No Poo Update & Mathematician Records Updates

First of all, I would like to let everyone know how my No Poo experiment is going.

I am currently at Day 92 of No Poo. At Day 46 of No Poo, I switched over to Water Only, which will now be abbreviated to WO. I am now 46 days into WO washing, though I do wash my head every once in a while with ACV when the flakes get unbearable. I usually wash my hair every 6-8 days with WO, though I'm considering washing my hair every 5 days and see where that gets me.

In these last 46 days of WO, I've gone through yet another vigorous transition. Now that I'm not using anything but water and the seldom ACV rinse, my scalp had gone into overload in producing sebum.

Day 58 of No Poo, 12 days of WO, I thought my hair looked awesome until I looked at my hairline. So much sebum built up! It was awful, and I dealt with that for quite a bit... I have noticed, though, that in the last two weeks, I haven't had a crazy build up like that on my hairline, though it still gets itchy and flakey.

I started scritching and preening my hair, which is basically massaging with the balls of my fingers against my scalp to break up the build up and then preening is to spread those oils down the length of my hair. I don't do it as often as people generally suggest, but with the brushing of my paddle brush and my boar bristle brush (BBB), my hair is still relatively manageable.

Overall, my hair still isn't where I'd like it to be. Since I switched over to WO instead of the BS/ACV mix, my hair needs to go through probably another 40 days or so to get over switching to WO. But I will stay resilient and get through it, because I believe in low-maintenance, no-chemical hair! For now, I just keep my hair up most of the time except for the two days after I initially "wash" it, then it's up for a few days, then I wash it, it's down for a few days, then up again...etc.

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Now, onto the next order of business: The Website. 

Stewart has been working diligently on releasing free EPs and CDs for our music artists on the page.

Our most recent releases are as follows: 

Agartha

by Math Dealer

2013

Möbius Strip

by Kaushik.Venkat

2013

Great Spirit

by Shiva Om

2013

Above and Beyond

by Etcetera

2013

The projects we are currently working on are as follows: 

Evolute 1

by 10+ Mathematician Records label artists and producers

2014

Math Dealer and BlessingJah Sound e.p.

2014

Full CD albums from BlessingJah Sound, Etcetera, Shiva Om, Kaushik.Venkat

2014

All music can be found by following the "Music Shop" and "Free Releases"

links on our homepage.

http://www.mathematicianrecords.com/

We are still open to new artists that would like to be apart of our label. If you have any inquiries at all please e-mail us at mathrecords@live.com. We are so excited for our new releases and future projects!  

The Fundraiser

Hello, everyone. I've got great news! We put up an official fundraising page via GoFundMe for the Full Moon Ranch!

This is our widget for the page here:



We're just trying any way we can to raise money to finish paying off the land and to help us get started. Most of the funds will be going towards that and drilling the well on our property, then the rest goes for building our home and starting up the garden. We're really pumped to get this started and we need your help and support! If you could please share our page through your social networks, e-mails, what-have-you, we would be eternally grateful. Any help is better than no help at all.

Our goal right now is at $5,000 and we have yet to receive a GoFundMe donation, but it's only been up for a day so we won't lose heart! Thank you for keeping up with our blog and supporting us!

No 'Poo Update

Hey guys! It's been 45 days since I've started my No 'Poo journey. It's been interesting so far!

I didn't really notice too much difference at first. The dandruff was still there and after a week and a half my hair was starting to get mad greasy because it was going through a transition. Eventually it tapered off and, man oh man, my hair got really, really soft.

Because the flakes weren't going away, I decided to get a chlorine shower head filter on Day 16. I got it for $18 at Home Depot. It's made my water feel softer and I feel like it doesn't irritate my skin as much as it used to.

Day 21, my curls started to come back. They had disappeared because of the heaviness of the grease.
By Day 27, flakes had returned with a vengeance... I realize now it was a sebum build up because I wasn't using ACV on my scalp after using BS on it.

Day 33, my hair was ultra soft but I still had that flake problem. I didn't realize until Day 40 that it was a sebum build up and that maybe I should use less BS and use ACV on all of my hair.

