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personal care – surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

surviving the food allergy apocalypse (archive)

Tag: personal care

When You’re Allergic to Conventional Feminine Monthly Supplies
Completed Reusable Cloth Pad

Last week we said we’re heading in new directions with the blog. Besides the actual recipes, we said we’re going to talk about every day life issues, including how we cook, plan, and deal with personal care stuff, besides just giving you recipes. So this post is my first swing at bat. I’ve contemplating writing it for a couple of years, but I hadn’t done so because it makes me squeamish, and I just hadn’t wanted to share my own personal hell with the world. But maybe it’ll help someone else out there who is facing the same issues I do. To start, it’s just really not fun to have contact reactions to commercial feminine monthly supplies. Most of the issue for me appears to stem from my corn allergy, but it could also be related to my coconut allergy. So what do you do? There’s some other options out there, like the diva cup, but that would not be my thing (yeah, that’s putting it diplomatically). There’s some 100% organic cotton tampons without an applicator I could try, but I wasn’t a tampon user before and I’d prefer not. (Applicators are an issue due to the potential for corn or coconut in the waxes and coatings if cardboard, or the plastics themselves if not.) There’s also some organic cotton pads out there but they also state they have “plant-based” materials in the waterproof backing. While I haven’t contacted the company to inquire, “plant-based” is usually a screaming red flag for corn. Since I think they’re expensive, and I’m cheap as hell about stuff I’m going to throw out, I haven’t bothered. So I ended up looking into reusable cloth pad options.

You can buy reusuable cloth pads on Etsy and on the internet. Some people do use reusable cloth pads because of the environment, much like some parents choose to use cloth diapers. I really was not aware this was a thing until I developed my issues. However, because some of the materials being used are not particularly safe for me (polyester and microfibers may cause skin reactions), because I can sew even though I pretty much hate it, and because I’m really cheap, I decided that if I made mine I would be in control of the materials and it would be less expensive per pad. Control was always a big issue for me, and the food allergies have made it much worse, haha!

The first set of pads I made contained Zorb as the absorbent lining, which is made of “an optimum blend of cellulosic fibers from cotton/tencel/bamboo/other interspersed with polyester nylon.” I chose it because it’s supposed to be super absorbent compared to terry cloth, I was freaking out about not using commercial pads and worried about leaks, and I figured that it would be okay because I was encasing it in 100% pure cotton flannel. But over time, I became more concerned about the fibers working through the flannel fabric as they got itchier, and potentially escaping where seam edges opened after some wear and washing. I used them for about two years before I decided that I needed to replace them. I decided that in the next round, I would not use the Zorb, and I would use 100% cotton terry cloth layers as the core. I did use a layer of Polyurethane Laminate on top of the bottom layer of flannel under the core to prevent leaking in the first batch of pads, but since this is a smooth fabric and does not contain loose fibers the way the Zorb does and it would be covered by the 100% cotton flannel, I decided it was an acceptable risk for the second batch as well. So far, I am much preferring the second batch I made with the terry cloth cores rather than the Zorb. They seem much less itchy.

I got my pattern from Nature’s Fabrics. It is a pattern for a pad with wings, and has contoured flared options and several options for the length of the pad.

Relevant pattern pages

Pattern cut out and assembled

I also purchased a kit to attach plastic snaps to the wings to snap them pad together around my underwear. (As a side note, I have a bunch of cloth napkins and bar towels that I decided to add snaps to them to make a roll of “unpaper” towels to put on my paper towel rack in the kitchen. Yes, most paper towels have corn in them.) You can also get refill snaps, but I had enough to do both batches of pads with a ton leftover.

I ordered most of my fabrics from Fabric.com, no affiliation. I ordered two different colors of the flannel because it made it easier for me to tell which is the top and the bottom when dealing with the layers. You may not be so challenged. Depending on how well you lay out the pattern on the fabric, I was able to get 18 pads out of the following fabric with a fair bit of the terry cloth left over:
- 1 yard of the Polyurethane Laminate 1 mil
- 3 yards of 100% cotton terry cloth
- 1 yard of Kaufman Cozy Cotton Flannel Stars Black
- 1 yard of Kaufman Flannel Solid Black
The pattern, the snaps, and the fabric ends up being about $73, depending on pricing, sales and so on, which ends up being about $4 a pad if you get 18 from your cutting layout. I’m mostly seeing prices on Etsy for around $10 bucks a pad for the length I would want. Of course, then you don’t have to spend time doing the sewing, but I’m still too cheap for that and I don’t have the control over the materials. It takes me about 14-16 hours to do a whole batch.

