Recommend some fragrance free products!

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kirbyultra

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I found out I'm allergic to fragrance and benzyl alcohol among other things so I've been looking to switch my hair products and stuff that touch my skin to fragrance free to avoid allergens. From what I know I am allergic to the synthetic fragrance chemicals, probably not natural oils and stuff, but I'm not totally sure.

I tried Free and Clear but it's terrible on my hair! Need some alternatives! I've been using Cetaphil atopic skin formula lotion and body wash but if there are over choices I'd like to see what's out there!

It's not really the same as goingall-natural because you'll be surprised how many "natural" products out there have chemicals in them that are synthetic and not hypoallergenic! after reading a zillion label of stuff around the house, it's sad to see how many allergens I expose myself to all the time. Its a wonder I didn't break out in hives sooner!

Anyone know of any cool products that may be good for me?
 
My husband has random hives/rashes and it's usually from cleaning products and such. We've switched to a lot of fragrance-free stuff, or things with more natural fragrances, and it seems to have helped him.
I am also very sensitive to perfumes, sitting next to someone wearing even mild perfume literally makes me sick. (It has nothing to do with whether I like the scent or not; I will get a really bad headache, along with nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, and I'll have a chemical taste in my mouth for hours.)


For shampoo/conditioner/shower soap, we use the 365 brand from Whole Foods. We get the mint scent, which is very mild and doesn't linger after the shower. I think they also make an unscented version, and the shampoos come in oily/normal or dry/normal. I don't know if it's the best stuff out there, but it seems to work well for us. (Plus, it seems to be very inexpensive!)
I would be interested in knowing some other options, but for now that's what we use.

We use All Free & Clear laundry detergent- no fragrance, no dyes. Fragrance-free dish soap. He uses fragrance-free deodorant.

I've always had trouble finding hair products that work for me, so I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions for that.

Do you use a separate face cleanser? I like both Philosophy's Purity Made Simple, and Fresh's Soy Face Cleanser. A couple times a week, I also quickly wash my face with simple baking soda mixed with just enough water to make a paste. It makes my skin really soft and takes the oils off. And allergen-free!

I tend not to use body lotion/butter, but for my hands I use First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. It's really great on my eczema, soaks in VERY fast with absolutely no greasiness, and the scent is really light. It's expensive, but it works for me.

I've linked to product pages so you can peruse the ingredients list, I don't know if you can use any of those things. I buy my face cleanser and Ultra Repair Cream at Sephora- if you go there and talk to them, they should be willing to make you some free samples so you can things before you buy.
 
Wow, Beth, thank you so much for the recommendations. This is very useful. I'm going to check out the Whole Foods 365 line for shampoo after I'm done with my bottle of Free & Clear.

I also use All Free and Clear detergent and I like it a lot. There are other cheaper brands but I'm really not too sure how well the clean. I trust All and now buy it in bulk :)

The face cleansers are real interesting too. Fresh seems to be pretty expensive. The Philosophy one has a lot of natural oils and extracts. I would expect it to be ok but hopefully I can give it a try before I buy. The price is ok for me and I like that it comes in bigger bottles. I am currently using Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser and the price is about the same as the Philosophy Purity cleanser. I would be really interested in trying it out.

Ultra Repair sounds like a great hand lotion. My hands get awfully dry and cracked in just the span of 8 hrs because of how often I wash them. I play with the buns and handle hay throughout the day and I have to wash off after each time because of hay and rabbit allergies, so it causes my hands to get beat up so many times daily. I use Cetaphil Restoraderm at the moment but it's too light for my hands. Unfortunately my long-loved Cetaphil Cream has benzyl alcohol.

Thanks again for your help! :):):)
 
Let me know how things work for you, if you try them out. I'm always on the lookout for more things things that are non-allergenic, too. :)

I also like Method products. I buy them at Target, and they're also available at Whole Foods. A lot of their items are available in "no dye/no perfume" versions, though even the scented ones aren't too overpowering. (I don't get headaches from their fragrances.) They are fairly competitively priced (at least at Target). I use their surface cleansers, dish soap, etc.

For skin care/cleansers......Sephora has a pretty generous return policy. If you buy something, try it out for a week, and it breaks you out, you can take it back. (I recommend saving your receipt.) I have heard some stores are kind of stingy with giving samples, but the store near me is pretty generous. They would rather give you a few samples so you can see what works for you before you buy, than have you buy a bunch of stuff and then return half-used bottles of stuff that gave you hives. If you decide to try some stuff from there, just chat with the sales associates and explain that you're looking for something that will work for your sensitive skin, and want to test it out before committing to an expensive jar of hand cream.
 
That's good to know, Beth. I didn't know Sephora was lenient about open-bottle stuff. I will definitely check it out today.
 
Be careful with the Method products....they still have SLS in some of their products and there is also a carcinogen in some of them. I am trying to find the article with it and of course right now I'm having a bad brain moment and can't.
 
Ok found one of the articles...hope it helps you out a bit for finding what you want. This one is a warning about a carcinogen that is in many of our products and does not have to be listed as an ingredient. I hope this helps. Some of these may still have the benzyl alcohol in it but it does list alot of products that scent free.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/ShoppersSafetyGuide.pdf
 
nermal71 wrote:
Ok found one of the articles...hope it helps you out a bit for finding what you want. This one is a warning about a carcinogen that is in many of our products and does not have to be listed as an ingredient. I hope this helps. Some of these may still have the benzyl alcohol in it but it does list alot of products that scent free.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/ShoppersSafetyGuide.pdf
Thanks for that link. I wonder if Method has changed their ingredients list since that guide was published? That publication is over a year old, so I expect some of the information is outdated. I know Method has recently discontinued a few things and reformulated some others.

