Coconut free lotion!

THIS.  Coconut free lotion is what fills my inbox almost daily with emails begging for ideas, help. . . asking what to use for certain conditions, multiple allergies, on babies, on scent sensitive kids, and the list goes on.

I usually suggest coconut free lotion-type things found at the drug store that are almost straight off the periodic table:

Mineral Oil (Baby Oil is just a scented version of this) 

Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline)

Vitamin E

Lanolin (like in breast feeding ointments)

Aquaphor (a mix of several of these elemental ingredients- one of my most used lotions)

Despite being able to use these generic ingredients, I miss "real" lotion.  But, there is a new one that just came out from Pectolite called none other than "Coconut and Palm Oil Free Body Lotion".  

Pectolite sent it to me to try out and I've been using it for a couple of weeks once the cold chapped air finally got to me and I'm happy to report it is really good stuff.  

It has some really creative (and coconut-free) ingredients: 

Water (Aqua), Cupuacu (Theobroma Grandiflorum) Butter, Safflower (Carthamus Tinctorius ) Seed Oil, Rice (Oryza Sativa) Bran Oil, Jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis) Seed Oil, Hydroxystearyl Alcohol and Hydroxystearyl Glucoside, Hydrogenated Olive Oil (and) Olive Oil (Olea Europaea) (and) Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Kokum (Garcinia Indica) Butter, Camellia (Camellia Oleifera) Seed Oil, Avocado (Persea Gratissima) Oil , Xanthan Gum, Lactobacillis Ferment, Gluconodeltalactone (and) Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance and/or Essential Oil(s)

The lotion absorbs well, isn't greasy at all, and is long lasting.  Some of you with bad reactions to petroleum products might especially enjoy it.  My lotion was completely unscented and it just smelled faintly of olive oil.  You can order it in several scents that their coconut free soaps also come in.  I did have to shake it up after it sat for awhile since I didn't use a pump and it has a tendency to separate a little bit.  I didn't use it on my face, but it moisturized and was very healing on my hands, legs, and even feet! My skin seemed rejuvinated and it never made me itchy or red!  

If you want to try it, go to Pectolite.net (not .com)

Happy Winter!

Sunscreen solutions

I do hate sunscreen. . . smearing it on, missing spots, and breaking out in all sorts of allergic reactions. I found one sunscreen that works fabulously for me- it is by Badger. I call it my Kabuki sunscreen, because it leaves my skin white. At least it's not too drastic and I can see where I've put it.

But, what I like a THOUSAND times more than my kabuki badger sunscreen is my UV Skins. They are swim shirts that feel great in the water and block UV rays so that I don't have to worry about putting sunscreen on a large portion of my body. Okay, I don't love that they went on sale right after I bought them and that they are somewhat expensive, but I love not getting sunburned. I bought one for my little three year old, too, and I love not having to put sunscreen on him as well when we swim or go to the splash park. Well, I do have to put some on our faces and ears, but other than that, we're good now. When you dry them off, they are just like drying off your own skin- they don't retain water at all. And, they do look cute- even next to all my tan friends in their bikinis.

Sunscreen Alert!

I am a big fan of sunscreen- it keeps us from getting skin cancer and age spots and even wrinkles. It's especially important to cake it on our kids before they go outside.
Now that the weather is getting hot, I was reminded by a reader (thanks, Lara) that sunscreen is a huge issue for coconut-allergic individuals. Here is part of her email:

My son gets free sunscreen at daycare from a melanoma foundation. He broke out in an angry rash everywhere that it touched. The sunscreen turns out to be high quality and "hypo-allergenic", but it's based on coconut oil. -Lara

You would think that sunscreen for babies would be our best bet, since they watch the ingredients in them so carefully, but in actuality, kids' products have even more coconut that you could imagine. Even a super high-end HelioSol that we got from our dermatologist has small amounts of Laurel-y stuff in it.

I use these with no problems (no guarantee that they are perfect for everyone, but it works for me):

Trader Joes sunscreen, and
Badger sunscreen, found at Whole Foods and other small local health food stores for half the price of what whole foods sells it for!

I'm sure there are plenty of others, so just make sure to read labels because sunscreen sticks like glue and I know putting the wrong kind on makes my eyes puffy, my lips swell up, and gives me a huge headache and makes me dizzy. Others will just get a rash, but please be careful!
More than anything, I use hats and shirts that block sun, see the Sunscreen Solutions page.