Fabrics and snap kit

Before starting, I washed the flannels and terry cloth so that it could shrink. I didn’t iron the fabric, because seriously, I’m making cloth pads, it’s not like anyone is going to see them. I also didn’t worry about matching colors of thread for much the same reason, and used it as an opportunity to use up a bunch of random leftover threads on bobbins from past sewing projects and free them up.

For each pad, I cut 3 pieces of the core pattern out of the terry cloth (to be stacked together to form the core of the pad). I cut one piece of the wing pattern from each of the flannels and from the polyurethane laminate (this is not included in the pattern, I added it because I over-engineer everything). Yes, I used a sharpie to trace the pattern on the polyurethane laminate instead of pinning it because (a) I’m lazy which is why I’m not a good seamstress, and (b) it’s going inside the pad and no one is going to see it.

Cutting outer winged pattern pieces

Cutting outer winged pattern pieces

Cutting winged Polyurethane Laminate pieces

Cutting core pieces in a double layer to reduce amount of cutting

All pieces for 18 pads cut out

To begin, I stacked the three core layer pieces, seamed around the seam allowance with zigzag stitch, and sewed down the middle lines in the pattern to attach the layers with straight stitch.

3 core pattern pieces stacked, sewn with zigzag at seam allowance and sewn down in middle with straight stitch.

Core layer after trimming seam allowance.

I then trimmed the seam allowance off back to the zigzag stitch. The next step is to sew the core layer to the wrong side of the top of the pad (this is the side that will touch your skin, not your the side that touches your underwear).

Core layer sewn to wrong side of top pad layer

Core sewn to wrong side of top layer of pad (right side view)

Now I place the shiny side (right side up) of the Polyurethane Laminate on the wrong side of bottom flannel layer.

Polyurethane Laminate placed right side up (shiny side) on wrong side of bottom flannel layer

I then placed the right side of the top layer of the pad against the right side of the bottom pad. This leaves the Polyurethane Laminate on the outside and the core layer on the outside. Sew them together leaving one end open so that you can turn them inside out. Once you have turned them inside out, top stitch the opening closed, tucking in the edges in the seam.

A finished pad before adding the snaps.

Then I add the snaps.

Use the awl to poke hole, where you can insert your snaps.

Place the bottom and top of the snaps on each side of the fabric.

Use the snap setting pliers to set the snap in place

Voila! You have a completed reusable cloth pad with snaps to hold it in place!

Completed Reusable Cloth Pad

Completed Reusable Cloth Pad

To wash these, I use the soak cycle on my washing machine along with some of my homemade laundry detergent. Once that has completed, I add more laundry, more laundry detergent, and wash them in a normal cycle and dry them along with the load of laundry.

Whatever your concerns are with conventional monthly supplies, I hope this is helpful.
March 12, 2018
WW: Homemade Tick Repellent
Tick Identification chart

So as many of you know, my husband and I bought a house in January so we could have a garden and grow food, have space to can and do food prep, and make all the things that I need, like soap, lard and tallow, that were really inconvenient to make in a second story balcony apartment. We now have a large garden, a huge lawn, and a lot of fruit trees. And when spring came, we also had a crap ton of ticks.

Because of my allergies and as I was trying to grow safe food, I didn’t want to use pesticides. I looked into diatomaceous earth, but I didn’t want to kill the bees. I looked into commercial stuff I could spray on my clothes, but they didn’t have the inactive ingredients listed, so I didn’t know if it was safe for me. I found an all-natural tick repellent at Blue Seal Feeds that used essential oils, but it had citric acid (corn) in it. I looked online for other all-natural repellents, but they had other corn or coconut derivatives. So I did a little googling, swiped some of the ingredient list from one of the all-natural repellents, and came up with a do-it-yourself version. Make no mistake, it reeks. But if I sprayed down my clothes and my rubber boots with it, I didn’t get ticks. Now, I don’t know if that was coincidence or not, but since I really don’t need Lyme disease in addition to my body deciding to be allergic to the world, I’ll keep using it. Also, if you want more information on ticks and tick-borne diseases, check out the information from the CDC.

I used an essential oil 4 ounce spray bottle (shown only for illustration purposes, we have no affiliation with Amazon or the seller).

