Fragrance-free products

Evergreen said:
The only Pears I can find has perfume.
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Yes, it's always had a light scent (I really like it). I wasn't recommending that particular soap, just the 'regional' washing to cut down the amount of skin that's reacting. I itch like crazy if I use soaps or shower gels body-wide, but thankfully Dermol 500 causes no reaction at all.
 
Kitty said:
Yes, it's always had a light scent (I really like it). I wasn't recommending that particular soap, just the 'regional' washing to cut down the amount of skin that's reacting. I itch like crazy if I use soaps or shower gels body-wide, but thankfully Dermol 500 causes no reaction at all.
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I've followed the regional washing rule recommended to anyone with atopic skin all my life. The only time other bits get directly washed is if actual dirt gets on them.

But that doesnt help the problem here, which is perfumed or fragranced or otherwise pungent soap causing a non-skin-related reaction in people with ME/CFS.

It's not skin sensitivity that makes perfume or strong smelling chemicals a problem for us. (Though we might have that as well.)
 
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For anyone in the market for HRT, let it be known that Lenzetto spray smells, while Oestrogel does not.

Lenzetto does not have perfume, but to me it smells like it does, and specifically smells like suncream.

Having looked into it, the likely culprit in Lenzetto is "octisalate", which is indeed used in sunscreens, and smells "mild, sweet, floral".

It was enough to meddle with my cognition and irritate my brain such that sleep was delayed.

Oestrogel just has a brief, mild alcohol smell (less than some NSAID gels I have used, to me it's negligible) and then nothing, glorious nothing.
 
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Evergreen said:
I don't understand what you want me to see - is it that you have allergic skin reactions?

I have skin reactions too, have all my life, lots of people with and without ME/CFS do. Kitty was recommending regional washing because she thought it was a skin reaction that was the problem. I was explaining that it's not a skin problem I'm trying to solve.
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sorry my mistake
Evergreen said:
Does anyone in UK or EU know a soap bar that is both strong and perfume-free?
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Sly Saint said:
Soap, I use Sainsburys own

Sainsbury's The Collection Pure Soap​

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-pure-soap-4x125g
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But be aware. ANY soap (even 'gentle' or 'natural' ones) is very alkaline, so generally not good for sensitive skin.

@Verity I made some lipbalms back in Jan/feb. Since then I've been 'making' all kinds of 'treatments' for this bad bout of allergic contact dermatitis, as I cannot go down the 'standard treatment' route ie steroids and thick emollients. So recovery is taking much longer. But I'm learning a lot in the process. All the patch testing I did when I was making the lipbalm really paid off. Now I have quite a collection of ingredients. All products I'm creating are anhydrous to avoid the preservative issue.
 
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Sly Saint said:
But be aware. ANY soap (even 'gentle' or 'natural' ones) is very alkaline, so generally not good for sensitive skin.
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That one looks great. Wish I could get it easily here! I could get it with difficulty and paying tax etc. MIght be worth it if I can't find a good alternative.

Yes, as a rule I don't use soap, I would be covered in eczema if I used it all over. But my gentle skin cleansers are no match for my armpits now, so I need to use soap on a flannel just there, nowhere else, about once a week, more in summer. The rest of the time I use my usual atopy-friendly body wash on a flannel. (Didn't need the flannel before either. And have to be very gentle - no scrubbing, just two gentle swipes.) Everywhere else just gets regional washing with atopy-friendly body wash (no flannel).

I still have a couple of bars of the old Simple one that works well, so am rationing them carefully while I look for a replacement. I bought this one to try next: Ozoaqua Ozonated Oil Soap.

So sorry you've had such a bad time with contact dermatitis recently. It's very tricky finding things that work.

I got a rash on my hands recently from a new balm I had tried - supposedly atopy-friendly. When I passed it on to my husband, he informed me that I had already passed two of those on to him. Apparently I completely forgot that I had tried it already!

My skin issues are lifelong, not ME/CFS-related.
 
Sly Saint said:
You could always go with a castile liquid soap eg https://www.thesoapery.co.uk/products/castile-liquid-soap-base-organic

(this business is also on ebay, I've used their ingredients).
eta: you dont need to do anything with it you can use as is.

another lot I've bought stuff from
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They're not available to me. Brexit made it hard/impossible for small businesses to sell beyond UK.

I can get castile soaps here, but I need the harshness of regular soap for this particular job! Basically, if something is marketed for sensitive skin, it's not going to work. Though I do have a couple more lined up to try just in case I get lucky.
 
Sly Saint said:
@Verity I made some lipbalms back in Jan/feb. Since then I've been 'making' all kinds of 'treatments' for this bad bout of allergic contact dermatitis, as I cannot go down the 'standard treatment' route ie steroids and thick emollients. So recovery is taking much longer. But I'm learning a lot in the process. All the patch testing I did when I was making the lipbalm really paid off. Now I have quite a collection of ingredients. All products I'm creating are anhydrous to avoid the preservative issue.
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That is great! I think it’s fun to make them. Glad it’s working for you!
 
Evergreen said:
What to google
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I use Ecosia instead of Google because they use all their profits for “climate action, with the majority going into tree-planting projects around the world”.

It’s like Google but without the nasty smells: https://www.ecosia.org

I also use Simple soap (minimally) and Flash Bathroom liquid for bathroom cleaner. Unfortunately the latter is increasingly difficult to get hold of. I appreciate that others may not find either suitable but they are OK for me. I’m very sensitive to fragrances but I don’t have sensitive skin.

I stopped using deodorant years ago and found that I don’t get any noticeable body odour. I certainly did before I was unwell so I guess this may be part of the disease process with me or maybe it is something that can happen if you stop using deodorants.
 
Sly Saint said:
Yes it was. I managed to 'reverse engineer' the lipbalm I had been using and produced a version tailored to me. I'm looking forward to creating some 'nice' new products. I'm already blending various carrier oils. The top of my dressing table in my bedroom is like a mini apothecary/lab.:geek:
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I love it! Mad scientist energy. I’m planning to try to reverse engineer one that seems to be no longer available. Now if only I could figure out how to pour these things into packaging without making a giant mess…
 
I've been using two things by Cerave recently (at least US, UK, Ireland, Europe) - the Moisturising Lotion and the Reparative Hand Cream. No perfume.

The moisturising lotion (the regular one, not the intensive one) is nice and light - good for warmer temps. I'm using it on my back for now, where I only want something light. Gives a nice refreshed feeling. Got a full litre which was good value.

The hand cream did indeed repair my hands after a recent reaction, where other balms and creams were failing. So points for that. Doesn't moisturise quite as much as I would like, but my hands require unusual levels of moisture. Something I like is that if you put a few blobs on your hands, they don't immediately start melting and falling off your hands. The blobs stay put. Handy if you put on the blobs and then realise you still have to do something. The biggest tube I can find is 100ml, though, which is small. Would prefer a big pump.
 
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