it is now about two years since I had regular work and about 20 months since i left paid employment. i spent a few months recovering from a period of intense workplace bullying and general bad energy, then i spent a few months completing my doula studies but since then (about a year) i havent had a specific project. there's been the cooking and the cleaning, the babysitting and taxi driving, the visiting at villawood.....
i developed my website and spend quite a lot of time on birth & business "stuff" but all up i have had plenty of time to cruise weird corners of the internet and think about all kinds of random bits & pieces which has led me to two experiments:
the first is coconut oil "pulling". word is that if i swish coconut oil in my mouth and through my teeth for 20 minutes a day i might experience a whole range of fabulous results such as detoxing, reduced sugar cravings, weight loss and better oral health. one of the possible results, the one i want, is to see my receding gums start to reappear. my gums receded a long time ago due to poor habits and poorer advice and i have never really stopped regretting it so if i can swish some oil round my mouth and get them back that will be great. if it doesnt work, i havent lost much and my family have had twenty minutes of silence a day!
the second great experiment is to try a shampoo free life. i'm not there yet: i substitute every second shampoo for a bicarb massage and it's going well. the theory goes that as my body adjusts to less chemical cleaning assistance it will need less and one day i can ditch the shampoo altogether. whats not to like about that? less chemicals, less to buy and maybe even an easier to clean shower recess.
liam and i have already made the change from conditioner to apple cider vinegar and liams hair looks better than it already did. the rest of the family are not to be convinced about this new routine but thats ok, i have all the time in the world. muahahaha!
Hey Spesh,
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back blogging - I'm trying to get back into the habit.
The no shampoo thing sounds strange, but then I can talk - I have no hair to speak of!!
I'd be interested to hear if the coconut oil thing works - I have the same problem....
xxx
Ok go for broke and stop using deodorant. I haven't used ANY in 40 years and my body has a very balanced ph level. And no i do not smell like a goat herder, just normal.
ReplyDeleteNow what's the bicarbonate deal?
pete!
ReplyDeletei see you might make it down under in the foreseeable future :) :) :)
<3 <3 <3
walking man,
ReplyDeletei'm half way to ditching the deodorant! btw coconut oil is supposed to be effective on the old armpits but i cant get my head round the grease stains i imagine it would make.
i'm just rubbing a teaspoon of bicarb into the crown , water rinse and then apple cider vinegar 1:5 with water as the conditioner. google "no poo" for a bunch of extra info
Nice to see you blogging again Kylie.
ReplyDeleteIn your internet wanderings, did you come across this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-La_Diet
It might just be the ticket for the sugar craving.
Oh, I didn't realise you had actually put up a blog post! I tried the no-shampoo experiment many years back but it didn't work. After several weeks my work colleagues tactfully suggested I should resume washing my hair. But I know some people like the British journalist Matthew Parriss maintain they've tried it successfully.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of the coconut oil routine. Do let us know how it goes!
Hey, what's granola got to do with anything?
ReplyDeletegranola is a modern american term for a hippy
ReplyDeleteMmm..Interesting! I am not sure I could live without conditioner! I am washing my hair less since I grew it long because I can put it up. I'll be interested to see how you get on :-)
ReplyDeleterummuser,
ReplyDeletei had a look at that diet. its interesting! not sure i could take to eating olive oil by the spoonful but i guess if i can keep coconut oil in my mouth for 20 minutes its not such a stretch.
cinnamon!
ReplyDeletei have often wondered where you disappeared to! welcome back!
the conditioner is the easy part of the regimen,i think.
please come back!
xx
Hi Cinnamon!
ReplyDeleteHi guys, hi Nick,Kylie,Walking Man,Brian-I've got blogger on my new mobile so hope to catch up with you soon xx
ReplyDeleteHow is the coconut oil pulling going? MS is causing my gums to recede faster than the tide, so I am very interested. And yes, the dentist says that it has to be MS because my mouth is clean. Which doesn't help.
ReplyDeleteEC,
ReplyDeletei havent got into a daily habit with it, managing probably every second day. i dont see a difference in my gums at the moment and i'm not sure if thats because it will take longer or i need to do it more.(or if it simply wont work!)
my gums receded from brushing too hard so i wonder if thats an issue?
Kylie, I won't write a whole dissertation - though tempted - on how to wash hair and/or look after your gums.
ReplyDeleteHair does and will indeed look after itself. Providing you don't live in a smog and smoke filled environment. A few years ago a skin condition forced me to leave my hair largely alone. No commercial shampoo allowed. It was a revelation. Whilst fully healed I don't wash my hair as obsessively as I did before.
Receding gums? Talk about the terror of old age. One of my friends who has a slightly cruel streak (in the nicest possible way) has promised me that advanced age will bring enlarged earlobes and make you long in the tooth. Please don't.
As to your calling, ie being a doula, you will have a future considering that, apparently, there are already too few midwives around. There is something quite wonderful about the continuity of care a doula gives. I had a very long labour (my son clearly not ready to face his mother, myself maybe reluctant to let him go for the first time in his life). That way I had three different midwives throughout (shift work). Three times to make a new connection. In between contractions. All three were great, each in their own way. But yes,continuity would have been nice.
All the best,and please do keep posting,
U
ursula!
ReplyDeletethanks very much for dropping by!
you are quite welcome to write dissertations here, tho i wont promise to read them ;)
after three shift changes, i think a doula might have been pretty much cactus, not to mention you as the mum.... well done, you!
I had a graft once on a receding gum (they got the skin from the roof of my mouth), and it worked. The best thing you can probably do is to floss regularly. I also use a dental thingie that consists of a handle into which I insert a broken-in-half toothpick, which I use to work up under my teeth. Seriously, that and floss will at least slow the damage.
ReplyDelete