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I dropped of The Toddler at school last week looking like her normal self and picked her up looking like this.
When I got there at pickup her teacher and I had a conversation that went like this:
Her: Oh hi!
Me: Hi!
Her: The Toddler had a great day, except…
Me: What!?
Her: Well, she cried a little today {She misses her Mama} and we noticed she was wiping her eyes with her shirt and then her eyes and face started to turn bright red and swell a little. Not too much, but well, you take a look.
Me: Holy Heck!
This picture actually looks good. It looks better than she actually looked.
Looking back I realized that I had washed some clothes in a name brand laundry detergent. One that does a good job and makes clothes smell good… but has tons of chemicals. Chemicals that make my little ones skin go haywire.
I had been really good about using only natural laundry detergent. I found a few that work really well and I was totally happy using them. But then I saw that I had a couple loads left in a bottle of regular chock full of chemicals detergent and decided to use it up. Bad choice!
Part of this going natural business is not wasting. I didn’t want to waste the extra detergent. This totally backfired. I’ve learned my lesson.
Do you have kiddos that are sensitive to chemicals? How do you keep them safe?
if your looking for a good smelling brand, mrs. meyers clean day smells really good
Totally agree with you! There are so many awesome products these days that going natural is so much easier than it used to be!
Oh your poor baby!!!! My oldest also has sensitive skin….. taking mental note to stick with what works!!
So true Jessica!
my daughter is VERY sensitive to fragrances and other chemicals…and what she isn’t allergic to, I am. It is extremely hard to have a fragrance free household. We do use a name brand free and clear laundry detergent but I try very hard to have chemical free, fragrance cleaners for the rest of the house. I end up buying smaller company products.
That’s where I am heading too… smaller companies for sure! It’s been an adventure switching to natural products and seeing what works and what doesn’t!
My son is ok with whatever soap we use but can only use pampers baby dry diapers. He cant use no other pampers and no other brands. It has to be that specific type or he has the mother of all break outs. I try and use all natural cleaning products but for our clothing I have been using tide pods. I seems that all natural detergent doesnt get the sweat out of the armpits on shirts. The one that comes closes to almost getting it all out is seventh generation. So unfortunately I have stuck with tide cause I dont like stinky shirts lol.
LOL! I don’t like stinky shirts either. My husband works out two-three times a day… a run/walk in the morning, stops at the gym to lift weights in the afternoon and then Insanity or P90x after… so I totally get the sweat stains/smells… I’ve been lucky that all of the natural laundry soap we use has worked. We also have a HE side loader machine. Wonder if that has anything to do with it… oh and I use cold water to wash… hmm…
My kids don’t seem to be sensitive to chemicals that I’ve found or noticed… but I am VERY sensitive to chemicals and fragrances so I stay away from them as much as possible!
Sorry to hear that you are sensitive to them… hopefully since you are avoiding them they won’t develop any issues later!
I would have done the same thing. I went the natural route for several months and my husband complained that the laundry wasn’t as clean as before and stains tend to stay. I went back to the other laundry detergent.
Bummer Jo! Sounds like you just haven’t found the right one yet… don’t give up!
Oh my goodness, poor thing! My littles don’t seem bothered much by the chemicals in detergent, thankfully, but we love to use Purex Naturals. I’m not sure HOW natural it is, but its one of my favorites outside of GreenWorks, All Free Clear, or Rockin’ Green.
jessica Rockin’ Green is on my list to try… does it work well for you?
I just use plain baking soda in my laundry. It works as well as or better than any detergent I’ve ever tried. Mix it up with a little water to form a paste and apply with a toothbrush for an excellent stain remover. It’s cheap too! Look in the pool section of your favorite store and you can get a BIG bag or box of it for just a few dollars. I don’t bother with it, but if you want a good fresh scent to your laundry, and a drop or 2 of flower essence to your fabric softener slot in the washer!
That’s interesting. It makes perfect sense that baking soda would work. I’ll have to remember to try that. I especially want to try it for stains! Thanks Brian!
Due to having 8 children I make my own laundry soap, 10 GALLONS at a time. I sent it with lavender essential oils. For all other products I use daisy blue naturals, 100% natural and gluten free products.
This was a few years ago. I was getting ready for work, hopped in the shower and used my sister’s body wash. I ended up having such a bad allergic reaction to her body wash that I had to use my asthma inhaler, benedryl, and I ended up at the doctor’s office to get steroids so I could breath. I learned a very valuable lesson, I need to stick with what works! I feel for your little girl. My eczema is acting up right now and I have a nasty patch on my arm. It sucks when you have allergies, but going natural is so much better.
Oh my Jenn… that’s horrible! All you wanted to do was take a shower! Yikes! Yep, totally agree… I’m loving going natural!
I recently found out that I am allergic to some laundry stain fighters. We have started to use the free and clear version of detergents. I will have to look into the natural versions. They might work even better for me. My daughter has come home looking like that, too. I took her to a dermatologist who recommended that I ask the teachers not to use hand sanitizer on her. During this time of year, hand sanitizers are a teachers best friend…particularly for younger kids. The fragrance and chemicals were causing my daughter’s skin to be red, puffy, and eventually break out. She now goes to the sink and washes her hands with regular soap and rinses well with water.
Sorry to hear your little one gets this too… as I get deeper into making our home natural I’m interested in seeing what other options are there for people like us. My middle daughter has eczema so this isn’t totally new too me… but my little one is. There are so many more options out there than there were 10 years ago though… I’ll be sure to share!
Aw Bless that Babys heart. I had hives as a kid so I relate. We dont want to waste but its hard to trying to figure out what works well or doesnt. Hope she feels better soon.
I’m very chemical sensitive. But, my question is why the heck didn’t they call you? I would’ve been ticked!