SFIC Soap

Once upon a time I attempted to create a fragrance-free skin care business. Due to a number of factors I was never able to get that business off the ground. One of the products I sold was SFIC soap and it is the bar soap I use today. I try many varieties of fragrance free soaps. Dr. Bronners is my favorite liquid, and this is my favorite bar. SFIC is the soap of choice for crafters who use melt and pour bases to make their own creations. They take very well to colors and scents, but I obviously prefer the bar in it’s natural fragrance-free state. There are no synthetic ingredients in these soaps. The are 100% pure soap and they come in a variety of kinds: Aloe Vera, Clear, White, Olive Oil, Castile, Goats Milk, Oatmeal, Shea Butter, Hemp Seed Oil and Cocoa Butter just to name a few.

The clear soap formula ingredients are Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Safflower Oil, Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin), Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent), Sorbitol (moisturizer), Sorbitan oleate (emulsifier), Soybean protein (conditioner).

The complete list of formulas can be found here:

The one problem with SFIC is their minimums are high for the average customer. They specialize in bulk sales, private labeling and custom soap blending. I placed an order and my minimum was 250 lbs. I figured out that I will have enough soap for 20 years, but according to the company their soap has an indefinite shelf life, so I am good with this.
If you would like smaller quantities, go to wisterialane.com. They sell SFIC soap in with no minimum quantity.

I highly recommend SFIC soap. It is soft, luxurious, and lathers very well.

SFICSoap.com
Photo credits: SFICSoap.com

Andalou Shampoos

I’ve been trying to incorporate more natural, organic scents back into my life.  I’ve become so accustomed to everything in my life being fragrance-free, I now have to make an effort to incorporate real scents back into the products that I use.

I found Andalou shampoos at Whole Foods.  These products are

“made naturally without GMO’s, gluten, paraben preservatives, petrochemicals, phthalates, sulfates, synthetic colors, dyes and fragrances. Verified Gluten-Free 100% Eco-friendly, Vegetarian & Cruelty-Free.”  The fragrances they use are organic essential oils and I tolerate them very well. The scents smell very pure and not over powering at all.  Unfortunately, they do not make a fragrance-free version, so if you have reactions to essential oils, even organic essential oils, do not use these products.  I use the Argan & Sweet Orange, and the Sunflower & Citrus.  I haven’t tried the conditioners yet because I’m really happy with the conditioner I currently use.

Andalou products are available through Vitacost, where you can buy them for a better price than Whole Foods.

Avocado and Olive Oil Hair Treatment

 

Here is a natural recipe for your hair.  Avocados are rich in healthy fats as well as Vitamin E and C.  Olive oil also provides generous amounts of healthy fats and Vitamin E.

 

Blend or mash one avocado with ½ cup of olive oil.  Add egg yolk, honey or aloe vera gel for added moisturizing benefits.

 

Apply to dry hair, cover with a shower cap and towel over top of that.  Leave the mixture on for 20 minutes, rinse and then shampoo.  Condition if you would like.

Scent-Free Dryer Sheets

I don’t use dryer sheets. I’m really not bothered by static cling, but for those of you who are and do not want to use toxic fragranced dryer sheets, here are some suggestions.

Several companies make fragrance-free dryer sheets. Seventh Generation is one of them.

Photo by Seventh Generation

Purecosheet is a non-disposable option. It is a reusable cloth dryer sheet that contains no chemicals. It is good for more than 500 loads.

Photo by Reuseit.com

Another option is to use a damp cloth in your dryer cycle. Also, a ¼ cup of white vinegar in the washer is known to reduce static. I use vinegar to freshen my laundry so I am also getting the anti-static benefits as well.

Chlorine Free Bleach

Don’t use chlorine bleach.  It’s toxic.

I’ve used Seventh Generation’s Free and Clear chlorine free bleach.  It is a non-toxic oxygen bleach, meaning it uses hydrogen peroxide.  There are no harmful fumes and won’t discolor clothing.

Seeing as this is a hydrogen based bleach, you can also hydrogen peroxide.  Vinegar and citrus acids, like lemon juice, are also effective alternatives.