Homemade Tick Repellant
- 2 ounces of apple cider vinegar
- 1 ounce of water
- 20 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 20 drops of Eucalyptus citradora essential oil
- 15 drops of lemongrass essential oil
- 15 drops of rosemary essential oil
- 10 drops of tea tree essential oil
Put all the ingredients in your 4 ounce spray bottle, put the sprayer top on and shake well. Spray on clothes and shoes. Make sure you don’t get it into your eyes, it would not be fun.

It also seemed to help with the black flies, but I’ve not yet tried it with mosquitoes. When I do, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Be safe out there!
July 22, 2015
WW: Badger Balm Factory Visit (with product reviews!)

The W.S. Badger Company, Inc. Headquarters

In early July, on vacation, Denise and Mary Kate took a day to head west to Gilsum, New Hampshire, home of the Badger factory. Badger is a skin care products company based here in New Hampshire. In the interests of “shop local,” we figured we could head out and get to know one of our local companies. We’ve waited this long to tell you about it so we could post some reviews, too.

About Badger:

Badger started with one product: Badger Balm, an intensive hand moisturizer designed by carpenter Bill Whyte for his fellow carpenters and their winter-dry skin. Formulated in the Whyte home, Badger has grown from that single product and home production in 1995 to a product line of more than 70 items and a factory/office building of its own in 2014. This building is open for tours (which are short and fun — and the place smells amazing).

Badger formulates all its products in the Gilsum factory. Their focus on “natural” ingredients and herbal and traditional medicines is great for those of us with allergies — NOT because “natural” means anything at all these days, and anyway, most of what we are both allergic to is natural. But the small size of the company and their attention to detail means that a) they can tell you where their ingredients are sourced, how they are processed, and how they are used in each product, and b) because this attention extends to detailed labeling that cites much of this information right on the label. Need to know how the extracts are produced? The label tells you: most of them are carbon dioxide extracts. Need to know the source of the vitamin E? The label tells you: all their vitamin E today is sunflower-based, rather than soy-based (bad for Denise, good for Mary Kate).

In our tour, we asked specific questions about processing and cross-contamination and cleaning procedures. In the production facility on site, most of Badger’s equipment is cleaned with detergent, alcohol (yes, corn-based), and a hot olive oil flush. All of the tinned products, as well as the oils and bug spray, are made on site. The lip balms and sunscreens are made in other production facilities, with ingredients sourced and supplied by Badger, that follow Good Manufacturing Practices.

A display of Badger products at the factory

On specific allergens:

No wheat or peanuts are used in any of the products produced in Gilsum, though the facility is not certified free of either. Your comfort level with this may vary, but if you want to ask questions, customer service is knowledgeable and friendly.

The soaps, lip balms, and sunscreens are produced off-site, and on lines that may have processed these ingredients.

Soy is used in a few Badger products, as well as used on lines in the off-site facilities. Tree nuts, including coconut, are used in Badger products and may have been used on any of the lines. In all cases, good manufacturing processes are followed, but your comfort level with these may vary.

Corn is not used in Badger products, but corn alcohol is used, at high heat, as part of the cleaning process (but not the final step, which is a hot olive oil flush).

The company does recommend patch testing if you are sensitive to any of these things.

Products made before 2012 may have different ingredients than today’s. Read the labels.

On our tour:

We wish we’d been able to take pictures, but when we asked, the tour guide regretfully explained that photos weren’t allowed because some of the things we were shown were actually somewhat secret. Which makes sense. But we really wish we’d been able to take pictures of the gleaming machines filling the balm tins because that was really awesome. The factory itself was spotless, clean and airy, in direct contrast to other factories Denise has worked in the past. On the production floor, they had the biggest olive oil containers we’ve ever seen. We could have gone for a swim in them if the containers didn’t have a top. The company works directly with a family estate in Spain called Soler Romero. The factory store also sells the olive oil which is USDA certified organic. Denise is still kicking herself for not buying any.

The headquarters has a cafeteria which serves employees a free daily organic lunch during their paid 30-minute break, which includes fresh, in-season produce from the Badger gardens. The tour guide told us about their Babies at Work program where on a case-by-case basis a parent may be allowed to bring their new baby to work for the first 6 months. The company also has opened its own full-day child care center for children of Badger employees at reasonable prices in the former Badger Company facility. Employees get a quarterly stipend for products from the Badger lines. It seems like it’d be a pretty cool place to work.

