Hazelwood and Eczema

Hmmm, I just came across a few blogs regarding hazelwood and how it helps those who have eczema. Something about eczema suffers may have too much acidity in their system and hazelwood takes away the acidity to help clear up the rash.

Well, I'm a sucker for natural remedies and so I just bought online a hazelwood necklace...what could I lose really? I mean, it looks pretty good to just wear as jewellery. I bought this one. :) I also got a bracelet with a mixture of Amber, as Amber is supposed to help with any aches and pains. Worth trying out I think.

So I'm not sure when I'll get my delivery but I'm getting excited to start this testing and hoping it may help me keep my eczema breakouts in check. This winter weather is not helping me at all. I just put on some lotion and all I've done thus far is scratch it off. I need to stay moisturized but it's hard, I can feel the heat suck all the moisture out of my skin. My man put on the humidifier for me as he knows I get really dry and itchy without it. So sweet.

Anyways, I was so excited about this find, that I needed to record it here and to keep whoever is following me in the know. :) I will provide an update this as soon as I get to use it. Some people are saying the results are like within 24 hours of wearing it. Who knows, may help.

Oh and by the way, HAPPY 2012!!! xoxo.

Natural Cleaning Ingredients

So I've been reading about all the wondering things about Baking Soda and Vinegar for cleaning and decided to try it out today, to prove to myself that they work. Plus, the more chemicals I can eliminate from my home the better it will be for managing my eczema. The bed sheets and duvet cover sometimes irritate my skin. I'm sure when that happens bleach was used. Even though we use hypoallergenic detergent...I don't know, sometimes wearing my washed clothes just sets me off itching.

I started with the kitchen sink and oven and WOW, it really works. No chemical smell and the peace of mind that I'm using stuff I can actually eat. I didn't follow any directions, just sprinkled some baking soda and wet the sponge with some vinegar and water to clean the oven. After 3 minutes, it was looking so clean and sparkly! And no yucky chemical smell. For the sink I just used the baking soda to clean it and it's shining in the kitchen right now!

My goal is to slowly change out all our household products to all natural ones. My obstacle is going to be my man. He's quite skeptical about this stuff. So I'm going to show by example. I'm just waiting for him to see how sparkly the sink is and the oven is right now. Then I'll tell him what I used and then I will figure out how much getting these products would cost and I'll have him in riding on my Eco-friendly bus.

If the whitening happens with the vinegar and baking soda mixture, instead of the Javex, that would be great. My skin is so sensitive to the bleach. Even though my robe is nice and white after it has been bleached, once my wet skin contacts the freshly washed robe, I can feel my skin getting itchy in seconds.

Next room to try out the natural cleaning agents is the bathroom, I'll do that tomorrow. If the solution gets rid of the mildew I'm a HERO!!! Plus, eliminating the chemicals in the air inside the house, my man's allergies may get better. I hope that happens. He's been having eye and nose allergies lately and I really think it's the stuff we are using...plus smoking doesn't help!

One day at a time, I'll have my way. :) I'm going to http://www.goneshopping.ca/ to get that Eco-friendly starter kit. It will tell me exactly what to use and apparently it comes with essential oil that will make everything smell really nice, disinfect and the essential oil mixture has anti-bacterial properties. All natural, good stuff.

It's only $34 so it's affordable I think, considering it will last for awhile. I mean, other chemical products out there are like at least $4 to $9 and they smell like death. Plus, you have to buy a different product for the kitchen, bathroom, living room...you get the idea.

My friends just moved into a new condo and this is what I'm going to get as a housewarming present. I think it's going to be great! Hmm, I may have given the surprise away if they see my post. Anyways, no matter, I still think it's going to be cool. I'm going to get one for myself too while I'm at it. :)

So excited. I'm going to do that right now. I'll give an update on how it works once I have a chance to use the solutions.

Tortuga - Super Emollient Lotion - Update

Just a quick update on how I am really in love with Tortuga lotion from Keys now. It smells great and because the bottle is not very big, I have decided to choose this all-natural product to hydrate my face as well as managing the redness that occurs with my super sensitive face!

