a Thursday" I got hits from sites like Yelp.com and Yahoo Answers on various things in different cities. Apparently I'm not the only one with the questions on What is there to do on a Thursday night?