Microbe-Clean

I found a product called Microbe-Clean in my local Whole Foods several years ago.  It is a multi-purpose cleaner and odor eliminator that uses the power of non-pathogenic microbes to clean and remove odors.

Microbe-Clean is capable of cleaning and eliminating odors from food waste, animal waste and human waste.  It’s also fragrance-free.  The smell is hard to describe, but it is not strong or offensive whatsoever.  Here is the description from the website:

MICROBE-CLEAN is environmentally safe and based on nature’s own cleaning invention—microbes. Common stains and odors result from organic residue (food, beverages, urine, etc.). MICROBE-CLEAN puts billions of naturally occurring, non-pathogenic microbes to work, cleaning and removing odors in the same way microbes do in nature, leaving the environment clean and fresh smelling.

MICROBE-CLEAN is more effective than enzyme or surfactant products because microbes biodegrade the residue, removing it (which the others cannot do). This is especially important in porous materials like carpet, wood, or hard-to-get-to areas where residue is not accessible with normal cleaning techniques. MICROBE-CLEAN can be used full strength or diluted and can also be used in a carpet cleaning machine to resolve all sorts of problem issues.

I use Microbe-Clean primarily to clean up after I sauna.  I spray my sauna mat with it and I have never had any issues with odor from sweat on my mat.  I also will throw a cup in the washer if I have some laundry that is less than fresh.  You can also use this to clean your carpets and I will be doing so as my dog has taken to peeing on my area rug.

My local Whole Foods doesn’t sell this anymore so I order it directly from the website.
Microbe-Clean

Nature’s Gate Natural Toothpaste

I try to avoid toxins wherever I can, which is why I upgraded my toothpaste. I’m currently using Nature’s Gate Natural Toothpaste. I like the Crème de Mint and Crème de Anise flavors. The main reason I use this toothpaste is because it’s fluoride free. There are several natural toothpaste brands that still contain fluoride and I wanted to avoid that. For more information on the dangers of fluoride, click here.

Not only is Nature’s Gate toothpaste fluoride free, it is also paraben free, sulfate free, contains no sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate, no artificial colors, not artificial flavors or sweeteners and no animal by-products or animal testing.

Nature’s Gate

Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder

I found Charlie’s Soap laundry powder at Whole Foods and I really like it.  Most of the time I use Ecos Free & Clear laundry liquid but someone had recommended Charlie’s Soap to me so I wanted to give it a try.

Charlie’s Soap laundry powder is non-toxic, biodegradable, and truly scent-free.  You do not need fabric softeners with it.  In fact, they are not recommended.  It is HE machine safe, and one scoop per load means you get 80 loads out of a small 2.64 lb container.  Charlie’s soap also makes a liquid laundry detergent, as well as an array of other laundry and cleaning products.

Charlie’s Soap

Is Trader Joe’s Lavender Laundry Detergent Really All Natural?

About two years ago my husband and I went back to an eco-friendly bed and breakfast that we had visited about six months before. The bed and breakfast advertised itself as a fragrance-free establishment and I had a lovely, unscented time there during our stay. The proprietor used Seventh Generation Free and Clear detergent, so I had no problem using their linens. Whenever I travel, even though I specifically seek out fragrance-free places, I still bring my own linens just in case. This time I left my backup linens at home, thinking I would not need them. When we got to the bed and breakfast, I found the entire room was saturated with fragrance. I came to find out the owner had switched the detergent from Free and Clear to Trader Joe’s Lavender scented Laundry detergent. I couldn’t understand why the scent of this supposedly naturally fragranced detergent was giving me headaches and making my throat hurt. I got through two nights of our stay but had to leave before our scheduled third night because I was just so uncomfortable. The owners of the B & B graciously did not charge us for the third night.

I was so perplexed as to why I was so overwhelmed by this product so I contacted Trader Joe’s with this email:

Hello,
I have a question about the lavender oil that is used to scent the
liquid laundry detergent. Could you tell me if the lavender oil is 100%
natural or is it mixed with synthetic fragrance of any kind? Also, is
the oil extracted by natural means (like steam distillation) or is it
chemically extracted?
Thank you.