We also got to see The Secret Badger Lab, where they design and formulate new products. The Secret Badger Lab had big picture windows in it, which seemed somewhat antithetical to the secret part (no one was in the Secret Lab that day). It was impressive to see the whole process, from idea to production, all in one building.

Our tour guide was wonderful and because we had emailed in advance, discussing our food allergy issues, she had prepared a handout for us to review, and was ready to discuss the manufacturing processes, the cleaning protocols and their cross-contamination processes with us. If you are local and you want to go on a tour yourself, they are available Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. by appointment. And if you buy products at the factory, there is a discount.

Mary Kate’s Badger haul

So far, I’ve really enjoyed trying out the stuff I bought on our Badger visit. Overall, the products smell great and are very moisturizing. Going more or less clockwise:

I’ve been a regular user of the Headache Balm for years, so I thought I’d give the Stress Soother stick a try. I really like the delivery system (it’s basically a giant chapstick — in fact, Denise has a chapstick that size), but while I do find it nice mid-afternoon or during conference calls at work, I will buy the headache balm in stick form next time. I prefer the smell and, for me, it’s slightly more effective.

The dual color Lip Tint lipbalm (top, in Copper) is a little bit of a mixed bag for me. I rarely wear lipstick because I can’t remember to reapply it all day and I generally can taste (and don’t like) the flavor of the pigment. That’s true here, too, though I’ll say that the color is subtle and nice when I do wear it. I think I’m just destined to be a lip balm kind of woman forever.

The Mustache Wax was a gift, and while I haven’t personally used it, I do like the results. It’s not stick or greasy, but it definitely adds a final touch to facial hair grooming. The Arnica Sore Joint Rub wasn’t particularly effective for me, but mostly I get muscle aches, not joint aches, so I might not be the right user for the product. It smells pretty good, though.

The Anti-Bug Sunscreen I’ve only gotten to use once so far. The zinc oxide might, I think, make it difficult to use every day, under makeup, and it does make it harder to rub in (but, conversely, you have to rub it in and therefore probably apply it more thoroughly and effectively). I think that will be true for all zinc oxide sunscreens, though. I was out for a few hours, and the sun went in after a bit, so I might not have gotten burned anyway. Not the best test for the sunscreen part. BUT. It was hot and humid and buggy. The bugs left me alone and I did not sweat off the sunscreen. This would be excellent for hiking, I’d think.

I’ve kind of saved my favorites for last. The Nutmeg and Shea moisturizer is amazing. The smell, which is nutmeg-forward, is different in a really good way, and the moisturizer is rich. It takes a bit of time to soak in properly, yes, but the results are definitely worth it. This will be a product I’ll use for a long time. I can’t wait to use it on my hands and feet in the winter. This is definitely my favorite product of the entire haul. The last thing up there is the Highland Mint lip balm. This is also a keeper, with a good mint flavor and a really nice smooth texture. There are about a thousand flavors, though, and I might need a different flavor next time. Though mint really is nice.

Badger, as a company, is a place I’d like to support. Luckily for me, I enjoy their products, which makes it pretty easy to do.

With the coconut and corn allergies, I have a really freaking tough time finding personal care products that are safe for me, and you’ve all seen me put recipes for lotions, lotion bars, and lip balms on our blog. That being said, when we were looking into places to visit Badger seemed promising because there might be a sunscreen I could actually purchase and not have to make myself. And I really did not want to order zinc oxide to experiment with making my own sunscreen until I got a recipe right. Here’s my haul from left to right: Cayenne & Ginger Sore Muscle Rub, Badger Anti-Bug Shake & Spray, Lime Rocket Cocoa Butter Lip Balm, Pink Grapefruit Lip Balm, Sweet Orange Cocoa Butter Lip Balm, Badger SPF34 Anti-Bug Sunscreen and Eucalyptus & Mint Aromatic Chest Rub.

Denise’s Badger Balm haul

I know that you’re going to ask, Denise, why buy lip balms when you’ve made them before and you have the stuff to make them? I’m going to make this really simple. Because I CAN. The fact that I don’t have to spend half an hour making lip balms the next time I run out is worth gold in and of itself. It’s nice to just be able to buy a product for once JUST LIKE A NORMAL PERSON. (Oh, was I yelling? Sorry about that.) The Pink Grapefruit lip balm, which has a olive oil, castor oil, and beeswax base instead of the cocoa butter, seemed a bit more moisturizing to me than the cocoa butter oil ones, but I liked all three. For those with corn allergies, I did not seem to have any issues with cross contamination either from the corn alcohol equipment cleaning or from potential cross contamination from the beeswax (depending on what the beekeeper fed the bees), but I’m not super-sensitive either. They all smelled pleasantly fruity, and I’d buy them again.

