Fragrance Free List

Laundry Soap:
Tide Free & Clear
All Free & Clear
Seventh Generation Free & Clear

Fabric Softener:
Do not use, or use an unscented, natural kind from a natural foods market

Dryer Sheet:
Do not use, not even unscented ones from grocery stores as they are full of chemicals

Bleach:
Occasionally, one may want to use bleach. Use only the unscented ones as the scented ones do not negate the fact that you are using bleach. One can try Hydrogen Peroxide instead of bleach.

Dish Soap:
Seventh Generation Free & Clear (unscented) dish soap
Ecover, chamomile & marigold (do not use the lemon scent as it is too strong for many people)

Hand Soap, liquid:
Dr. Bronner’s unscented Baby castile soap
Note: most other unscented soaps will have lots of other chemicals and preservatives in them.

Bar Soap:
Dove Unscented
Tom’s of Maine chamomile
Unscented homemade soap from local crafters — make sure the soap is kept separate from the scented ones they offer.

Hand/Body Lotion:
Many brands are available in grocery/drug stores, but these may have masking fragrance or allergenic preservatives
St. Ive’s Intensive Healing lotion, fragrance- free
Dessert Essence “Organics”, fragrance- free
Everyday Shea Unscented lotion
365 Fragrance Free lotion

Shampoo/Conditioner:
The most difficult to find. None are available in regular stores. Many in natural food stores are harsh, either because of preservatives or because they have no conditioning ingredients in order to keep product “pure” — in essence, they are pure detergents and one may as well use dish soap or castile soap. At the Whole Foods Market, one can find:
Everyday Shea Unscented shampoo & conditioners
365 Fragrance Free shampoo & conditioner

Shaving Cream:
CVS has unscented ones available. Check both men’s & women’s aisles

Kitchen Cleaner:
The best for cleaning up grease and dirt is:
Seventh Generation Natural All Purpose Cleaner, Free & Clear
(the orange oil ones are truly obnoxious scented and don’t work as well anyway. You can use this for inside the oven, too. Don’t use conventional oven cleaners. They are truly toxic!)

Bathroom Cleaners:
Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner, Free & Clear
Seventh Generation Window cleaner, Free & Clear (for mirrors, or use vinegar)
Bar Keeper’s Friend
(Bon Ami is good for the environment except they add fragrance!!)

Windows:
Seventh Generation Window Cleaner, Free & Clear
Vinegar, diluted with water

Deodorant/Antiperspirant:
There are many natural unscented ones in natural food stores that do not contain fragrance, but may have some plant extracts. These are ok.

Mouth Wash:
Natural food stores have some natural ones that are less chemical and less fumy, or just don’t use any.

Toothpaste:
Natural ones are better as they have no artificial colors or flavors and are less chemical

Hair Sprays:
Don’t use!! Don’t use hair coloring or spray in hair products as they are all chemical and scented and bad for the environment and bad for the people around you.

Hand Sanitizer:
Can only be found in natural food stores:
EO unscented hand sanitizer

Wipes:
Even Walmart carries unscented, sensitive skin ones

Air Fresheners:
Don’t use!! Air out & clean instead

Furniture polisher:
Don’t use or find some unscented oil one instead or finish your furniture with acrylic finish so it doesn’t need a polish

Dog Shampoo:
Walmart used to carry an unscented dog shampoo but they stopped even though the manufacturer still makes it. It is virtually impossible to find any locally, but one can buy some via the internet or just use human unscented shampoo which is milder than regular perfumy human shampoos anyway.

Rafting in Glacier National Park

It’s great fun to white water raft and the middle fork of the Flathead River that runs between Glacier National Park and the Great Bear Wilderness is a great place to do it. We had some calm parts and about 5 sets of rapids that vary according to water levels from class 3 to class 5. This time of year, it’s mostly classs 3. We are about to enter one right there on the right. Earlier in the year the water is higher and so is it’s classification.

We used Great Northern Rafting company just west of the town of West Glacier. They are easy to find because of the little red caboose that serves great breakfast burritos and BBQ.                           

Here we are entering the rapid. There was a fun one called “the toilet bowl” because the raft spins around.

You can jump in for a swim in cool (read: COLD), clear mountain waters during the calm parts.

http://www.greatnorthernresort.com/rafting/

Polebridge Mercantile

In the middle of nowhere, next to Glacier National PArk.

