I love love love love love love LOVE this shampoo and conditioner. Did I say how much I love these products? Cuz I do. I came across them at Whole Foods and gave them a try since I love shea butter.
These products are great for my dry hair. They’re very moisturizing. Everyday Shea also makes a body wash, lotion, and hand soap, which I just saw the other day at Whole Foods. I haven’t tried the body wash, lotion or hand soap yet but I will be soon.
When I can’t make my green juices (more on this later) I like to use Amazing Grass Green Super Food powder.
This powder contains a blend of Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Alfalfa, Organic Spirulina, Organic Spinach, Organic Chlorella (cracked cell-wall), Organic Broccoli, Organic Acai, Organic Maca, Organic Carrot, Organic Beet, Raspberry, Organic Rose Hips, Organic Pineapple, Green Tea, Acerola Cherry, Organic Flax Seed Powder, Apple Pectin Fiber, and a blend of Pre and Probiotic Digestive Enzymes (F.O.S from Chicory Root, L. Acidophilus, Alpha and Beta Alylase, Protease, Lipase, Lactose, Cellulose).
That’s a lot of nutrients packed into a small scoop size. The taste is better than I expected. It’s not wonderful but it’s more than tolerable. It tastes very green.
I do a lot of saunas and I’ve recently been taking steps to make sure I replace my electrolytes since I’m been sweating so much.
Here are a couple of recipes I’ve found to make your own electrolyte drinks, instead of drinking bottled sports drinks with sugar and artificial colorings.
Dr. Oz’s Electrolyte Water Recipe
Ingredients:
1 liter of water
1/2 tsp of baking soda
2 tbsp of agave nectar (low glycemic so it won’t raise your blood sugar like sugar or maple syrup)
1/2 tbsp of sea salt
Low Carb Sports Drink
Ingredients:
1 cup of water
2 tbsp of lemon juice
small pinch of salt
flavor or sweetener to taste (like stevia or xylitol)
Dr. Bronner’s is my go-to fragrance free soap. It’s the soap I recommend to anyone in need of a fragrance free soap, whether for themselves or when they are going scent free in order to accommodate a chemically sensitive person.
Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild formula is made with organic oils. It is great for people with allergies or sensitive skin. It’s also gentle enough for baby skin, but it is NOT tear-free. Just like any other soap, it will burn if you get it in your eyes.
Dr. Bronner’s soap is available in 2 oz bottles to gallon jugs. It’s also available in bar form.
My fiancé likes Dr. Bronner’s Organic Shikakai Baby (unscented) Hand Soap.
“Certified by the same National Organic Program that certifies food our pump soaps are smooth and luxurious with no synthetic detergents or preservatives. Organic Shikakai comes from the seed pods of the small South Asian tree Acadia Concinna and has been used for millennia in India as a gentle conditioning cleanser for both skin and hair. We extract the Shikakai in organic sugar and grape juice and combine with Dr. Bronner’s unsurpassed castile soap base for rich emollient lather and moisturizing afterfeel.” – Description from www.drbronner.com.
The Shikakai soap has a slightly thicker, very buttery smooth texture.
Also available in the line of fragrance free Baby and Sensitive skin care line is Organic Baby Unscented Shaving Gel and Baby Mild Body/Tattoo Balm, which is free of petrochemical ingredients. I haven’t tried these two products yet but will post my review when I do.
I believe sweating in a far infrared sauna is what has kept my MCS relatively stable over the past few years. I bought a Sunlighten Solo Sauna system about 4 years ago because I desperately needed to be able to sweat. Because of my joint pain I can only work up so much of a sweat from exercising, and I had no access to a sauna through a health club (I haven’t belonged to a gym in years due to exposure to too many fragrances).
Saunas are an excellent way to detoxify the body. A far infrared sauna is the best choice if you have access to one, since studies have shown that sweat from a FIR sauna is comprised of 20% toxins, while sweating from a traditional sauna produces about 3% of toxins. Either way, break a sweat the best way you can, just make sure to hydrate properly.