I use the GoodGuide app sometimes when I'm shopping, and Method products always score very high, compared similar products of different brands.
 
Hmmm that's an interesting one. I no longer use some of those products due to the allergy but by golly look what it's been doing to me all the time before! :p

I bought the 365 Conditioner today. The pricetag shocked me (in a good way) so here's hoping it conditions well. I actually remember using the shampoo before, and I didn't like it because it was so dry for me. They also have Earth Science at Whole Foods which I may try if my current stuff doesn't work out.

I have a sample of First Aid Beauty Repair cream. Sephora made me a sample of it to take home. I smelled it and it sorta turned me off at the store but now that I've used a bit of it I think I might actually not use it for my hands. I do have some active eczema issues on my hands currently and it's making those affected areas feel worse.... :( She also gave me a face cleanser sample of First Aid Beauty, so I'll give that a shot.

Another thing my friend told me to try was Clinique. Anyone use Clinique? It's one of those allergy friendly brands for a lot of people or so they advertise anyway.
 
Oh no, that's too bad the FAB Ultra Repair Cream doesn't work for you. I actually don't hardly smell the fragrance in it, which is unusual since I'm so sensitive to smells. I'm glad you were able to get a free sample to try before buying it. I have their cleanser, I got it in a kit, but haven't tried it yet. (I've got a giant bottle of Purity that I bought back in February and it's not even half gone yet.)

I use Clinique toner and moisturizer, I forgot they're supposed to be allergy friendly. I like the two products I do use, though.

I really like the price of the 365 shampoo/conditioner, too. I buy the big bottles, and they're less than $6 here. I tend to be oily, so I haven't noticed them being too drying.

I know some people on another forum I'm on who swear by Dr. Bronner's, but I haven't tried it myself. I might check it out, though.
 
I love Dr. Bonners and Burt's Bees. And as to that article I figured some might be outdated but I use it to go by the listing of ingredients to avoid. It's in the end of the first paragraph of the HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE section.
 
Oh and a friend of mine is getting me an article she was sent about the new "eco-friendly" reusable bags that many of the grocery stores sell. Many of the ones made in China they are finding contain lead :(
 
nermal71 wrote:
Oh and a friend of mine is getting me an article she was sent about the new "eco-friendly" reusable bags that many of the grocery stores sell. Many of the ones made in China they are finding contain lead :(
Could you post a link to that when you get it? I hear a lot of "x is made in China so it has lead in it...." rumors when there's no evidence. Not saying you are spreading things, but I'd like to see the source so I can know which ones to avoid. :)
 
Flash Gordon wrote:
maybe Dr. Bronners Magic soap will work for ya..u dilute it and the bottle lasts forever..i love the peppermint..
the link: dr.bronners
Anything that has peppermint irritates my skin, even natural stuff... :( It didn't show up on any tests, but I just know from experience.

I saw this at Whole Foods, but I wonder if the other natural oils and scents would be too much. I literally want to go as fragrance free as possible, including natural and synthetic scents.

Side question: I don't actually know if "menthol" is a natural scent or not, but I am allergic to that. I laugh when I realize this because when I was having so many itchy rashes in September, I slapped on so much stuff that contained menthol to help cool down the itchy sensation. And I am TOTALLY allergic to that stuff. Lots of products that have that "cool" sensation after applying is due to menthol. *Sigh*........
 
BethM wrote:
nermal71 wrote:
Oh and a friend of mine is getting me an article she was sent about the new "eco-friendly" reusable bags that many of the grocery stores sell. Many of the ones made in China they are finding contain lead :(
Could you post a link to that when you get it? I hear a lot of "x is made in China so it has lead in it...." rumors when there's no evidence. Not saying you are spreading things, but I'd like to see the source so I can know which ones to avoid. :)
I saw this on TV!!!

Here's an online article about it:
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/11/17/reusable-shopping-bag-ban-proposed-after-lead-discovery
It does seem to be a rather isolated incident. But it's hard to tell when you just buy a bag like that.
 
What does toner do, exactly? I read definitions online and such, but I literally can't figure out the practical use for it when there is moisturizer and cleanser... toner seems to be some fancy in-between thing that you don't really need? I don't know anything about it and I've never used it.. can anyone explain? :?
 
kirbyultra wrote:
Flash Gordon wrote:
maybe Dr. Bronners Magic soap will work for ya..u dilute it and the bottle lasts forever..i love the peppermint..
the link: dr.bronners
Anything that has peppermint irritates my skin, even natural stuff... :( It didn't show up on any tests, but I just know from experience.

I saw this at Whole Foods, but I wonder if the other natural oils and scents would be too much. I literally want to go as fragrance free as possible, including natural and synthetic scents.

Side question: I don't actually know if "menthol" is a natural scent or not, but I am allergic to that. I laugh when I realize this because when I was having so many itchy rashes in September, I slapped on so much stuff that contained menthol to help cool down the itchy sensation. And I am TOTALLY allergic to that stuff. Lots of products that have that "cool" sensation after applying is due to menthol. *Sigh*........
when u get a chance read the ingredients ..its dif then scented stuff ..i can understand being allergic to certain ingredients but this stuff is as basic as it can get ..but with a natural oil scent ...maybe another flavor u wouldnt be allergic to..i couldnt imagine u being allergice to all of em...i can understand ur trouble finding products....
what about that natural bar soap i think its called Basis or Basic..its really cheap and its next to the cetaphil at the store..(if i repeated what somebody already posted then ignore me:)).....
i absofreakinlutely love smelly products..love em..im frustrated for u..:)

geez i just saw what u wrote about wanting to be as scent free even if its natural...ignore that whole paragraph above..:)
 

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