This was their response:

Thank you for your inquiry. Our detergent is naturally fragranced with
essential lavender oil. This ingredient does not contain any artificial
additives and we do not allow the use of artificial fragrance in our
products. It is naturally produced through alcohol extraction, there
are no chemicals used.

Sincerely,
XXXX
Trader Joe’s
Customer Relations

Something about this explanation didn’t sound right to me. I know that when searching for essential oils, it is important to choose ones that are naturally extracted. Two such methods are steam distillation and cold pressing. Certain brands of essential oils are extracted through chemical means like hexane, which therefore contaminates the essential oil. According to Anne Steineman, PhD, professor of civil and environmental engineering, professor of public affairs, University of Washington, chemically extracted essential oils are just as toxic as petroleum based synthetic fragrance.

I corresponded with a woman who is an expert in natural essential oils and aromatherapy. I forwarded her my email from Trader Joe’s and she said her suspicion was Trader Joe’s was using the solvent extraction method, because it mixes with water better than essential oils and does not evaporate as quickly. She says that people do not understand that what they are using is not an essential oil and is far from a natural extraction.

Here is an explanation of solvent extraction from plantresins.com:

“Solvent Extraction:

A hydrocarbon solvent is added to the plant material to help dissolve the essential oil. When the solution is filtered and concentrated by distillation, a substance containing resin (resinoid), or a combination of wax and essential oil (known as concrete) remains. 

From the concentrate, pure alcohol is used to extract the oils or fats. When the alcohol evaporates, the oil is left behind. 

This is not considered the best method for extraction of essential oils, as the solvents can leave a heavy residue behind, but it’s great for making resins for this very reason.”

According to Wikipedia:
“Most flowers contain too little volatile oil to undergo expression and their chemical components are too delicate and easily denatured by the high heat used in steam distillation. Instead, a solvent such as hexane or supercritical carbon dioxide is used to extract the oils. Extracts from hexane and other hydrophobic solvent are called concretes, which are a mixture of essential oil, waxes, resins, and other lipophilic (oil soluble) plant material.
Although highly fragrant, concretes contain large quantities of nonfragrant waxes and resins. Often, another solvent, such as ethyl alcohol, which is more polar in nature, is used to extract the fragrant oil from the concrete. The alcohol is removed by evaporation, leaving behind the absolute.”

From the information I have researched thus far, I feel the lavender oil used in this detergent is less than ideal and this product should be avoided by those who are sensitive to essential oils that are extracted through any other means than steam distillation or cold pressing.

After I informed the bed and breakfast about my problem with the detergent, the owner switched back to Seventh Generation’s Free and Clear. Our third trip to the bed and breakfast was once again scent free and very enjoyable.

Toxin Free Tampons

Conventional tampons contain pesticide-laden cotton, a very dangerous toxic chemical named dioxin that is result of chlorine bleaching and rayon, a fiber made from wood pulp that requires hundreds of chemicals to convert it from wood to rayon.

I recently made the switch to organic cotton tampons because I am always interested in reducing the amount of toxins I can avoid.  I purchased these boxes of Natracare Organic Cotton Tampons from Vitacost.  Both boxes contain 16 tampons with card applicator and each cost $4.87.  They are 100% organic cotton, perfume free, biodegradable and totally free of chlorine.  Seventh Generation also makes a line of organic tampons.

I found a very informative article online by Meghan Telpner.  Her site is MeghanTelpner.com and she writes about healthy nutrition.  Click here to read her research paper “Tampax Tampons: Toxic Death Sticks.”  Meghan also discusses several alternatives to conventional toxic tampons, one of them being the menstrual cup.  A menstrual cup is a small silicone cup that is inserted to collect fluid.  They are reusable and do not carry the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome like tampons do.  I’ve been intrigued by this option for some time and I think I will be giving it a try some day.  But in the meantime I’ll stick with my organic cotton tampons.