So I have noticed that lately my blog has been all about challenges and not much else. While the challenges help me in may ways, I miss sharing the day to day stuff. Today I'm switching it up with a subject that I hope I'm not alone in experiencing.
Thanks to my dad, I have very fair, sensitive skin. When I was a kid I was always itching, but back in the 1960's, and with our family having no medical insurance, 'itching' wasn't a thing you went to the doctor for. Fast forward to adulthood, experimenting with the latest greatest makeup and cleansers coming out at warp speed, my skin was a mess; red, itchy and loaded with pimples and splotchy patches. Even then I never thought to see a dermatologist. It was about 10 years ago around the age of 40 when I had enough of wasting money on products that made me miserable. I bit the bullet and saw a dermatologist who put me through an allergy test. The results were an allergy to fragrance and several other ingredients, plus I was diagnosed with rosacea. Her answer was to throw away every product and start new using the products you see in the photo.
At first I wasn't thrilled with this at all. The Free & Clear and Vanicream products are expensive and have no scent at all, and until recently I couldn't get them at my local pharmacy. I'll admit there was a time where I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. But soon I realized these were actually working and I was no longer itching, plus with a prescription for rosacea my skin was looking better and better, and I no longer agonized in the cosmetics aisles on what will or won't work for me. I will never be able to wear perfume or have wonderful smelling hair or skin, and I still have issues with sunscreen and haven't found makeup that works for me, but that's OK.
But what I really want to share is why these products work. They are formulated without dyes, lanolin, fragrance, parabens and formaldehyde.....FORMALDEHYDE?? Check the labels on all your makeup and toiletries. Look them up on the web. Some are very frightening.
Besides the products above I use Tide Free laundry detergent. If you have a similar story and found safe cosmetics and toiletry brands please share them with us here in the comments.