The Eucalyptus & Mint Aromatic Chest Rub smells wonderful. It’s intended for use as a soothing chest rub, or as a steam inhalant when added to a humidifier or pot of hot water, but I really haven’t had a cold, a cough or a stuffy nose since I bought it, so I haven’t been able to give it a good test. But the aroma is pretty awesome.

The Cayenne & Ginger Sore Muscle Rub smells amazing. Because with ginger and cayenne spicy goodness, how could it not? I concur with Mary Kate’s review in that it didn’t seem that effective for sore muscles, but it’s got some great moisturizing ingredients so I’m happy using it as a balm.

The Badger Anti-Bug Shake & Spray works well. It has the aroma of Citronella, Rosemary, and Wintergreen essential oils. You’re really going to smell like citronella, but it kept the bugs away. I didn’t mind the feel of it and the spray is a convenient application method. Just a quick disclaimer, I am generally pretty accident prone and if it’s possible to break something, I’ll probably break it. However, I didn’t expect to put a significant dent in the spray bottle by tossing it a couple of feet. I was aiming for a tote bag but I missed by a couple of inches and it landed on the floor. I’m not saying that I’m disappointed in the package or that it’s a problem, because again, bug spray that works that I don’t have to make is gold, but just be aware that you may not want to repeat my mistakes if you wish your bug spray to remain pristine and without big dents in the bottle.

The only safe for me sunscreen that Badger had was the Badger SPF34 Anti-Bug Sunscreen. I’d echo Mary Kate’s review in that it is harder to rub in than other sunscreens. I did like the dual sunscreen/bug repellent properties. I do wish that it had a higher SPF, as I used to use an SPF 100 before coconut, but according to WebMD, that might not be as big a deal as I had previously thought. And again, I didn’t have to make it! (Cue heavenly choir).

I wish more of their products didn’t contain sunflower so that I could try them, but I’m happy Badger has some products I can use and make my life easier.

Overall, the Badger visit was a rousing success. If you are looking for personal care products, check out Badger’s website and see if they might have something you’d like to try. This post is all the opinions of Denise and Mary Kate, was not sponsored, and we were in no way compensated for any of this review.

August 13, 2014
WW: Homemade Olive Oil Soap

Homemade Olive Oil Soap. On the moon.

Back in June, Mary Kate and Denise met up at the far side of Mary Kate’s apartment complex parking lot, with a super-long outdoor extension cord, a garage sale crock pot, a can of olive oil, some devil lye, and safety googles.

Denise and Mary Kate put safety first.

We were there to make soap. Safely outdoors, away from cars and buildings and enclosed spaces, lye and water were mixed, added to olive oil, and cooked in the crock pot until done. Or until it sorta kinda maybe looked a little bit like the pictures Denise got off the internet. Then we dumped it in a baking dish, and Denise took it to her in-laws — because soap needs to tour — before taking it home to cool completely.

Why make soap? Well, if you are Denise, there may be two soaps on the market that you might be able to use because the majority of soap is coconut oil-based. Add avoiding palm oil (because of cross-reaction possibilities with coconut allergies) and corn-derived ingredients, and good luck to you. If you’re Mary Kate, anything that involves mostly sitting around but also the possibility of destruction is good. Plus, there were safety googles.

The other reason is cost. Denise did the math when we were done: Her soap costs $26.78 for 64 oz (8 bars @ 8 oz each) which works out to 41 cents an ounce. The supplies for making this soap (not counting the equipment, which is reusable, and ran approximately $30 or so) cost $13.87 for 74.73 oz, which works out to 19 cents an ounce. It was also a few hours of fun.

Denise uses the soap for laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and shampoo, as well as for actual soap. This represents a significant cost savings. The olive oil soap is maybe not as pretty as commercial soap, but it works great and is gentle.

This soap is a “hot process” soap, meaning it uses heat to help the lye saponify (make into soap) the oil. There is also “cold process” soap, where time alone completes that reaction, and we do want to try that soon. The internet is full of recipes for soap, but this is the one we followed.

We made you a video. It’s really an automatic slide show of the photos we took set to music, and it runs about a minute. Enjoy (and be kind?).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy_6hK0Y1uE&w=420&h=315]

(Because we have limited luck with embedding videos, here’s the link, too. Half the time, this works in previews; half the time it doesn’t.)