I just finished the bottle I order awhile back and just order a new bottle. This time it should last a lot longer for me because I was using it before for my body as well. This is another reason why I like this product so much. I'm not allergic to it and I can you is almost everywhere! Not the eyes though I just read. So I ordered the eye cream trail size to try. :)

So happy I have decided to stick with this product for it's super natural ingredients. It just gives me a peace of mind knowing that at least I am using some products that are natural and safe for my body. Whatever you put on your skin gets absorbed into your system as you know.

Witch Hazel - Great for cuts

Okay, when people say communication is key in a relationship it's true, because I've been looking to buy witch hazel for awhile now and guess what? I was just going through the medicine cabinet and discovered that my man actually had a bottle! If only I mentioned to him earlier that I was looking for it, I would've been able to use it much earlier!

I read that it's good for speeding up healing process of cuts and broken skin and I wanted to try it to see if it works. For me, when I scratch too hard my skin breaks and I know it takes me weeks and weeks to try and get the wound to heal. My scraps and scratches doesn't heal as fast as other people for some reason. It's gross I know but that's the truth and I'm always looking for ways to help me manage my own skin issues! So, I must say that it really does work. It cleans the wound up and then it dries it up a bit so that it starts to heal. :) I'm happy I was able to use it to help out with the healing process. The issue is sometimes I don't know if I should treat it like eczema or not. I mean, I did scratch because my skin was itchy from the dryness or eczema but once it's broken I'm treating it like any other scrape. I'll see how it works out and report here again.

I think it would help if I could take some photos of my skin before and after to show how it works and what it worked on! So far I think it works because it actually helps me not to scratch the scrapes. Till then, you might want to see if it works for you.

Kiss My Face - Olive Oil Soap

I was running out of the La Roche-Posay bar soap and wanted to get something that is cheaper and natural.

Found out from Skin Deep and Good Guide website that this soap is really good. You know olive oil is good for your skin. The only ingredients listed for this soap is Saponified Olive Oil, Water, Sodium Chloride.

Simple.

It's a big fat bar, so I cut it into manageable pieces. :) It's great. It's moisturizing and the best part is that it does not sting. So even if you have a rash you won't have to worry about being uncomfortable using this soap.

I love it and I found it at Walmart for $3.97. If you want to try it and you can't find it at the drugstore then you can also go to Well.ca. The website is selling it for $4.69 but it's online and you can order it with free shipping if you are in Canada.

Magnesium Sulfate Epsom Bath Salt - I Got It !!!

Okay just a very quick update to let you know that I got the Magnesium Sulfate Epsom Bath Salt today. So excited. For $5.49, I got myself a 2kg bag. I'll take a picture of the bag tomorrow.

I didn't take a bath today because I wasn't sure if I wanted to plunge right in so fast. It is salt afterall...it's going to sting isn't it?! I got a rash on my upper arms and thighs. It's due to the dry and cold air..for sure. I haven't been using Curel because I still couldn't find any and Lubriderm as I said earlier is not really working. It actually stings when I put it on, so I haven't been really moisturizing enough for the past 2 weeks. Not to mention my panic attack about the "white petrolatum" and the "parbens" in both Curel and Lubriderm. I'm still waiting for my new lotion to arrive via the mail.

So I put 5 teaspoons of the bath salt in a container and fill it up with water. Just when I was about to finish my shower, I soaked a sponge into the mixture and just applied it over my body. I must tell you that when I sponged over my skin where I had my rash, it didn't sting at first but it did sting after a bit. And by the way, if you want to try what I did with the sponging first, DO NOT have your shower turn to HOT. It has to be lukewarm. If it's hot you are going to feel the sting from the salt for sure!! I learned by trail and error. Ouch.

After applying the mixture I used my towel to pat myself dry. I did feel the sting in my skin where I had my rash but after 1 minute it subsided and it actually felt really good. I feel really relaxed and the sting/burning sensation didn't really hurt at all. I actually liked the feeling.

I had to use Lubriderm because that is the only lotion I have right now and after half an hour I'm not itchy or anything. I'm just feeling really relaxed. So, for now I'm going to stop and continue tomorrow. I'm sleepy. :)

I'm going to continue using this method until Friday, when I'm going to take the bath. And I hope by tomorrow I get my new natural lotion.

See you.