What Am I Allergic To

I can't tell you how long I had to go without using a deodorant due to my sensitive, allergic skin!  It is a delicate area of the body anyway without having any further sensitivity so I had    to be careful in my choices. After doing considerable research I eventually found one I CAN use safely that do not irritate or bring me out in a rash. I still do find that for me at least it is not wise to put on deodorant very soon after shaving   the underarm area - I tend to leave it a few hours or overnight. I do have very sensitive skin though so you may not have that need. Get to know your own skin.  I am currently using Green People Scent Free Deodorant  and it works very well,  does not leave any residue, no body odour, no harsh chemicals, no parabens, and no scent and best of all does not irritate my skin.     This will not stop you from the body's natural process of sweating but will stop you from smelling !  I use the roll on...

Contacting Companies About Skin Care Ingredients If you have sensitive or allergic skin or any other skin condition it may well be necessary for you to know a full product ingredient list or at the least to know that the ingredients you are allergic to are NOT in the product. In my experience you need to check both the range in general and specific products you want to use within the range as some may be OK and others not - within the same range. Please never assume it will be alright for you.  Many of these ingredients are perfectly OK for most of the population and are good at their job but if you are allergic you need to know which products carry them and avoid those products!!  I found it easiest to email each company I was interested in and I got a good helpful response from most with a few sadly not responding to me. Some were quite suspicious, maybe thinking I was just trying to find out their "secret" ingredients ? Most were fine...

Looking After Your Allergic Skin  Here are a few tips to looking after your Allergic skin. First please consult your doctor to get a diagnosis and medical advice on your skin condition.   Identify and avoid the trigger allergen. If you are able to identify the trigger or possibility for your skin allergy do tell your doctor about it. Clearly avoid that trigger ingredient.  You may need to be prepared to be referred to a dermatologist or to have skin tests to determine your condition or allergies. Use whatever washes and creams your doctor prescribes for you exactly as prescribed. If you get any reaction from the use of the prescribed creams do tell your doctor straight away, there will be alternatives they can give you.  If you would like to use other creams do check with your doctor first and use in a very small area to test out first for several days before using more widely. Watch your skin carefully for any improvement and any wors...

Avoid The Allergen... Clearly  once you know what you are allergic to the trick is to avoid it! However, it is not always that easy.  When it came to washing clothes I trawled through so many brands of washing powders and liquids yet I could not find one that I can use. I wasted so much money on washing liquids and powders that caused my skin to feel at best itchy and irritated or even started my skin rashing again. We obviously need to wash our clothes so what could we do?  One alternative was to go back to our grandmother's day and wash in pure soap flakes. So I bought some and they work really well! However, you cannot use these in the washing machine or you have foam everywhere! So I use these for all our delicates and small things but I simply am not prepared to hand wash everything!  There are quite a few varieties but they have similar things in common being- you can use them in the washing machine, they last  a long time...

Steam Cleaning Your Home If you are in a position where many of the usual cleaning products are not good for you either due to skin allergies or other reasons such as breathing problems etc, or if you are simply looking for a cleaner, greener, more environmentally friendly way of cleaning your home - then do consider Steam Cleaning. At the outset purchasing a steam cleaner is more expensive than buying a bottle of bleach for example. However, if you count up how many bottles of various cleaning products- for your kitchen, your bathroom etc actually cost over the course of say a year you have probably more than paid for the cost of an average Steam cleaner.  Steam cleaning is also in my opinion very effective, killing germs, getting rid of the visible and invisible dirt and grime and leaving surfaces beautifully clean. All without that horrible chemical smell or any harm to your children, your pets, yourself, or the environment. You are just us...

How To Read Product Labels To Keep You And Your Skin Safe If you have skin allergies of any kind you will rapidly become an avid label reader! However reading labels carefully does not mean this will fully protect you. For example, if you have a perfume allergy you will need to be extra careful.  Words you will need to watch for are:- fragrance EDT parfam perfume toilet water. So that seems obvious, doesn't it? However relying on the words fragrance-free, non-perfumed, and the like does not always mean there is no added fragrance to the product. It may be - but you cannot assume.  Sometimes fragrances are added to products not to make them smell nice but to mask the unpleasant smell of the other ingredients, the amounts may be small but if you are allergic it can cause you a problem.  Other times a fragrance may be added for its use as a preservative, not as a perfume, yet it is still an issue to those who are allergic.  I...

Perfume And Fragrance Allergies  I have an allergy to fragrance and perfume. It came up on my skin patch allergy tests as quite a "good" reaction (which in my case was a big red welt that took 2 months to go down).  I was somewhat surprised as though I have never worn a lot of perfumes. I have worn one or two when going out for dinner, a special occasion etc and loved various body lotions that were perfumed.  I adored my scented candle collection and loved filling the home with natural fragrances... I always knew my skin was a little sensitive as I could only wear a couple of perfumes and they were of the "purer" variety. Experimenting with lower end teen type perfumes would generally bring me out on a little irritating rash when I was a teenager so I quickly learned to avoid those. However, with others I was OK. For years I have used washing powders and liquids for clothes that invariably tell you that they have a fres...

Skin Patch Allergy Testing  I had skin patch testing done for my unexplained skin condition. It does not hurt but is a little inconvenient and the reactions I found to be a bit itchy. However, it was certainly worth it to find out why my skin was reacting so badly. I wish I had it done much earlier. Skin Patch Allergy Testing Procedure The procedure I went through took one week. I had to first go to the clinic on a Monday morning to have the patches with known allergens onto my back. It felt like a series of very large sticking plasters. After that I was not permitted to get the area wet or damp so I can only have very shallow baths and not very warm either so as to avoid steam getting the patches damp.  Due to all the markings the nurses make it is wise to wear a T-shirt or shirt you don't care about as the marks may stain clothing. I wore a couple of old T-shirts day and night. It is actually easier to wear clothing that unbuttons d...

Ten People To Tell About Your Allergies.  So you have a diagnosis of various things you are allergic to and is it important that you tell anyone else? It is, of course, your decision... In my case, I felt that it was important to let key people know so that I did not put myself in danger of going through all the blistering and rashes all over again. Also because one of them is Penicillin it is vital that no one gives me that.   I am allergic to 5 main things:- Fragrances Balsam of peru Two preservatives commonly used in skincare and medical preparations. Penicillin. Due to this, it is important that key people in my life are aware of them and the reactions I can have. 1.  The Person You live with . In my case, my husband has had to change a lot of his products as well and we have had to change how we clean our home and wash our clothes so clearly he needs to be involved and aware. He has been very supportive!  2.  Friends and wid...

Well, it has been a hectic time so not been doing much posting lately. I was reflecting on how my skin condition has impacted my life over the festive period. I was invited to and went to a party just before Christmas and then it was a question of what to wear!  Before the skin allergies, I would have just chosen a dress I liked and that suited me. However, now I have to take other factors into account. my skin is still delicate so I tend to keep to very soft fabrics so that had to be a consideration. Then I could not be sure that other people at the party would not wear or spray perfume so I had to go for a dress that would cover me up more. So no sleeveless or backless dresses I had to go for one that was made of a super soft material, had long sleeves and would be giving me good coverage.  I found a beautifully soft and stylish red dress with long sleeves and a v neck. With a lovely scarf added I felt confident that my skin was well protected. Of course, I couldn't we...