So this is what we do for fun. And then we fix it up and share it with you on the internet. If WE can make soap, so can you.

July 23, 2014
WW: Toothpaste (Corn-Free and Coconut-Free)
Toothpaste (Corn-Free and Coconut-Free)

Toothpaste has been a challenge because the commercial versions have corn or coconut or both in them. For a while, I was just using a baking soda and hydrogen peroxide paste, and it was gross. It worked to some extent, but I hated the taste every morning, and sometimes I cheated and used my husband’s toothpaste (which is a bad idea, don’t do that). Then I came up with the bright idea to put peppermint essential oil in my mix to see if it helped the taste. It tasted better, but the peroxide seemed to evaporate off quickly and/or the baking soda all settled to the bottom in a cement like layer. So then after playing on Pinterest and Google, I decided to try a batch with some bentonite clay in it, and I’d read something about clove essential oil being good for dental health, so I added them to the mix. This may be too much information, but you know how your teeth get sort of fuzzy with plaque as you go through the day? Well, I saw a drastic reduction in fuzzy buildup when using this toothpaste. At this writing, I brushed my teeth 8 hours ago and my teeth pretty much feel like I just had a cleaning at the dentist. I know that the toothpaste looks gross in the picture, but it seems to be working well. Let me know what you think.

Toothpaste (Corn-Free and Coconut-Free)

Makes about a 4 ounce jar.
- 2 Tablespoons baking soda (use a safe-for-you brand, some are corn-contaminated, watch out)
- 2 Tablespoons bentonite clay (I used Living Clay, the Detox Clay Power)
- 3 Tablespoons hydrogen peroxide
- 3-4 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 3-4 drops of clove essential oil
Put your baking soda and clay in your jar. Add the peroxide and mix it with the clay and baking soda until it is smooth. I used a Popsicle stick, but you could use a chopstick or a barbecue skewer or a fork, whatever will fit in the jar. Your mixture is going to want to bubble up and rise a bit from the reaction between the baking soda and peroxide. Mix it back down. Add the peppermint and clove essential oil and mix well. Cover your jar with a lid. I dip my toothbrush in the jar to get the toothpaste, but I’m fairly comfortable with being uncouth, and I’m not sharing my jar with anyone else. (If that bothers you, they have empty toothpaste tubes on Amazon, no affiliation, yada, yada, etc.) If the baking soda has not finished reacting to the peroxide, you might find that it has bubbled up again when you open it and it will look a bit dried. It isn’t, just mix it up again.

Toothpaste (Corn-Free and Coconut-Free)

Enjoy reaction free clean teeth!
July 16, 2014
UPDATED AGAIN!! – DIY Shampoo if Allergic to Coconut on Whatever Wednesday
Shampoo in re-purposed pump bottle

Since publishing my DIY Shampoo if Allergic to Coconut and the UPDATED-DIY Shampoo if Allergic to Coconut posts, I had a little fortuitous accident. I was making the shampoo, and I grabbed the wrong bottle and added 3 tablespoons of the avocado oil, instead of the grapeseed oil as I intended. When I realized I’d done it, I decided to just add 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil so that the shampoo wouldn’t have two extra tablespoons of oil. I also used a little less distilled water than normal because, um, I did not plan well and I was mostly out. After the oil mishap, I wasn’t sure whether I’d end up throwing out the whole thing, or using it up as body wash. Well, seriously, the lather is a lot freaking better and shampoo is thicker and more like real shampoo in consistency. It’s weird to think that it makes that much of a difference, but I’m much happier with it than the last version. And so without further ado, I give you the updated post, with the changes in the ingredients underlined, italicized, and in bold:

So here’s the thing. Being allergic to coconut is a b*tch, once you realize that coconut is in just about every cleaning product on the market. To get a list of coconut derivatives, go here, thanks to Becky at the Allergic to Coconut? blog. Due to some issues with breaking out much more than I should be at freaking *40*, I decided I wanted to try cutting out any coconut derivatives that touch my skin.

First, most soap and shampoos contain at least one of the coconut derivatives on the list, if not five to ten of them. Most lotions, face masks, acne treatments, etc., etc., etc., contain at least one of the coconut derivatives as well. When I decided to go looking at my beauty and personal hygiene products, guess what? Every single one had coconut in them, except one lotion, and when I looked up the ingredients I didn’t recognize on that label, it turned out to be two forms of pesticide. Yippy fricking skippy.