So, I've come to the conclusion (though many have before me) that this BS/ACV mixture isn't going to work for everyone. I have been considering doing WO, which is water only, and between BS/ACV washes I will do (and have done) WO. I bought a boar bristle brush to distribute the sebum from the top of my head down to the tips of my hair, which has helped reduce the sight of the flakes from the sebum build up, and while at Day 45 I do still have an itchy hairline, this is still an experiment. I am still going to stick to it because the dandruff I suffered from before doing this wasn't any better or worse than it is now, so there is no reason for me to use chemicals on my scalp if it isn't going to improve anything. I feel like my hair has mostly gotten back to "normal" and I am happy with the softness it has gained after all this. It doesn't smell like anything, just hair, and that's always good news, too. Haha.

I also wanted to mention that around half way through this experiment that I have also stopped using soap to wash with. I still use it on my hands but when I'm in the shower I just use warm water and a wash cloth. My skin feels normal, if not better. It doesn't feel dry or irritated and I don't stink. Because there is no fragrance, I'm no longer sneezing up a storm in the shower and I feel like I'm using less time and water to clean myself. Our bodies have natural oils and things to help clean itself... I'm not saying we should stop bathing--please, keep bathing! But the use of chemicals is really unnecessary. If you want to smell like a flower or something, just use some essential oils to rub on yourself, or mix it into some water to put in your hair. Honestly, I like smelling neutral.

If any of you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them. Otherwise, good luck in your natural endeavors!

No 'Poo?!

That's right. No 'poo. As in no shampoo. I have a terrible case of dandruff and I just can't stand it any longer. I'll be getting my hair cut before the end of next week, and then I will start my no 'poo adventure. Some people claim it helps, some people claim it doesn't. I believe it has to do with the amount of baking soda, or apple cider vinegar...or both! And you can add tea tree oil to your mix...and that should help.

Basically, all No 'Poo is, is literally a tablespoon of baking soda and a cup of water. You'll wash your hair with it in warm (not hot) water and then you'll use a tablespoon of ACV and a cup of water on your ends (not your scalp!), rinse and you're done! Some people will wash in this way twice a week, sometimes with water rinses in between actual washes. You don't want to do more than two baking soda cleanses a week, as it will dry your scalp out something fierce. Eventually, once you go through the process of your oils and such going back to its normal, healthy levels, you could go as little as once every two weeks of actually using the BS and ACV! That's amazing. And the ingredients are so cheap! So I'm down. I'm ready!! I'll keep track of my "stats" and if anyone is interested, I'll post them up here for anyone's viewing pleasure. Hah.

To better explain to you why I would do such a thing as stop using commercial shampoos and conditioners, well... These products are full of chemicals that are unsafe and strip the oils from your hair. They can and do cause skin irritations (like dandruff) as well as just dry skin in general (like with commercial soap). Temperature has something to do with it, too, so I'll be taking cooler showers...and since I am currently using city water, I'll be getting a chlorine filter for my shower head, which apparently I can find for $20 or less, so that should help with the skin irritation I'm experiencing, as well.

Not only is choosing to not use commercial shampoo and conditioner good for your hair and your skin, but it's also good for the waterways. Sure, not everyone is going to be bought by the no 'poo method, but the less people that use those products, the better, right? Not to mention it's GREAT for your wallet. Baking soda and ACV are both products we use in our kitchen, so when I need to wash my hair, voila!

If anyone has any experiences they'd like to share with their journey with No 'Poo, please feel free to leave a comment! This post has simply been a nice update in ways we are making progress with our "natural" outlook, which will really help when we get off grid. Can't wait to start the no poo journey!

Website Updates

Wow! It's already September...and quite well over a year since our last blog update, haha. I'm not much of a blogger, I guess!

So, let's get up to speed. Stewart has been working very diligently on our website, Mathematician Records!

I know I've probably gone over this before, but I'll do it again. This website is GREAT. The link is here: Mathematician Records It's an online art and music gallery, but also a shop! So far everything is for sale. I make pointy hats and dream catchers and Stewart produces music. We've got quite a few other artists that are a part of our label now and the actual CDs we sell are really wonderful, high quality. If you're looking for some great art as well as some crystal sounds, I definitely recommend it. We are still open for more artists who would like to get their experimental/psytrance music out there, as well as any artisan crafters or painters or what-have-you.

So far, with crafts, I am the only one up there... StrawFarmHat!  

 

That there is my latest hat called Mythical Gold. It's super comfy and the colors are magnificent. I am willing to make a hat to order as I still have plenty of stocked yarn.  You can find pictures of the dream catchers on the site and I have plenty more hats on there, too. 