 It’s worth going out of your way if you’re up near Glacier National Park or NW Montana. They use solar panels, supplemented by a generator. They got organic food, wine & beer & great baked goods. It’s a historic mercantile, just bought last year by new owners, a young couple who are committed to keeping the quaintness but adding new flavor. It works and it’s great!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Polebridge-MT/Polebridge-Mercantile/77072912818?ref=search

http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_ed14fe7c-4453-11df-a829-001cc4c03286.html

http://missoulian.com/news/article_d53eff16-a6c5-5dd8-93f3-88c4e6308847.html

Don’t use fragrance? Here’s what you use that has fragrance

shampoo – conditioner – body soap – body scrub – hand soap – shaving cream – hand and body lotion – after shave – hair spray – leave in hair products – hair gel – make-up - antibacterial soap – dish soap, for machine or hand washing - kitchen cleaner – bathroom cleaner – rug sprays -  rug cleaner – window cleaner – oven cleaner - laundry soap – dryer sheets – fabric softener – room fresheners, sprays or other kinds – scented candles…did I leave anything out? Even if you can’t smell it (your sense of smell is probably not working well due to all the fragrances), someone else may be able to and if they can (and maybe still if they can’t), the particles are in the air or on objects and can cause allergies. So, PLEASE BUY UNSCENTED!!! If you don’t like someone else’s cigarette smoke, it is the same for someone who is sensitive to fragrance.

Fragrances cause fibromyalgia!!!

Fragrances, formaldehyde, and other chemicals such as preservatives in foods, cleaners, lotions, shampoos, etc. cause fibromyalgia. One may be allergic to these substances and the inflammation causes the fibromyalgia or one may just be sensitive to them.

Perfumes and smokers!

These two things cause me and many other people many health problems, headaches, respiratory problems, etc.

I’ve discovered that smokers don’t give a rat’s ass if they are bothering you, or if they cause someone a headache, asthma, or cancer. Even passing someone on the street that is smoking causes irritation in my eyes & nose and gives me a headache.

Dam Perfumes!

They should out-law perfumes and scented products just like they out-lawed smokers!!!! I’m allergic to it and I can’t go ANYWHERE! Urr!! It makes me so mad. I’m sitting in a public library and there is so much perfume in here that I’ve gotten a screaming head-ache and a pissed-off attitude. This perfume allergy causes irritability as well as headaches and fibromyalgia. I can’t work and hence have little money (not enough!) and it’s all because of perfume wearers and all the scented products… shampoo, hair conditioner, hair spray, cologne, aftershave, hand lotion, deoderant and anti-perspirant, laundry soap, dryer anti-static sheets, make-up, sunscreen…and that’s only the main ones on a person’s body as they walk around everywhere, not to mention cleaning products and air fresheners. There are unscented alternatives or better yet, most of these products don’t need to be used at all!

Visiting the Great Basin

I’m travelling now and was visiting the Great Basin area which covers part of Nevada and part of Utah. It is primarily a desert area with pines, juniper, mountain mahogany and more in the mountains and sage and rabbitbrush in the flats. It is an area of low water. Most of the water comes from springs because there is not enough rain or snow to put water into lakes and reservoirs. It’s a beautiful area full of history and wild lands. The problem is that Las Vegas wants to pipe water from the Great Basin for its own selfish needs — lawns, golf courses, fountains, and more development! It seems a crime to steal from another area what little they have so people can live an extravagant and artificial lifestyle! For more information, see http://greatbasinwater.net/   I wish I had some pictures but I don’t even own a digital camera.

Chemicals, skin cancer & chemical sensitivity

Chemical allergy,  chemical sensitivity — it’s all the same to me and probably all the same to your body, but doctors don’t like to call chemical allergies allergies. They say it is not an immune system response, but it is. Most doctors don’t even understand the many ways the immune system works.

But, I have another motive in mind — I think there is a connection between the use of chemicals in lotions, sunscreens and other body products and skin cancer. In Kota’s Catch Blog, I wrote that some chemical preservatives in dog food were known to cause tumors in rats in a laboratory setting. Now, I have another story:

I’ve always been an easy tanner. I would rarely get a sunburn and after a few hours in the sun would tan quickly. I get all kinds of “farmer tans” because of this. A few years ago because of all the media, I began to be concerned about skin cancer and wrinkles since I was past 40 years of age. I began to use sunscreens and lotions more. I used to use a so-called natural unscented lotion, but the ingredients changed as they got rid of the paraben preservatives and the recipes became more chemical. I’m not allergic to parabens, but I am allergic to some chemical preservatives which were common at that time and to fragrance, including masking fragrances. I don’t know if I’m allergic to sunscreens as there is no test for it.

Needless to say, I got “eczema” . And I got rashes, bumps, itches. And my skin became more sensitive to the sun. Some ingredients in lotions are chemicals that allow the skin to absorb the other ingredients more readily. This is bad for chemicals that should not be in the body in the first place, doubly bad if you’re allergic to some of them, and bad for allowing ultra-violet rays into your skin more. There are some other chemicals in lotions that make you more sensitive to sun exposure, also. It got so I wouldn’t tan when I went out, but turned into a mass of freckles. I still didn’t burn too easily, but if my skin was irritated already, exposure to the sun made it more irritated.

I went to a dermatologist (this was the start of how I found out I was allergic to chemicals) — actually, I went to a few. The first result was that I was “sensitive” to the sun and also had “sensitive” skin. My skin does not easily scratch or bruise. I’ve never considered my skin sensitive, yet I remembered feeling sensitive to touch many times before I switched to unscented laundry soap and unscented lotions. I knew already that perfumes “bothered” me — that is, gave me headaches and made my nose run.