This is my sauna protocol. This is what works for me, but it may not work for you. And please check with your doctor before using saunas. I set up my Sunlighten Sauna on the floor with towels and a glass of water near by. I have the Solopad (from Sunlighten), which is a heated infrared mat I use in conjunction with the sauna. I preheat my sauna by turning the Solopad on, and I set the sauna control for 60 minutes at a very low level to get it warmed up. I drink a glass of water. Then I start exercising. I’ll either get on my treadmill or my recumbent bike for about 20 minutes. Lately I’ve been laying off the treadmill because of a lot of unexplained ankle pain that’s getting aggravated by walking. After I’ve worked up a sweat on the bike I drink more water and get right into my sauna and turn up the heat so I continue sweating for another 20 to 30 minutes. When I’m done I drink more water. This is the method that I prefer and it really works for me. I prefer to already be warm and sweating when I get into the sauna. I feel like I get a more effective session. Again, this is what works for me. Saunas are not for everyone and certain illnesses make sauna therapy dangerous. Check with your doctor!
Dr. Oz once said your bowel is like your brain. The chemicals in the gut are the same chemicals in the brain, so if your bowels aren’t happy, your brain isn’t either. And if your colon is holding toxins, the rest of you will be toxic too. Our modern diets of processed, refined food allows waste material to build up in the colon, remaining stagnant and decomposing, which increases bacteria and toxins, which then get absorbed back up into the blood stream. Colon hydrotherapy is way to flush your colon of remaining waste to remove those toxins.
I had thought about getting a colonic for a couple years before I had the nerve to actually go through with one. I was actually scared of it but I was so desperate to detox and see if it would have an effect on my MCS that I decided to go for it. When I finally had my first colonic, I was surprised that it was not as awful as I was anticipating. Everyone will have a different experience. Some people can even become so relaxed that they fall asleep on the table. This is not me. I have to consciously work at relaxing my colon hydrotherapist, is the best at what she does. She’s able to assist me so I am able to relax and allow the colonic to proceed. I do have to be honest though. For me, colonics are not pleasant. They are uncomfortable and it is an invasive procedure. And it’s not appropriate for everyone. Check with your doctor first. Also, make sure you go to a qualified colon hydrotherapist, check their credentials and get references!
I’ve only had about three colonics over a span of about a year. Once I have the money to do so, I intend to do a series of colonics in order to further my detox plan.
Carrying baby wipes is essential for me. Most of the time I keep a little bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap with me, but when for whatever reason I don’t have my bottle of soap, I have my fragrance-free baby wipes. Fragrance transfer is so easy and so unavoidable (just from opening doors, shopping carts, shaking hands, etc) that I have to be able to get the fragrance off my hands as soon as possible. I used to get the Kirkland brand of fragrance free baby wipes and those worked for me very well, until they changed the formula and added a masking fragrance. Even my fiancé, who is fragrance free, but not chemically sensitive, noticed the difference between the new box and the previous one.
So I switched to Seventh Generation. Seventh Generation Baby Wipes are free of chlorine, dyes and fragrances. I keep them in my car and in my bathroom. I use them for my hands and I sometimes even use them to remove my makeup.
Another brand I like is Wet Ones Sensitive Skin Formula. I get the boxes of 24 individually wrapped wipes so I can throw a few in my purse and know I always have a back up with me. They weren’t easy to find. I find them one day at Target and bought five boxes. I like to stock up.
I love, love, LOVE Derma E’s AHA Alpha Hydroxy Acids Beauty Fluid. As I get older, I’m trying to put forth the effort to take care of my body and my skin. While I am not obsessed with aging, I do want to take little steps to combat the little lines, dull skin and dark spots I am starting to see.
I came across Derma E’s AHA Alpha Hydroxy Acids Beauty Fluid while conducting one of my many fragrance free product searches online. I wash my face with an all natural aloe soap (link), dry my face and twice a week I apply this fragrance-free product as my nightly moisturizer instead of my normal moisturizer of safflower oil.
I am so pleased with the results I have seen in only a couple of weeks of using this product. I noticed my blemishes went away and my skin tone and texture is clear and bright. This product will firmly remain in my beauty regime.
Derma E carries several other fragrance free items, but not all of their line is fragrance free. Make sure to check the label.
The next green step my fiancé and I needed to think about was what type of insulation to use. The home we’re renovating had no insulation in the walls and regular fiberglass insulation in the ceiling. My fiancé removed all of the existing fiberglass insulation and found someone to come and take it off our hands.
During my online research I first came across eco-friendly insulation from recycled scraps of denim. I contacted a local showroom that carried this insulation called Ultratouch Denim Insulation, by Bonded Logic. I was able to get a sample and immediately knew this was not going to work for me. The insulation is easy to handle and does not itch like fiberglass insulation. According to their website Ultratouch contains no chemical irritants and requires no carcinogenic warning labels compared to other traditional insulation products. (It also) contains no harmful airborne particulates eliminating health concerns regarding particulates in the surrounding environment.”
