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Tag: hives

Revitalize Your Skin with Moondance Botanicals

Someone recently posted a question on a local mom’s forum I follow asking for recommendations for natural products. She was wanting to switch over to natural versions for her skincare routine.

It can be overwhelming to do such a major overhaul of all the products in your life, but one line that I can recommend without hesitation is Moondance Botanicals.

They make all of their products by hand in small batches using pure ingredients. Drop by their little shop on 6th Avenue in Denver and you might find them bottling or labeling behind the counter.

Their Citrus C Vitamin C Facial Cleanser leaves your skin squeaky clean without drying it out or leaving an annoying residue. As I once told my mother-in-law, soap technology has come a long way since Lucille Ball was an Ivory Girl, and if you’re still using old-style cleansers your skin will thank you for switching.

I also really like the Sacred Oils Face Serum, a mixture of a number of essential oils that leaves my skin glowing and youthful. I’ve found it to be a soothing after-waxing salve, since my skin will often hive for days after cosmetic treatments like facials, waxing, etc. I’ll frequently use the Serum as a nighttime moisturizer since it does such a great job.

I’ll admit that the serum can be too oily to put on right before applying makeup, particularly if you’re using mineral makeup, but otherwise, I love how it makes my skin feel so soft.

Natural Remedies for Spring Itching and Allergies

Aaahhh… springtime. The crocuses are peeking out, robins are building nests, and the trees are heavily laden with cherry blossoms. Spring has come… as if I didn’t notice. Oh, I noticed alright. For me, “spring” is synonomous with “itching”.

Yeah, I said it. Itching. As in, just about everything starts itching this time of year. From hayfever/pollen allergies to dry, itchy skin to dry, flaking scalp… they always seems to hit right around tax time. Coincidence?

More likely my hyper-histamined state is due to airborne pollens from those lovely flowering trees. The ultra-dry air from our winter-that-wasn’t is probably the culprit behind my relentlessly itchy scalp and knuckles, as well as my daughter’s eczema patches.

Which means it’s a good time to talk about some natural remedies for these problems that I’ve found that may work for you, too. Watch for the next few posts as I go through a number of remedies for itchy problems from constant sneezing to dandruff to hives.

Non-toxic Body Lotion

I’ve been on a search for a good, moisturizing, non-toxic body lotion ever since the Environmental Working Group announced that my old stand-by lotion contained elements that react to make a toxic compounds.

For years I’ve counted on Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion as a safe and natural moisturizer. It’s so dry living in Colorado that I must use moisturizer all over my body every day and I’ve been very conscious about not putting things with petroleum products on my skin.

Now I learn that, when tested by the EWG, it was found that my favorite Alba lotion scores a 4 out of 10 on the hazard scale and contains things I don’t want. See for yourself:

Ingredients in this product are linked to:
yes Cancer
yes Developmental/reproductive toxicity
yes Violations, restrictions & warnings
yes Allergies/immunotoxicity
yes Other concerns for ingredients used in this product:
Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Enhanced skin absorption, Contamination concerns, Biochemical or cellular level changes

Eeeeeeuw. This is supposed to be a safe brand, too.

So I’ve switched to Pangea Organics Body Lotion – French Chamomile with Sweet Orange & Lavender, which has a score of 3. I’m still not happy about a 3, but it’s better than a 4. I LOVE the company, their philosophy, and their products and know that all of their ingredients are totally natural, so I’m a little perplexed as to why they would still score a 3 from the EWG.

Sigh. Why does it seem that every single thing in our world is bad for you somehow? It’s enough to turn even the most natural optimist into a cynic sometimes. It makes me just want to bury my head in the sand and continue using the products I love, risks be damned!

Until the hives come back to remind me how fragile is the balance I’ve carved out for myself.

Do you have a good natural lotion to recommend? Please let me know!