The first thing I did was to try to find a recipe for shampoo, because I was breaking out in my hair, which hadn’t ever been a problem before. I posted this information earlier in one of our Fabulous Friday Finds, but I’ve made some modifications.

I found this recipe for making your own shampoo, which calls for castile soap. Just be aware that even some castile soaps, like Dr. Bonner, have coconut in them. I found a recipe for making castile soap from Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap. Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap does not have any coconut in it. I made the shampoo with some modifications and found it too drying on my hair, so I added olive oil, but found it could be a bit waxy. This time I think I have it the way I like it. I’ve been using it as a body wash as well.

Denise’s Version of DIY Shampoo
- 1 Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap – 8 oz bar, grated (I grated it in my food processor, dumped it out, put the blade in, put it back in the food processor and pulverized it some more. Doesn’t take as long to dissolve in the water this way. Make sure you clean your food processor really well afterwards.)
- 4 cups of distilled water
- 1 Tablespoon of grapeseed oil
- 2 Tablespoons of castor oil
- 3 Tablespoons of avocado oil
- 10-15 drops of tea tree essential oil
Grate Kiss My Face Soap. Place in a glass or plastic container with 5 cups of distilled water. Stir well, cover, and leave overnight. The next day, check to see if the soap bits have completely dissolved. If not, stir again and let sit. When the soap has completely dissolved, add, the grapeseed oil, the castor oil, the avocado oil, and the tea tree oil, and mix together. I used a whisk, I found it incorporated the oil better. This makes about 48 oz of shampoo. I put half in a pump bottle (Yes, it’s a store-brand hand sanitizer bottle, reduce, reuse, recycle, remember?) in the shower and half in the fridge until I run out. Or you could just make half the recipe 🙂

You can use the shampoo as body wash and facial wash as well, but stay tuned for further posts on facial cleansing options.
April 30, 2014
UPDATED – DIY Shampoo if Allergic to Coconut on Whatever Wednesday
Shampoo in re-purposed pump bottle

EDITED TO ADD : Please go see the newest version of this recipe – it’s a lot better!! – UPDATED AGAIN!! DIY Shampoo if Allergic to Coconut on Whatever Wednesday

Since publishing my DIY Shampoo if Allergic to Coconut post, I’ve made a minor change to the original shampoo recipe. When you see the change you’re going to laugh and say “Whatever Denise, like that matters.” But it makes a pretty large difference in the lathering of the shampoo, and also in moisturizing your hair. I had a tough time over the winter with original recipe because I felt like my hair was too dry. So I tinkered with the recipe a bit, and got something that makes a much better lather and made my hair feel great. And so without further ado, I give you the original post, with the added ingredient underlined, italicized, and in bold:

So here’s the thing. Being allergic to coconut is a b*tch, once you realize that coconut is in just about every cleaning product on the market. To get a list of coconut derivatives, go here, thanks to Becky at the Allergic to Coconut? blog. Due to some issues with breaking out much more than I should be at freaking *40*, I decided I wanted to try cutting out any coconut derivatives that touch my skin.

First, most soap and shampoos contain at least one of the coconut derivatives on the list, if not five to ten of them. Most lotions, face masks, acne treatments, etc., etc., etc., contain at least one of the coconut derivatives as well. When I decided to go looking at my beauty and personal hygiene products, guess what? Every single one had coconut in them, except one lotion, and when I looked up the ingredients I didn’t recognize on that label, it turned out to be two forms of pesticide. Yippy fricking skippy.

The first thing I did was to try to find a recipe for shampoo, because I was breaking out in my hair, which hadn’t ever been a problem before. I posted this information earlier in one of our Fabulous Friday Finds, but I’ve made some modifications.

I found this recipe for making your own shampoo, which calls for castile soap. Just be aware that even some castile soaps, like Dr. Bonner, have coconut in them. I found a recipe for making castile soap from Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap. Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap does not have any coconut in it. I made the shampoo with some modifications and found it too drying on my hair, so I added olive oil, but found it could be a bit waxy. This time I think I have it the way I like it. I’ve been using it as a body wash as well.

