I grew up as a blonde. I was naturally blonde as a child, and when I reached high school, I started getting highlights, and when I finally decided in college that I no longer wanted to be blonde, I made the mistake of purchasing a permanent brunette dye at the drugstore (I'm sure the cashier was laughing on the inside as I paid).

Usually, by this point in the summer, my hair is a small nest of dried fuzz, my lips are cracked and dry and, though I try to be responsible with the sun block, I've had to deal with the after effects of at least one sunburn. But this year I've been luckier, thanks to this great, totally natural line of sun care products.

I have made a thrilling discovery. I, too, can have wavy hair.That might not seem like a very big deal to you, but let me explain. My entire life, my hair has been straight as a pin. I've had my fair share of perms -- I did grow up in the 80's, after all -- but when not permed, my locks were straight and pretty limp.Now that I'm older, I've played around with different haircuts that give my hair more body, and keeping it fairly short and layered makes that happen. But, still, it's STRAIGHT.Or is it?

I don't even want to tell you how much money I spend on my hair color. I go to the salon about once a month, and I get the whole shooting match: base color, highlights, lowlights, and a glaze. As a friend of mine says, "it costs a lot of money to look this natural."I don't begrudge the money I spend--even though my children are going to have to give up their dreams of a college education. But hey! I have my priorities, people.

So in order to give organic certified hair care products a chance, I tried Dr Bronner's Organic Shikakai Conditioning Rinse, despite my reservations about its potential crunchiness.