Chemical-free living?

[Tammy]

I use baking soda often times to brush my teeth. I stopped using deodorant. If I know I am going out............I have some oregano oil and just rub a drop under each pit. (Don't do it right after you shave......ouch!)

Edit: A friend of mine was over the other day and we were discussing this thread........I told her about how I used the oregano oil for deodorant sometimes and she wanted to try it......she said it really burned. It only did that to me after I shaved so I would suggested mixing it with something else or not trying it!

 

[angee111]

I use a fluoride/SLS/paraben free toothpaste by Red Seal Natural Health, which is a NZ company. As for shampoo, I have recently purchased a seaweed based shampoo or hair cleanser (who am I kidding, the only two ingredients are both classified as seaweed!) but have yet to try it out. As far as perfume goes, I stay far, far away from it. It makes me incredibly nauseous and gives me vertigo. I can occasionally tolerate essential oils, but that's it. I hardly ever wear deodorant, but if I do I make sure to stick to a reputable natural brand. I NEVER use body wash, but I do use handcrafted soap.

 

[Vasha]

Lots to think about!

Some use baking soda to wash their clothes. @Dreambirdie might have some good ideas.

@Sushi - thank you! That sounds like a potential solution. Even the "gentle," "free," "unscented" etc products now all seem to have some strong scents. It's amazing how far you can get with what our grandmas used.

@Vasha thank you for all this info and I have a long list of products to google! I no longer use hair spray, make up, lotion, hair dye or anything that I did pre MCAS. It is a totally different world.

It SO is. I don't react nearly as badly as you do @Gingergrrl and it is still a huge adjustment.

Vasha, is mint bad for MCAS b/c right now my toothpaste and shampoo are mint and I can't tell.

Gingergrrl, mint is a salicylate, so you will react to it if you react to salicylates (these are common in a varity of foods and other things - a really concentrated form is aspirin or NSAIDs). In Australia, they're recognized as something that people can have sensitivity to, but there's not much discussion of them in the US or UK. The dietary information I sent you is for a diet that cuts out salicylates as well amines to test the sensitivity-whenever you're up for it and not before I'm happy to talk more on PM. I'm so glad you are out of hospital.

@Gingergrrl
I'll try to keep you informed. I'm learning a lot about the chemicals used in everything around us, so I am slowly trying to reduce the environmental chemicals to reduce what my body has to process. Like today I just learned that BPA-free plastic could be just as harmful through the use of BPA- alternative plasticizers. I'll probably look into switching to glass/mason jars for food and cosmetic storage.

Thanks @kristysmiles! We've mostly made this switch, too. Thanks for starting this thread!

Vasha

 

[Gingergrrl]

It SO is. I don't react nearly as badly as you do @Gingergrrl and it is still a huge adjustment.

@Vasha Thank you and I had a horrible food reaction tonight which made realize that my histamine bucket (with multiple meds!) can only tolerate one meal per day with very limited foods. I have exactly two wks until I see a mast cell specialist and just trying to ride it out.

Gingergrrl, mint is a salicylate, so you will react to it if you react to salicylates (these are common in a varity of foods and other things - a really concentrated form is aspirin or NSAIDs). In Australia, they're recognized as something that people can have sensitivity to, but there's not much discussion of them in the US or UK. The dietary information I sent you is for a diet that cuts out salicylates as well amines to test the sensitivity-whenever you're up for it and not before I'm happy to talk more on PM. I'm so glad you are out of hospital.

Prior to MCAS I never had any issues with mint and could use it in any product whether food, gum, candy, toothpaste or shampoo etc. It still seems okay now BUT I have been allergic to aspirin lifelong and never did well with NSAIDS so now am not sure! Thanks again for all the feedback.

 

[Gingergrrl]

Perfume is simply evil - even real plant essential oils can set off allergies in some people, so i respect that and don't wear any.

Just to clarify- I can no longer tolerate or wear any perfume and never will again. The stuff that I used pre MCAS boggles my mind.

 

[Vasha]

@Vasha Thank you and I had a horrible food reaction tonight which made realize that my histamine bucket (with multiple meds!) can only tolerate one meal per day with very limited foods. I have exactly two wks until I see a mast cell specialist and just trying to ride it out.
Wishing you all the best - hang in there!

 

[kristysmiles]

if you live near a whole foods, they have their store brand lip balm for around 1.49, and every ingredient in it is something I understand and that I see as natural. (beeswax, and similar natural things).

Also, Iherb routinely has Sierra brand lip balm, all ingredients are natural real things I recognize, for 95 cents, so if you are doing an order there anyway, it's a cheap way to get it.

Perfume is simply evil - even real plant essential oils can set off allergies in some people, so i respect that and don't wear any.

@South, those products are a lot cheaper with a good ingredient list. I still think I'll look at making my own. I tried banana chapstick one time, and I'm hooked now. So I want to be able to flavor mine to my preference since this isn't a commonly made flavor.

 

[Sasha]

With all this talk of chemical-free, I've ordered some Turkish 'Danan' olive-oil soap, which they use in hamams, apparently.

I'm being a bit slapdash, though - I should probably read up a bit more.

 

[helen1]

@Sasha, thanks so much for posting this link:
http://blog.kanelstrand.com/2014/01/baking-soda-destroyed-my-hair.html
I'm going to take her advice and buy coconut milk and aloe gel and use that for shampoo from now on. Luckily the baking soda hasn't done me any harm yet.

