Coconut-free Makeup?

A question I often discuss with many of you offline via email is MAKEUP!

Most make-up companies usually don't list the ingredients for the world to see. So, if you want to go to the drug store to shop for make-up, you will probably find it to be a frustrating and mysterious experience.
However, I have had great success and patience from workers at Origins stores, since they have their own storefront for just their brand.  However, don't try to get much from their online representatives.  All of my requests for ingredients have been redirected to the point of being completely ignored if I try to get them emailed to me.  Also, a good Mary Kay representative will be able to go into their personal computer system and search for ingredients that you are allergic to and see which products use them.  This has been how I get the only makeup I have found to work for me.  But, believe me, I really don't use much makeup anymore.

MASCARA= No, thank you.
I remember the first allergic reaction I had to some mascara (all mascara that I have found has SLS in it or something coconut related to make it slippery).  About a half hour after I put it on, it made me feel like my eyelids were being peeled back over the top of my head.  It burned!  This was, most likely, a sign as a teenager that I had a coconut allergy.  Mascara is just so risky if you're allergic to coconut.  If you MUST glam it up in the eyelash realm and aren't sensitive to adhesives, try some falsies.  They really are fun, can look pretty natural, and actually in fashion right now (well, depending on where you live in the country).  If you live in a big city you can even find salons who will glue them on for you!

LIQUID FOUNDATION= Avoid it.
Another makeup item to watch out for is cover-up or foundation.  In its liquid form, it contains SLS as well.  A good alternative is pure mineral makeup.

LIPSTICK= Take time to sort through them.
I find that about half of lipsticks have coconut ingredients.  Look for lipstick that you can sharpen with the big pencil sharpener, rather than the extra creamy stuff in the regular lipstick tubes.  Many of the pencil lipsticks still have Coco-something or rather.

EYELINER= Maybe, maybe not.
Liquid eyeliners, like lipsticks, tend to have more allergenic ingredients.  So, stick with the ones that are in pencil form, and research labels carefully.

EYE SHADOW= Yes, please!  But only if powder.  Still double check, but I haven't ever found a powdered eye shadow that had anything coconutty in it.  Cream eye shadows would be more iffy.

FACE POWDER- Safe :-).  This may be your go-to makeup item.  Powders usually have very few ingredients, mostly talcum, minerals, and tints.  Not usually anything coconut-related.

BLUSH- Usually safe, if powder

As you can see, most of the purely powdery makeup is safe.  You can make it work better if you skin is dry by applying a moisturizer that you aren't allergic to (nutrogena seems to work well) right before you put on the powder to help it stick.  You can even mix your powder with your moisturizer.

Experiment, and let me know what you've been able to come up with!  Let us all know what your favorites are.

LEAP MRT testing

I recently had a test that my new allergy doctor suggested to try and figure out some of my more serious, delayed reactions to foods.  It was really cosmic to see how accurate it was in finding the foods that bothered me, when the other common blood tests didn't show anything.  However, it didn't show a big reaction to coconut.  It is called LEAP MRT, which stands for Lifestyle, Eating, and Performance Mediator Release Testing.  It tests your blood over time to see whether it reacts by releasing mediators like histamine, cytokines, and/or prostaglandins when it contacts the food.  It doesn't say which kind of mediator is released, just that it happened.

My doctor has said this test has helped a lot of people, so I thought, why not go for it even though I had to pay for it all out of pocket.  The test alone cost me $295!  Not cool that even my slick PPO insurance doesn't cover it, but I was so intrigued, I had to spring for it.

It shows your reactions to more than a hundred foods and chemicals in green, yellow, or red, depending how your blood reacts to the trigger.  Here are some of my results for an example.  This is just for fun, because everyone's reactions will be vastly different, so my results will  not be anything like yours if you had the test.

This was the only test out there that shows chemical sensitivities, which I wasn't really worried about, but now I know that I have probably issues with some artificial colors.

Although coconut is on there and not considered really reactive as far as these mediators (even though if I eat or touch it I will have a textbook allergic reaction), maybe I should start worrying about sesame!

Here the section that shows my nemesis, wheat.   The only other things I was in the red zone for were peanut and tapioca.  I didn't realize I was having trouble with tapioca, since it's in all my gluten free bread. Darn!

 

 

The question is, why did I not react to coconut in this test?  That is because this test shows a different type of reaction than the other allergy tests.  Although I will test positive on a skin test to coconut, it could be because my allergy is through mast cells and a tissue reaction rather than a blood reaction.  I am learning that there are so many different types of allergic-type reactions including things that are real reactions that doctors don't have a label to give to yet, so they just call them sensitivities! 

In any case, this test is mostly marketed to people with IBS or migraines, but it supposedly can help people with autoimmune issues, autism, ADHD, chronic congestion, etc.  So, I guess I have a few more foods to watch out for. 

The program intends for you to work with a nutritionist to plan your meals and do an elimination/ reintroduction diet.  That would cost me an extra $100 and the booklet explains how to do this, so I am going to set out to do it myself.  The real benefit to this is that the booklet has already included which foods for me to introduce when, so they already did most of the work.

Mashed Potato Warning!

Thank you for the tip, S. Stonebridge.
Some Idahoan mashed potatoes contain coconut oil.  Make sure to read all ingredients on all packaged food!
For example, the "buttery golden selects" seem to be sharing secrets on making buttery flavor from our old nemesis, movie theater popcorn!

