A couple of days ago I posted about perfumes, and here's the other side of the story...
Like many people, I have a lot of allergies to fragrances, but surprisingly I have none to good quality perfumes that are not chemical-laden. So... is it the chemicals???
When I was in my 20's, I started breaking out in a rash from all my freshly laundered clothing, especially underwear. I tried almost every brand of laundry detergent on the market, and finally settled on hand-washing my underwear in Ivory soap or Woolite, and machine-washing all my outer clothing in Tide. It wasn't perfect, but it basically worked as long as I didn't use any fabric softener.
It was only many years later that Tide and some other brands started marketing "fragrance-free" detergents, and that helped. I can only assume there must have been a real hue and cry from lots of people suffering from some of the same allergic reactions to chemical fragrances that finally forced a few manufacturers to reduce or eliminate fragrances in laundry products.
However, the inclusion of chemical fragrances is not limited to laundry products. They exist in thousands of items like bars of soap, air fresheners, hand-sanitizing gels, candles, almost all commercially prepared food products, every household cleaner, fabrics still on the bolt, and probably a gazillion more that don't come to mind at the moment.
So if I go back to the implications of the signs in hospitals saying "no fragrances", is that really about true fragrances, or simply those that are chemically produced and exist everywhere?
What are they doing to us with all those chemicals? (And, if we lose all petroleum supplies, will all those chemical products disappear?)
My son (who's now 22) had the same problems when tiny. I used Ivory to do his clothes. Then one day he broke out again. Seems Ivory had changed their formula. I ended up using some "natural" brand for his clothes.
ReplyDeleteHe still has skin issues and we use a "Hyper-allergenic" All that he doesn't react to.
I've noticed over the years that some people's clothing really stunk from the detergent they used. It was very irritating, and I don't have fragrance issues. It did seem to be worse with people who smoked....
So possibly there's something to the chemicals. I've never been one to use scented products anyways. Clean should smell clean.
I agree that Ivory must have changed their formula and I don't buy it now. I keep changing laundry detergents as they keep changing their formulas and use only natural products anymore.
DeleteI still have skin issues, but not necessarily from laundered clothing and bed linens. My face and scalp are very oily while the rest of my skin is dry and flaking.
I used to break open Vitamin E capsules to put on my arms and legs but that got expensive. Now I usually apply extra-virgin coconut oil an hour or so before hopping in the shower.
Chemical fragrances make me sneeze and give me a violent headache, but natural ones do not.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm doing much better with natural fragrances too. I need to learn to make more of my own!
DeleteIt Seems to be that the female cosmetics industry uses it as a chemical dumping ground and most woman just by it up because of the false promotions made by the industry to make them the most beautiful thing on the planet but most of them due not need that crap if they just look at the beauty inside them selves but it is the marketing crap that they believe most of all it should be the inner that matters
ReplyDeleteI think it's also true of male products, like after-shave and deodorants.
ReplyDeleteYes Your right we are too full of marketing bullshit
ReplyDelete