Besides CDs, Stewart offers other audio services including graphic design. Audio Services, this link will take you to the overview of his services as well as some contact information.

We still have another year with the payments on the land, but we are standing diligently. We are always accepting donations, which will go straight to the farm and the website, and is completely, entirely, whole heartedly appreciated and welcomed. Stewart and I would both like to spread out our thanks to EVERYONE who has helped us so far, and for whoever will join forces with us in the future! Thank you. Namaste.

News of late, sorry for the delay!

Wow! It's been a long time since we've done any updates. I'm sorry to have kept you all in the dark for so long. Unfortunately I can't say we have been able to get out to the land yet, but I still say we've made progress no matter how tiny the steps have been. We lost one of our main sources and finances aren't exactly booming. However, we have learned how to make candles and hot sauce and are enjoying old building and craft books we have obtained.

So I see we received a comment a while back about building codes in the county we're moving to. I would like to mention here again that we have not made it out to Nevada just yet, but that the county is undergoing an awakening to non-traditional building. When we called last year they told us that they have been getting a whole lot of calls about earth bag and earth ship building and that they don't want to have to turn everyone away, so by the time we get out there I'm sure we'll be able to start right away. As far as permits go, I know that we can build without a permit as long as the structure is less than 15 feet tall, and I am happy to say that a 14 foot tall, and 14 foot in diameter building is enough space for little old me, haha.

Regardless of whether or not we will be able to build an earthbag home right away, Stewart and I are looking into buying a small RV trailer for the back of the van. It would really help keep things organized and as comfortable as possible instead of worrying how long we will have to stay in a tent, not that Stew would mind that, hahaha. Still, it will be safe. Our property is on a slight incline so I believe our first line of action will be to build earthbag walls around the home we plan to build, as well as the vehicles and RV, in case of flash floods.

I have been making paraffin wax candles! I am going to attempt making a hurricane candle next, and more decorative candles as well. I have also been making dream catchers and Stew has been making delicious hot sauce. We're working on a website where we will be selling some of these things for some extra money towards the land. 

As a final note I would like to add that Stewart is a producer and masters tracks, so if anyone is interested in getting affordable mastering/production done, you can contact him through this blog or by e-mailing him at mathdealer@hotmail.com .

Have a great one, everyone!

Bamboos

I've heard many a prejudice against running bamboo, which has led to the general public (at least around the US) thinking that all bamboos are invasive, destructive and very difficult to get rid of. The thing is, we want bamboo to flourish on our land...and for the places we don't want to have it growing can easily have a barrier dug into the ground to keep the running bamboo from spreading, not to mention we'll be walking all over the land stamping out unwanted shoots. Running bamboos can create a beautiful wall as well as sufficient shade, and clumping bamboo grows even faster than running bamboo, which will easily create shade, firewood and even food. Thankfully for us, clumping bamboo does not spread away from where it was originally planted and merely spreads out into a thick clumping plant.

This is a perfect example of clumping bamboo:

 Clumping bamboo can also be used to create walls.
Here is an example of running bamboo:

Running bamboo is perfect for having a low budget and wanting to have a lot of bamboo just about everywhere. 

Bamboo can be harvested after about 2 or 3 years of being planted, because you want mature, strong culms to be able to support the structure you're trying to build. We're looking into both thick and thin bamboo, to give us a variety of sizes and thickness to build with. With clumping bamboo, we can cut the new bamboo shoots from their rhizomes, cook them and eat them. You can cook with running bamboo, but the shoots are harder to get at than with clumping, because the part you want is going to be further underground, where as clumping is right beneath the surface and above.

Stewart and I were watching Myth Busters not too long ago and saw an episode about how the Chinese used bamboo as a torture weapon. Basically the myth was to see if bamboo could grow through a human body, and after just a day the bamboo had grown from its tiny shoot to getting the tip into the back of the fake body they were using for the test. After about a week the bamboo had grown right through the body. Talk about tough plants! What I'm getting at, is, bamboo grows really fast! It can grow its full height in just one season, and can even grow up to three feet or more in one day, depending on your type of bamboo.

While bamboo gives us the options of food, fuel and timber, it can also be turned into paper, musical instruments, tools/weapons, decoration...it even has medical uses. It makes me wonder why America hasn't gotten more into bamboo. The East seems to have it down. With just bamboo, we could be completely self-sustainable. Build a house and all your furniture out of bamboo!