Calling Crunchy mums!

[Duckingfun]

I initially wanted advice for a natural, plastic free, eco friendly shampoo for my dd who is nearly 2.

But while you’re here! What crunchy things do you do and why? What would you like to do?

Id love to be more crunchy but I’m a bit lazy. I couldn’t do sourdough, it seems to take so much care!

And if you’re not crunchy, disagree or whatever that ok but hope we can keep it a nice thread!

Very interesting @EveryKneeShallBow, thank you. I have been messing around with a rye starter for ages, taking bits out etc and it keeps going wrong…they go mouldy mainly. Why can’t I do it?! I would love to bake bread for my kids as I hate all the ingredients in the shop bought ones!

We just don't use shampoo on kids, rinse with water in the bath. Only use shampoo if they've thoroughly filthified themselves with mud or something. But mostly just water works out fine - eldest is 7 and we've been doing this since she was about 1.

Personally I use soapnut shampoo which is ££ but I have a squirty sauce bottle, I dilute it in that with water then use the squirter to get shampoo spread through roots. You use way less shampoo that way and the lower/lack of SLS lather doesn't matter so much.

Don't know if it counts as crunchy but we almost never buy clothes new - big bundle off a local sales site or ebay, charity shop gets the stuff DC don't like, you can get a whole year's wardrobe for £30.

I'm not really remotely crunchy (or crunchie, sadly: I overdosed on them in my early teens, and can't stand them now). But I would say:

• Child's Farm are massively overrated, and not very good. My DD reacted to it, and apparently that's not unusual.
• Oat baths are wonderful. You just need a handful of porridge oats - you can add lavender or lemon balm if you like - and you put it in an old sock and tie it over the hot water tap. The oats are good for the skin, and very soothing. You can do this instead of bubble baths, especially if your child reacts to those, as mine dies.
• Cold lemon balm (melissa) or lemon verbena tea is good for tiny ones to sip when teething. It's mildly soporific.
• Mint tea is good for upset stomachs/too much party food. Again, you can give them sips of it cold.

Tomatoes i found easy, i didnt have to do anything other then plant and my DH put a stick for them to grow up. Didnt even need to water as it rained so much 😂 i did potatoes once aswell out of an old bag of potatoes that were sprouting, they were surprisingly hassle free too.

Also out of desperation when my psoriasis flared up on my scalp (on a weekend) i found some home treatments out of coconut oil, stopped the itching haha although i couldnt leave the house due to the immense greasy look 😂

Unfortunately the baby soap has titanium dioxide in 😞

Ah, sorry!!!
I'm clearly not crunchy enough hehe

never heard this phrase outside of this funny little website! It’s cringe. Child’s Farm is a completely normal shampoo you can get in Morrisons so I’ve no idea why everyone is faux-self-deprecatingly delighted with themselves for using it.

Was one with the original offspring. Made no difference in comparative outcomes, still has more health issues than the second. And modern medicine and cosmetic/skincare products work where no amount of unicorn breath and angel sweat can on psoriasis, coeliac, psoriatic arthritis and EDS.

Only thing that stuck was cooking from scratch, but that's due to coeliac damage and the inherent untrustworthiness of food manufacturers, rather than any magical healing abilities in food.

Depending on what you consider eco - if you're avoiding palm oil/palm kernel oil, make sure you read the labels of soaps - a lot of commercial ones are made with it, including Faith in Nature ones.

We are bedsharers so save money on beds. Does that count?!! 😄

I have just had a look online at Child’s Farm shampoo and I am shocked. It has FIVE different types of preservative, including Sodium Benzoate, which many people are allergic to. I wouldn’t use this on my dog, let alone my kids.

I'm not crunchy but we use Aveeno products.

I chuckled at the crunchy list. The only box I tick is I don't generally wear a bra! And I'm a fan of breastfeeding for 2+ years, that's often considered crunchy although it isn't on that list.

Apart from that, I'm pro-screens and pro-cheap-plastic-toys-that-make-annoying-noises all the way.

This is a strange reaction to a shampoo recommendation 🤣

For what it's worth OP asked for a plastic free shampoo and I recommended it as I happen to use it. I couldn't give a stuff who else uses it or not. It's one of the only things my DD with eczema doesn't react to, so I'm glad it's on the shelves at Morrisons personally.

I'm a bit crunchy

Homebirth, breastfeeding a 3yo, organic food, wooden toys, co-sleeping, make my own bread

However I'm not an anti-vaxxer, I don't use special shampoo and before my DD potty trained she wore disposable nappies - not very crunchy

Really? Hippies were called crunchy in the 60s/70s so it’s not really a new thing. It’s become more mainstream to be crunchy the last 5 years or so though.

@ToastyBreads Try rye flour instead of wheat, and keep it quite dry - think the consistency of wet playdough, not pancake batter, then you use a little of that to build a “production starter” about eight hours before you want to bake with it. Have a look at this link:

Sourdough

and consider buying Andrew Whitley’s book, Do Sourdough (I am not affiliated in any way to the author or ScotlandtheBread.

Also, mostly a bit of separation or mould doesn’t matter, you can just pour/scrape it off and dilute it with more flour and water. The yeast and lactobacillus organisms will out compete anything harmful, but keeping it drier reduces the risk of mould. Store in the fridge in a screw top jar and it’ll be fine.

E.T.A. Also, use organic flour, so you know it doesn’t contain poisons which will kill off your good bugs!

You’re tempting me!

@Duckingfun Do it, do it, do it! 🙂

I love the definition on urban dictionary 🤣

I weave my own yoghurt

Can I join in?!😀 I use and love bar soap, bar shampoo and bar hair conditioner if that counts?
I've tried making my my own deodorant with varying degrees of success! But back to using an Aldi roll on at the moment - so maybe deduct a crunchy point there.

My skin is sensitive so plain oils like almond and coconut work well for me as moisturizer and cleanser.

I try my best to be eco friendly but sometimes life just gets in the way! Need to get better at plastic free food shopping.
I'm interested in the sourdough so off to Google that.

With regard to the shampoo bar Ethique do a shampoo bar for children.

I would say I'm a Scrunchie-Dolphin mum.

In answer to your main question, you don't need shampoo at all for a two year old. I scrub it gently with a flannel without soap or shampoo.

I will attach a pic of my ds's hair which has never been shampooed.

Can you link to the article?

@CheckoutOneIsClosing the guardian one has vanished but I also read this asking similar lines https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/karen-le-billion-french-children-eat-anything
Not suggesting it's crunchy mumming mind.

@Curlewwoohoo ahh thank you! Interesting stuff. My kids are half french and they're about half that good, haha. One of them is in a fussy period but the older one can be convinced to eat most things.