Denise’s Version of DIY Shampoo
- 1 Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Soap – 8 oz bar, grated (I grated it in my food processor, dumped it out, put the blade in, put it back in the food processor and pulverized it some more. Doesn’t take as long to dissolve in the water this way. Make sure you clean your food processor really well afterwards.)
- 5 cups of distilled water
- 3 Tablespoons of grapeseed oil
- 2 Tablespoons of castor oil
- 1 Tablespoon of avocado oil
- 10-15 drops of tea tree essential oil
Grate Kiss My Face Soap. Place in a glass or plastic container with 5 cups of distilled water. Stir well, cover, and leave overnight. The next day, check to see if the soap bits have completely dissolved. If not, stir again and let sit. When the soap has completely dissolved, add, the grapeseed oil, the castor oil, the avocado oil, and the tea tree oil, and mix together. I used a whisk, I found it incorporated the oil better. This makes about 48 oz of shampoo. I put half in a pump bottle (Yes, it’s a store-brand hand sanitizer bottle, reduce, reuse, recycle, remember?) in the shower and half in the fridge until I run out. Or you could just make half the recipe 🙂

You can use the shampoo as body wash and facial wash as well, but stay tuned for further posts on facial cleansing options.
April 24, 2013
Whatever Wednesday: Oil Cleansing Method
Oil Cans, photo by Ian Britton (creative commons license)

About a year ago, after a lot of reading about it, I thought I’d try this “oil cleansing” thing that the internet was chittering on about. Honestly, it seemed a little counter-intuitive, smearing oil over the grease on my face to clean it off. I have had oily skin since I was about 11, which is when the acne started.

I’ve tried all sorts of cleansers and acne systems, most of them harsh and annoying, with the side effects being as bad as the breakouts and just as hard to cover up. Nothing’s ever been a miracle solution. Since my skin was oily, I was a big fan of stripping all the oil off, using stripping cleanser followed by really harsh astringents, and ending up with tight, dry, itchy skin that was oil slicked in about an hour. Eventually I came around to moisturizer, which did calm my skin down a bit. The oil cleansing, though, replaces all of that. Adjusting the formula based on the seasons has mostly eliminated the need for moisturizers, too, though I still use them occasionally. If you do find you need a moisturizer, Denise posted a coconut-derivative-free lotion a while back.

I use the oil cleanser in the evening to remove the makeup and daily grime, and in the morning just splash water on my face and then put on makeup like normal. It is WAY cheaper than the rather expensive cleanser I was buying before and more effective to boot, so I am a solid convert. I even had a test phase — last spring, I didn’t pack the oil for a trip, and by day 3, I was breaking out again. Now I have a travel container.

I started with all the information on the oil cleansing method on the Crunchy Betty website, and have started tweaking my own recipes from that information. I’d suggest you do the same, but here are my recipes for a starting point. I’ve done everything as ratios, but I would suggest starting with a small batch (maybe making 1 part a teaspoon) to see how it works for you, so that you can tweak the next one if you don’t love it. Give it a week or two for each tweak, to see how it shakes out.

Oil Cleansing for Winter, for Oily Skin
- 2.5 parts castor oil
- 1 part avocado oil
- 1 part grapeseed oil
I did this with 15 mL castor, 6 mL each of avocado and grapeseed, 5 drops of thyme essential oil (for acne) and 2 drops of super-strength vitamin E oil to soothe. This mix will last me close to a month of use.

Oil Cleansing for Summer, for Oily Skin
- 1 part castor oil
- 1 part grapeseed oil
You will need a small bottle for your oil mix, as well as a stack of cotton washcloths. I have found that some makeup stains the cloths — mascara and lipstick, in particular — but rather than bleach the cloths, I use them only for face washing and just wash them on hot. I have two small bottles, one glass with a dropper and one plastic with a small spout that allows me to dole the oil out in drops. This does take longer than a quick foaming face wash, but I then spend less time with concealers in the morning.

Here’s the short version of the technique — but really, read the Crunchy Betty post. It’s good.
- A few drops at a time, pour oil onto clean fingertips and apply to face. (I do about 3 or 4 drops at a time, until I’ve covered my whole face.)
- Massage into face. I know the post says 2 minutes. I probably don’t do it that long most nights.
- Using hot water and a washcloth, briefly steam your oiled up face, and then massage the oil off with the cloth.
- Pat dry or let air dry.
- Enjoy how not oily your skin is in the morning.
(Oh, and a bonus tip: I admit, I got this years ago from seventeen magazine — instead of using zit cream, try lemon juice. Just a dab on a breakout. It’s cheaper, more effective, and tastes great in iced tea. Just like the creams, it will not magically make a zit disappear. But it will make it go away in less than half the time.)

Have you tried oil cleansing? How did it work for you?
April 3, 2013