I was encouraged by the dermatologists to use products that I later discovered I was allergic to — sunscreens for sun protection and Aveeno lotions. This, of course, made it worse. Then I got a cancer check, some of the darker moles were removed and sent to a lab. They came back negative for cancer but to quote the dermatologist they were classed as “unusual activity”. When, I asked her to clarify she said they were “weird”. She wanted to cut more moles off. I got out of there. [She also said I was a high risk skin cancer person because of my blond hair and blues eyes -- I have brown hair (ok-- gray, mostly) and hazel eyes (green & brown -- but, ok, they've faded to gray-green). But I've never been blond or blued eyed in my life, not even with the help of Clairol!] Soon after, I went back to the allergist and insisted there had to be an allergy. That’s what I intuitively knew. She told me there was a chemical patch test, since I had done all the main food and plant ones. Bingo! Right on the button.

Now, However, I could not find any lotion at all that did not have some masking  fragrance or preservative that I was allergic to, including sunscreens. I avoided the sun and wore a hat and long sleeve shirts. I made my own lotions for my skin. Winter came. The freckles faded. Some of the many little moles seemed to have disappeared, too. I bet if I’d gone back to Ms. Sadist Dermatologist and let her cut me up, my moles would have been normal and no longer “weird”. [They had looked alright to me -- small and regular, but some were dark and there were too many of them.]

Summer came again. I have not used anything chemical on my skin at all. I have not used any sunscreen except occasionally the titanium dioxide ones in over-exposed areas such as neck and shoulders. I used only my own lotions made of water, oils, and beeswax. I used only unscented shampoos and conditioners on my hair and scalp.

Now, by the end of summer, my skin is nice and tan. I did not burn this year. I was not “sensitive” to the sun. I did not get rashes or bumps and itches (except from mosquito bites). I did not freckle. I did not get more moles, in fact, I think there are less of them now, so maybe they were really dark freckles. My skin is back to normal and I think I’m less at risk of skin cancer now than when I was using all those dam commercial chemical products! So! What do you think of that? To go back to the beginning, allergies are inflammations and most doctors now agree that there is a connection between inflammation and cancer. Perhaps that is why sunburn is more risky for causing cancer — sunburns are inflammation. Skin irritations like rashes and eczema are inflammation, also. I’ll let you put two and two together.

Chemical allergies & fibromyalgia

Years ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. At the time, I asked the doctor if what I had was caused by environmental toxins, that is, a sensitivity to chemicals. I called it “environmental illness”. She said “No”, that environmental illness did not exist. Years before that, I’d had many problems due to chemicals, but no one said it was an allergy or that the chemicals were causing the problems. I got rashes from the fragrance in laundry soap. I got severe headaches from the formaldehyde in high school biology class. But these things were not acknowledged and I never knew the cause of my problems. In college, I got severe headaches from the chemicals in photography class, but both the teacher and I figured out the cause and tried to find solutions so I could fulfill my class requirements.

When I got on my own, also, I changed to unscented laundry soap and as many other unscented products as I could on the advice of someone and because the smells “bothered me”.

But, I always had trouble on jobs. I’d get headaches especially at certain times or situations which were a mystery to me then, but which I think were probably due to exposure to cleaning supplies, fragrances, and other chemicals. The problem got worse and worse. I’d get sick — mostly constant severe headaches that were not classified as migraines, and a constant achy flu-like feeling that was not the flu or any other infection. I also had a runny nose that was not due to cocaine as many people thought. In fact, I could be fine and then all of a sudden while talking to someone, my nose would start to run. It would be a mystery to me. I’d say “I was fine before I started talking to you!” I’d sometimes get a headache or feel irritable and complain about the smell of their perfume or cologne, but they’d just get offended.

Finally, after the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, I quit work and moved out to the woods and slept a lot and ate only natural food and started to become healthy. Then I moved back to town and started to do things around people again and got sick again. This continued on for some time — get sick, retreat, get well, go out and do things, get sick, retreat.

A few years after that, I got eczema very bad on my scalp and the back of my hands and some spots on my arms. Everything the doctors prescribed made it worse (because I turned out to be allergic to the masking fragrance and the preservatives in the ointments they prescribed). It was not stress. It was chemicals. Finally, after convincing the doctor that I had allergies and going through all the food and plant allergies (which were negative), I got a patch test for chemical allergies (truetest.com — check it out. Your doctor has to order it, though). I was allergic to 6 out of 24 of the allergens on the test. That is 25%!! Not all chemicals are on the test, of course, but of the ones on it, I am allergic to perfumes/fragrances, preservatives, some metals, and formaldehyde — all the most pervasive ones! There is literally no where I can go in human society without being subjected to some of them, BUT…

If I avoid these chemicals completely and other chemicals that might be bothering me, eat organic food, exercise moderately, my fibromyalgia goes away. My sinus problems go away. The eczema has gone away.

So, what do you think of that?