This is great that there’s another option besides traditional formaldehyde laden insulation, but as soon as I put that sample of Ultratouch to my nose, I knew I was having a reaction. Each individual fiber is treated with a boron-based fire retardant. I can’t say for sure if that was the offending agent, but I started to sneeze immediately. Quickly my sinuses became irritated.
After a quick trip to Lowes, I came across Safetouch, by Dow Chemical. This is a polyester based insulation that is NOT treated with chemicals, is not fiberglass and is safe to touch and handle and breathe. I slept with a sample by my bedside and felt confident I had found my insulation.
Fortunately for us, we bought every batt they had in stock because about a week later we found out that Dow discontinued the product. I was so disappointed. I spoke with a customer service rep at Dow who said it just wasn’t cost effective enough to keep manufacturing. That is such a shame.
Here is the back kitchen wall insulated with Safetouch.
Now left with having to find insulation for the ceiling (Safetouch did not come in R-30), my fiancé and I choose GreenFiber. GreenFiber is made of non-toxic cellulose insulation, 85% of which comes from recycled paper fiber. GreenFiber is also treated with boric acid. “The boric acid flame retardant used in GreenFiber Insulation is infused in the natural fibers of the cellulose. During a fire, the retardant melts and holds the heat until the cellulose fibers char. The cellulose then becomes a layer of carbon protection, because the charred fibers won’t burn. The density of GreenFiber Insulation prevents the passage of flames and hot gasses, so fire does not spread as readily into GreenFiber -installed walls or ceilings, and GreenFiber Insulation restricts the amount of oxygen available to support combustion.”
I grabbed a small sample and did not react, so we bought enough to finish insulating the ceilings.
A couple of other eco-friendly insulation options are EnGuard GlassFree Polyester Insulation and Ecobatt by Knauf Insulation. Like SafeTouch, EnGuard is a 100% polyester batt insulation that does not contain any glass fiber, formaldehyde, VOCs or other harmful additives. Unlike SafeTouch, EnGuard contains 50% recycled content from PET plastic beverage bottles.
Ecobatt is primarily made from sand. According to their website, “ECOSE Technology works by converting natural organic materials into an inert polymer through a proprietary process to create an exceptionally strong binder that bonds glass wool insulation fibers together. ECOSE Technology delivers superior environmental sustainability, reduces embodied energy, and contains no phenol, formaldehyde, acrylics or artificial colors.” The binder they use is made using rapidly renewable organic materials, instead of the conventional non-renewable petroleum-based chemicals used in traditional binders.” Since the process is “proprietary” I could not find any more information on the composition of the binder used in this process.
Costco is selling Ecoblanket by Knauf Insulation. Here’s a picture I snapped a few weeks ago.
The only personal experience I have is with SafeTouch and GreenFiber. For more information on Ultratouch, EnGuard and Ecobatt please visit their websites linked here.
UPDATE: EnGuard Insulation
I was fortunate to have purchased all of the SafeTouch Insulation Lowes had in stock when it was time to insulate my home with a non-toxic option. SafeTouch is no longer available and had purchased the remaining stock. I spoke with Dow Chemical, the company that manufactured SafeTouch and they said the reason it was discontinued was simply because it was not profitable enough. That is a real shame since it is such an amazing insulation. It is mid-January and I only need one space heater to keep my little home comfortable.
In the future though, if I do need another insulation option, I will be going with EnGuard Insulation. As I stated above, like SafeTouch, EnGuard is a 100% polyester batt insulation that does not contain any glass fiber, formaldehyde, VOCs or other harmful additives. Unlike SafeTouch, EnGuard contains 50% recycled content from PET plastic beverage bottles.
I contacted the company and they sent me a free test sample. Unlike the denim insulation, EnGuard had NO smell whatsoever. I slept with the sample next to my bed on my nightstand for several weeks and had no adverse reactions of any kind. I would feel completely confident recommending this insulation.
Visit http://enguardinsulation.com/ for more information.
Deodorants are generally hard to recommend because what works for one person simply may not work for another person. This is the one that works for me.
It has a VERY light natural scent from the willow bark extract. My boyfriend recognized the smell from his childhood growing up on a farm where they had many willow trees. After my shower he reminds me to put on my “tree.” Well, we think it’s funny.
Scent Free Girl 