Which Skin Products, Toothpaste And Deos For Allergies? {Reader Question}

   I got this mail from Ann in my inbox, and I would like to ask you to help me answer it:

    I am hoping that you or someone else might be able to help out. I recently developed some new allergies and after testing I'm at a loss about what toothpaste and moisturizer and deodrant I can use. Every product I've examined contains something I'm allergic to, because I'm not only allergic to the ingredients of drug-store brands but also to many natural and hypo-allergenic products. I went through three different soaps from Denn's before reading about the bar soaps on your blog and trying some of them out.

Allergies:
* Perubalsam
* Dibromdicyanobutan
* Propolis (I guess I can look for vegan products to avoid this)
* Natriumlaurylsulfat
* Cocamidopropylbetain
Additional constraints:
* I don't want anti-perspirant; I've found that causes cysts
* Due to soft teeth, I need fluoride in my toothpaste, so plain baking soda won't work
I'm trying to get help from my dermatologist and pharmacy, but they aren't familiar with a wide range of products.

Hello Ann

  

   For skin care, I love the hypo-allergenic shea butter line from Martina Gebhardt. You can order a bunch of samples through their sites if your Denns doesn't carry this line. I really really love Martina Gebhart's products, so I hope it works for you. Then there is the Lavera Basis Sensitiv line. Otherwise you could try using simple ingredients such as almond meal for cleansing, oil cleansing, and test if the Cattier Micellar Cleanser works for you. You can use oils or butters mixed with hyaluranon or aloe gel to moisturise.

   For deodorant, have you tried the crystal ones? I also like the ones from Waldfüssel (they even have a essential-oil-free version as well). I have also heard good things about Dado Sens Hypersensitiv.

     As for toothpaste, Neo Bio and Lavera both have ones with fluoride, the ingredients are nice and they are not as expensive as many other natural toothpaste. But you might want to try a proper fluoride treatment at the dentist -- they paint on fluoride on your teeth and leave it on there for a while, this is much more effective than toothpaste with fluoride which stays on your teeth for a very short time. 

    I also wanted to talk a bit about other things in your environment that might be stressing your body and triggering your allergies. I'd suggest generally cleaning up your diet and whatever comes into your home, especially removing anything with synthetic fragrance which is a cocktail of undisclosed and barely regulated chemicals -- and a huge triggers of allergies.

   I had a quick look at the chemicals that you are allergic to, and it looks like three of them are often found in cleansing and cleaning products. You might want to take a closer look at the household cleaning products that you use. As household cleansers often don't have the full ingredient list on the label, I'd suggest looking into simple things like vinegar and baking soda and simple household soaps like Kernseife. 

   Be sure to wash all new clothes at least once before you wear them, as brand new clothes often have chemicals from the manufacturing process still on them. Soap nuts are really great for people with allergies.

  Also, allergies are connected to stress and fear, so if there is anything like that going on in your life you might want to add some activities that calm and center you to your day.

   Do you have any recommendations for Ann? Which moisturisers, toothpaste and deo would you suggest she try?

Photo credit: Julia Shashkina