 

[Sasha]

@Sasha, thanks so much for posting this link:
http://blog.kanelstrand.com/2014/01/baking-soda-destroyed-my-hair.html
I'm going to take her advice and buy coconut milk and aloe gel and use that for shampoo from now on. Luckily the baking soda hasn't done me any harm yet.

I didn't read that whole thing but I assume you mean a recipe like this one:

http://www.thankyourbody.com/ph-balanced-shampoo-recipe/

and that writer has something interesting to say about cider vinegar and a great tip for freezing your home-made shampoo in ice-cube trays so your fresh ingredients don't go off faster than you use them. @kristysmiles - I think you had concerns about that (?).

 

[Dreambirdie]

Some use baking soda to wash their clothes. @Dreambirdie might have some good ideas.

@Vasha When I was at my most chemically sensitive I used Borax and white vinegar. There are now some very eco-safe laundry soaps like Seventh Generation, Planet and Bio-Kleen. If you can tolerate them they work well.

 

[Sidereal]

The only shampoo I can use that doesn't give me MCS but also makes my hair look passable is Ecco Bella. There are two varieties, the one with neem and aloe vera is better.

 

[Vasha]

@Vasha When I was at my most chemically sensitive I used Borax and white vinegar. There are now some very eco-safe laundry soaps like Seventh Generation, Planet and Bio-Kleen. If you can tolerate them they work well.

Great suggestions- thank you @Dreambirdie and @Sidereal!

Vasha

 

[kristysmiles]

@Sasha
Not really concerned about that, but it's good to be aware that fresh ingredients without preservatives do have a shorter shelf life. I've been reading http://www.scratchmommy.com/ and some of their topics actually tell you how long the products last which seems to be about a year on average.

@helen1 if I'm reading things right, it's not the baking soda that will damage your hair, but the ph balance of the baking soda. If you mix it would something else that will lower the ph balance, it should still be okay to use.

 

[ahmo]

Magnesium oil is good for deodorant.

I mix equal parts calcium carbonate and baking soda for toothpaste, with some aloe, water, few drops of fennel essential oil. Can also add clove oil, mint, lemon, etc.

I've been using laundry balls for many years. They're available on ebay. Most have some little ceramic balls within a perforated plastic ball, sometimes refillable. The change the ionic frequency of the water. We don;t have a lot of really dirty or greasy clothes. When we do, they're either soaked in borax, or a bit of borax in the load. The clothes always feel and smell and look clean.

@Gingergrrl I've been wondering how you've been faring. Sending you.

 

[Gingergrrl]

@Gingergrrl I've been wondering how you've been faring. Sending you.

Thank you @ahmo and since April it's been the roughest part of my entire journey with this illness. To make it brief as possible, I had severe toxic black mold exposure for 2+ yrs at home that none of our belongings can be saved. We lose everything we owned and are moving and legal action will be taken against landlord.

I was in hospital in May b/c MCAS reactions so severe I could not eat anything w/o stage 2 anaphyllaxis. Tried different treatments and will see MCAS specialist in approx one more week and still tying to find mold specialist which is harder than I thought. Then will resume anti viral treatments which never really stood a chance with level of mold exposure my body was trying to fight.

To sum it up, it's been a nightmare.

 

[kristysmiles]

@ahmo
I'll have to look into the Magnesium oil for deodorant. The recipe I'm looking at using has coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, tamanu oil, neem oil, almond oil, vitamin e, arrowroot powder, diatomaceous earth (food grade), kaolin clay and a blend of essential oils.

For toothpaste, the recipe I was looking at has baking soda, coconut oil, activated charcoal, and whatever I decide to use for flavor. I think the charcoal works similarly to the calcium carbonate.

How well do your recipes work for you?

 

[ahmo]

How well do your recipes work for you?

I'm not actually sure what you're asking...about the toothpaste?
You're using all those ingredients for deodorant? I don't understand the need for all the oils; won't they leave grease on your clothes??

I used coconut oil in toothpaste for awhile, until I found I'm intolerant to sulfites in it. Again, I didn't really enjoy the grease added to the mix. Coconut oil, I believe, is added to help pull out toxins. I used distilled water in the mix, which I didn't bother mentioning above, in the hopes that it, too, might pull out toxic metals. I seem to have gotten rid of my toxic metal load, so don't know that it's necessary now.

 

[IreneF]

I find soap much more irritating than soap-free cleansers. I also find essential oils can be an irritant.

I bought a tube of ayurvedic toothpaste called Auromere on the recommendation of my dental hygienist. It's helping with tooth sensitivity but it feels grittier than other toothpaste. I use the mint-free version, which tastes of licorice.

 

[kristysmiles]

@ahmo
I was asking how they compare to conventional products, such as if they work better or cause less symptoms.

All the oils aren't necessary, you could use 1 type of oil, but they each provide different benefits. I naturally have dry skin, so I don't think it will be a problem for me. The arrowroot powder, diatomaceous earth (food grade), kaolin clay also balance out the texture so it has the consistency of normal deodorant. I made body butter using a mix of those oils with shea butter and cocoa butter and it's actually more solid than lotion. I think a smaller amount will go a long way when compared to store-bought lotions.

For toothpaste I would definitely use distilled or at least filtered water, due to the amount of chlorine and fluoride that's in tap water. I was looking at water filters and the good ones cost over $200. Yikes!

@IreneF Essential oils do have some health benefits, but they aren't necessary if you are sensitive to them. The only thing I've made so far is body butter, and I didn't have any essential oils when I made that. So I don't know if I'm sensitive to them or not.

I definitely think that making your own products will help, because you control what goes in/on your body. If there's an irritant you can isolate it and either remove it or replace it with something else.