Ingredients

Idaho® potatoes (russet and gold varieties), partially hydrogenated oil (contains one or more of the following: soybean, cottonseed, sunflower), corn syrup solids, salt, maltodextrin, coconut oil, sugar, nonfat dry milk, whey powder, sodium caseinate, butter powder [butter (sweet cream, salt, annatto color), nonfat milk solids, sodium caseinate and disodium phosphate], mono and diglycerides, calcium stearoyl lactylate, natural and artificial flavor, spice, sodium acid pyrophosphate (preserve freshness), sodium bisulfite (preserve freshness), dipotassium phosphate, soy lecithin, artificial color, citric acid, mixed tocopherols (preserve freshness) and less than 2.0% silicon dioxide added as an anti-caking agent.

Morrocco Method Shampoo and Conditioner

Our friends at Morrocco Method sent me a sample of their Chi Essence Shampoo and Pearl Essence Creme Rinse to try out and review honestly.  In the end, I liked them both in some ways. . . but they are not mainstream and definitely not what I am used to.  But, some are COCONUT FREE.

The Shampoo looks kind of like a mud masque, and the cream rinse like lotion.

The Morrocco Method website has special instructions about shampooing and de-toxing your hair, which I skimmed over before using the products.  I used them together, and separately, and tried them a few times.

First, the SHAMPOO!  It is a little bit gritty, and it doesn't lather.  You have to use your fingers like a superstar salon shampooer to work it around your scalp.  Then rinse, and do it again.  Once the water gets in there with the shampoo, it works pretty well.  It smells mildly eucalyptus-like, but it doesn't have any smell at all after it rinses out. Once my hair dried the first time I used it, it seemed matted down.  It was greasy, matted, and static-y all at the same time.  It was yucky- like my hair had just soaked it all up and wasn't letting any of it go. But, my scalp was ironically totally clean. My scalp was feeling better than ever.  It didn't have that gross scalp build up that all the other shampoos leave behind. It was my actual hair that was nasty.   THEN, the second time I used it, it was much better.  By the FOURTH time I used it about 10 days later,  my hair was amazing.  A MAZ ING.  I never thought I would have a trial of faith by shampoo, but in the end, this one came through.  In theory, what happened was my hair going through detoxification. After my hair reached some sort of equilibrium, it was super happy, swingy, and healthy without being the least bit weighed down or greasy.  It also seems thicker, not all stripped out anymore.

This is about 10 hours after washing (without the conditioner), no styling products, no blow dry.

Second, the CREAM RINSE.  I used about a nickel-sized amount because I have long, fine hair and usually need quite a bit of conditioning.  It did add a healthy amount of weight to my hair and made it take a little longer to dry, but it looked like sparkly mermaid hair.  Mermaid hair was actually my exact thought.  Then, I noticed that there is actually a mermaid on the bottle. Duh.  When you squirt the conditioner out of the bottle and initially smell it, it has the distinct scent of shea butter - which I would describe as a sunscreen-type smell.  However, the craziest thing happens when you rub it in your hair.  It turns into a strong, overpowering sandalwood incense smell (I think it's probably actually cedarwood since that is what is listed in the ingredients).  Definitely NOT my favorite smell.  It was like I had a cone of burning incense instead of a head.  I am not going to scientifically blame it for giving me a headache every time I used it, but it probably did.  My husband started actually teasing me about how strong it smelled even two days after using it.  But, if you like the smell, it is a very luscious conditioner.

They have sample sizes if you want to try them out for a week or two before making a plunge on a whole bottle.  I think I'll write to Santa to see if he'll leave some more of the shampoo in my stocking!

A Coconut-free Thanksgiving

Ahhh, Thanksgiving!

I am sooo domestic.

The time when those of us with food allergies are forced to have those special conversations with our relatives about what they put in their mysterious whippy looking desserts.

I find that it works best when we say, "Oh, that looks yummy!  What did you put in it?"
Then, if there is coconut in it, just don't eat it.  Don't make loved ones feel bad about their recipes or make them feel like they were inconsiderate for not thinking about your "special needs."  I'm sure there will be plenty of other stuff to eat.

Family is more important than food.

Honestly. . .  no one really notices who eats what at Thanksgiving.  Or, how much they eat.  Truly.  Most of us are too busy chasing the toddlers around and around and making sure the gravy doesn't run out.

But, I thought I'd just give a friendly reminder that Cool Whip is off limits on that gorgeous piece of pie.  They also make a non-dairy squirt whipped cream, too, so keep your eye on the ingredients of all whippy stuff.

If anyone has dairy allergies among family and friends, be very aware that the non-dairy milk of choice lately seems to be coconut milk.  My brother's family puts it in everything-- so pay attention to who made the mashed potatoes- my lactose intolerant brother is usually the master of mashed potatoes. . . made with coconut milk!  However, with punch in the arm and a little reminder, he will forgo the coconut milk as I diligently separate out cheese-free portions of everything I make for him.  For my sister, I leave out the eggs she is allergic to; my mom can't have shellfish; and no onions for my father in-law.  Food is love, but food can kill.  So, does that mean love can kill?  Hopefully not this year.

All About Rashes

Our skin can be such a mysterious thing and sometimes it acts as a flag to warn us about what is going on inside.  Not all rashes are from allergies. 
Click here to read an article about 10 Causes of Rashes from GoNannies.com.

Greener Clean Sponges are safe!

I was kind of hesitant to use the new Scotchbrite sponges for fear that they were made with coconut fibers, but no worries, they don't have any coconut in them. Phew!
Here is the note I got when I wrote to them:

Thank you for your inquiry on the Scotch-Brite(TM) Greener Clean Scrub Sponges.

The Natural Fiber non-Scratch Scrub Sponge scouring side is made of 50% agave plant and 50% polyester.  The sponge is made of 23% recycled office paper and 77% cellulose from wood pulp.  The product does not contain any coconut fibers or pulp from any coconut trees.

Thanks,

Shawn O.
3M Home Care Division