So I have really sensitive skin. My niece Erin jokes that she had decided that I am allergic to air. There are times I am inclined to agree! I have had a couple of dermatologists who have told me that I need to use all special products but haven't necessarily told me what products to use. What has happened in the past is the stuff that says "for sensitive skin" usually is the absolute worst. Remember when all of the Herbal Essence and like products came out? I fell for it and all of the skin on my back broke out in a huge rash from which I still have scars. Here are some of the products that have been the best for me:
For Hair:
For Skin:
Now, here is where we get to the title of this blog. Through the strong insistence of all of my dermatologists, I stopped using drier sheets about 7 years ago. What we had to do was buy a nice, new dryer that was never used with dryer sheets and we have lived just fine without them. Detergent has proven another challenge. I have tried so many different detergents and sometimes with disastrous results-on summer I used a Seventh Generation detergent for sensitive skin and my entire foot peeled off and scared. I have been doing okay with All Clear but I have had the sense that I could be doing better. The rule of the thumb that the most useful and helpful dermatologist gave me was to look for an old product that has been the same for at least 40 years (L'Oreal, Auqanet, Blue Lizard) because they have next to no of the highly processed and largely untested chemicals that all new products have. As part of an ongoing exercise in trying to reduce the amount of processed food and home items we use I hit the web. I went through several websites but enjoyed the recipe of this site the most: http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2011/02/make-it-homemade-liquid-laundry-soap-1/ They got the recipe from the Duggar family who I don't particularly like but I believe they know how to wash a ton of clothes! I used a bar of Cetaphil gentle cleansing instead of the laundry soap they used and have been pleased so far with how clean the clothes have gotten and the recurrent rash on my hands has almost disappeared. The only challenge I found was the containers. We don't drink gallons of milk and I really didn't want to go buy a bunch of containers. I used gallon glass containers that I had from my children's apple juice and left them in concentrate form. I have been adding the water when I mix it into my upcycled laundry container.
Finally, what does all of this have to do with dishwashing soap? Well, besides the fact that most of it makes my dishes taste like chemicals, it is also expensive and if my skin on the outside is so sensitive, why would it be so hard to conceive that the inside might be sensitive too? Again, I hit the web and was able to make my own dishwashing machine soap with most of the items I already had for making the laundry detergent. I used TLC's recipe: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/diy-eco-dishwasher-detergent.htm . I do offer you a cautionary tale. The recipe specifies a glass container but I didn't have one. I had a ceramic container and put the mixture in there. It solidified so strong that after the top inch was scraped out we were totally unable to scrape out any more. Also, I didn't wear gloves when handling the raw materials and I got a slight chemical burn on my hands so 1) Don't let kids handle the materials and 2) If you do burn yourself, white vinegar will neutralize it and stop the burn.
I bought all of my supplies from Amazon for around $28.00 and have enough for 3 batches of dish detergent and 30 gallons of laundry soap!
Knock yourself out!
For Hair:
- DHS Free and Clear Shampoo
- Free and Clear Shampoo and Conditioner (not the hair gel)
- Aquanet (I know, right?!)
For Skin:
- Panoxyl Foaming Acne Wash
- Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar
- The Body Shop Brazil Nut Body Butter
- Blue Lizard Regular Sunscreen for my morning facial moisturizer
- L'Oreal Mousse Foundation and True Match powder
Now, here is where we get to the title of this blog. Through the strong insistence of all of my dermatologists, I stopped using drier sheets about 7 years ago. What we had to do was buy a nice, new dryer that was never used with dryer sheets and we have lived just fine without them. Detergent has proven another challenge. I have tried so many different detergents and sometimes with disastrous results-on summer I used a Seventh Generation detergent for sensitive skin and my entire foot peeled off and scared. I have been doing okay with All Clear but I have had the sense that I could be doing better. The rule of the thumb that the most useful and helpful dermatologist gave me was to look for an old product that has been the same for at least 40 years (L'Oreal, Auqanet, Blue Lizard) because they have next to no of the highly processed and largely untested chemicals that all new products have. As part of an ongoing exercise in trying to reduce the amount of processed food and home items we use I hit the web. I went through several websites but enjoyed the recipe of this site the most: http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2011/02/make-it-homemade-liquid-laundry-soap-1/ They got the recipe from the Duggar family who I don't particularly like but I believe they know how to wash a ton of clothes! I used a bar of Cetaphil gentle cleansing instead of the laundry soap they used and have been pleased so far with how clean the clothes have gotten and the recurrent rash on my hands has almost disappeared. The only challenge I found was the containers. We don't drink gallons of milk and I really didn't want to go buy a bunch of containers. I used gallon glass containers that I had from my children's apple juice and left them in concentrate form. I have been adding the water when I mix it into my upcycled laundry container.
Finally, what does all of this have to do with dishwashing soap? Well, besides the fact that most of it makes my dishes taste like chemicals, it is also expensive and if my skin on the outside is so sensitive, why would it be so hard to conceive that the inside might be sensitive too? Again, I hit the web and was able to make my own dishwashing machine soap with most of the items I already had for making the laundry detergent. I used TLC's recipe: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/diy-eco-dishwasher-detergent.htm . I do offer you a cautionary tale. The recipe specifies a glass container but I didn't have one. I had a ceramic container and put the mixture in there. It solidified so strong that after the top inch was scraped out we were totally unable to scrape out any more. Also, I didn't wear gloves when handling the raw materials and I got a slight chemical burn on my hands so 1) Don't let kids handle the materials and 2) If you do burn yourself, white vinegar will neutralize it and stop the burn.
I bought all of my supplies from Amazon for around $28.00 and have enough for 3 batches of dish detergent and 30 gallons of laundry soap!
Knock yourself out!
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