Recently I had an allergic reaction to either my diet, beauty
routine, or the outside environment which made me extremely sensitive to
anything I put on my skin. Basically I had hives below my nose and around my
chin. Thank goodness I was on spring break and was able to heal in private.
Despite
this embarrassing and really itchy situation it made me reevaluate the products
that I put on my face. Are your beauty
products gluten free?
You’d
be surprised at how many chemicals and crazy science ingredients typical drug
store and even high end beauty products contain. I couldn't pronounce half the
ingredients listed on my moisturizer and I thought I was doing my skin a favor
by wearing it every day. Things like dyes, fragrance, parabens (a
preservative), phthalates (chemical additive used to soften the texture in
products like nail polish, moisturizers, and fragrance), and the unsuspecting
Vitamin E (sometimes sourced from wheat) all have shown to either increase
certain cancer risks, create hormone disorders, or cause allergic reactions=SCARY!
So
after taking a good look at my makeup and cleansers I decided to dump a lot of
it out. Kinda crazy right? I was thinking the same thing, like money down the
drain O__o. BUT it was time for some
spring cleaning and I was ready to make some new purchases!
My
number one savior when my hives flared up was coconut oil and my homemade
oatmeal and yogurt face mask. These two things saved my skin when all I wanted
to do was scratch my red, peeling, and broken out face.
Extra
Virgin Coconut oil has so many benefits for beauty and health. I use coconut
oil in my hair, as a makeup remover, moisturizer, and I heard you can even make
homemade toothpaste as well! Plus its relatively cheap, you can buy a 16 oz jar
at a health foods store for under $15 and it will last forever. I applied a
thin layer over the hives and it helped keep the itching at bay. Seriously
worth every penny of the $13.99 I spent.
Yogurt
and Oatmeal Mask. This
mask is AMAZING; it completely reduced the itching and redness from the hives
and helped with my acne. The combination of oats which has anti-itching properties
and the cooling nature from the yogurt was heaven for my inflamed skin.
Look out for the recipe in an upcoming post!
This blog post is not meant to disgust or make you spend more money on cosmetics, but to
inform about allergy related skin sensitivities. I know prior to my allergic
reaction I really didn't care about the ingredients in makeup. Why? It didn't really affect or matter to me. Now that it has, being aware of natural alternatives and having knowledge about gluten contamination in cosmetics is important to my health and possibly yours
as well. Always read the ingredients on food labels and beauty products!
Take
care all,
~ T
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