Tag Archives: green living

Methyliso- what? 30 Alternatives To Avoid The Discovered Chemical Causing Baby Wipe Rashes

rash caused by baby wipes

Rashes caused by yucky commercial wipes

I once asked my mom about how they “went” in Laos and she described third-world bathroom needs much like a drunken camping trip I took with my party troupe once. Both scenarios involved dug holes and anything nearby resembling paper. I think she was messing with me but my story unfortunately is true. Now with little shitters of my own, it made complete sense to use cloth wipes with cloth diapers. Definitely more so now that new research shows that such hygiene convenience can come with major health concerns.

A January 2014 study was conducted on commercial baby wipes and its harmful reaction causing painful, itchy rashes to site of application. For users and young kids especially, that is usually their buttocks, hands, and face (hopefully not with same wipe nor in that order). According to the research, the culprit is “methylisothiazolinone (MI), a chemical that investigators believe is found in roughly half of all the wipes sold in the United States.” Wet wipes are nice to have on hand for easy clean-up for those crazy-long car trips or outings without a bathroom in sight. So, what are busy and convenience-reliant parents supposed to do if they want to avoid this risk? Well, there are alternatives so you limit your family’s reaction to commercial baby wipes:

alternatives for baby wipes chemical

Other Brands Since the affected subjects used Huggies and Cottonelle, then check out other brands. Remember, if you experience an allergic reaction from anything (not just butt wipes), stop using them. Duh.

  • Luvs wipes
  • Pampers wipes
  • Parent’s Choice wipes (Walmart brand)
  • up & up wipes™ wipes (Target brand)
  • Kirkland Signature™ wipes (Costco brand)

“Natural” Disposable Wipes I’m not sure where in history did the term “disposable” be considered of nature but this can be a good option (with one claiming 99.2%, whoaaa) to “naturally” wipe butts and such.

Homemade Disposable Wipes These? These are cool because 1) cheaper 2) Safer ingredients and 3) still convenient to wipe and toss.

Commercial Cloth Wipes If you’re (kinda) one with Mother Nature, consider the sustainability of reusable cloth wipes. There are plenty of manufacturers to make this “natural” need so you don’t have to.

Homemade Cloth Wipes  If you’re really one with The Mutha, make your own or at least find a small business that will.

Wipe Solution The key to get the proper clean is moistening. Components of good moistening are: 1) soap (cleanses), 2) water (cleanses and dilutes), 3) some sort of oil (“glides”), and 4) essential oil (antibacterial or aromatherapy, optional).

Confession: we have been using bathroom cloth for months now. Yup, for the entire family, adults and all. With convenience, there will always be risks. Fortunately for me, I have peace of mind that I am not only contributing to literal planet waste but also I can control what my family’s bodies use for their hygiene needs. The frugality is nice, sure, but it also doesn’t leave me desperate when that last roll of toilet paper tissue is lingering on by a ply. I just wash along with the cloth diapers and fresh, clean wipes for our butts.

What about cloth wipes scare the shit out of you?

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The Lazy Girl’s No ‘Poo Hair Washing Method

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My husband rarely compliments my hair outside of me fighting with my curling iron for two hours and sucking up a cloud of hairspray. One random evening, he reached out and grabbed my product-free, day-old hair and said, “Is that what your no shampoo is doing? Looks good.” I was shocked that the same man, who tugged on my belly flab noticed my hair that I did nothing to besides my no ‘poo routine. Since I started this two months ago, I struggled to find an easy and efficient routine as a mom to two littles. Mainly, I just wanted to have clean hair without spending any more time than I need to during my midnight shower because… two littles. I have a no ‘poo routine for when I can’t spare the time to wash with baking soda and the extra time rinsing and rinsing and rinsing it out and it is even simpler and just as great. When I’m crunched on time (or just want to get to bed as soon as possible) and need to ‘wash,’ I use a water-only wash with an apple cider vinegar (ACV) leave-in conditioner and my hair is clean and I’m in bed.

no poo wash method{pin this}

No ‘Poo Water-Only Wash + ACV Leave-In Conditioner {great tips from Hilda Blue}

What you’ll need:

  • Hair brush
  • 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (ACV)
  • 1 cup of lukewarm water
  • old t-shirt to wrap hair

What to do:

  1. Before getting into the shower, brush your hair to get out tangles and distribute the sebum.
  2. Combine 1 tablespoon of ACV and 1 cup of lukewarm water into your bottle of choice. Set aside.
  3. Under your shower head, wet your hair thoroughly then massage scalp gently for a few minutes, long enough to let water clean entire scalp.
  4. Apply ACV mixture to length of hair (do not apply to scalp) and work it through with fingers.
  5. Leave it on and once out of shower, wrap hair in t-shirt.

Tips:

  • You can rinse out ACV, if desired (I do promise there is no smell if left on, PROMISE).
  • Remove t-shirt and let hair air dry.
  • Do continue baking soda washes if your hair is prone to be greasy/oily.
  • If you’re battling oily hair, increase baking soda and reduce vinegar.
  • Use water-only wash after workouts or just every day (no harm since it’s just water!)

Final thoughts:

The t-shirt trick is something I’ve done for years but makes perfect sense now. It causes less friction therefore less frizz caused by the harsh fibers of bath towels. Just wear the t-shirt turban long enough to capture excess moisture. Optimally, you want to air dry after a wash. My hair is greasy/oily so I noticed a difference when I water-washed more frequently like every other day versus once a week (like baking soda washes). I do baking soda washes (how-to can be seen here) when I know I am in need of one and I can spare the time and it’s worth it, especially for oily locks. The great thing about water-only is that there are no ‘side effects’ because it’s just water. The error in baking soda, for me, was that I either used too much and/or didn’t rinse well enough and my hair was super dry. I feel water-only wash is great for stretching clean hair in between baking soda washes used for my super greasy days.

Follow my No ‘Poo journey here.

Want to be even lazier? See a “dry shampoo” recipe here.

How do you maintain your hair in between (sham)poo days?

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Homemade & Natural Dry Shampoo

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With my hesitant admission that my hair is greasy as shit right now in between no ‘poo washes, I had to figure out a way to still have manageable hair in the mean time. Dry shampoo was an idea I remember from my party good-time days because as a party girl in college, you had to figure out clever ways to forgo showers but still have fabulous hair. Just me? Well, either way, I know dry shampoos soak up your hair grease to liven it up until the next wash. I used something natural and was available in my cupboard to soak up my hair grease. The best part (other than cheap and close to free) was that it actually freaking worked! I had all I needed in my home, including an unused makeup brush from my bareMinerals drawer. I applied this through styled hair but if this is before you style, just use a comb to comb it through and then style.

all natural dry shampoo for no 'poo{Pin this for future reference}

Dry Shampoo

What you’ll need:

  • 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder (for dark hair) or baking soda (for light hair)
  • an old makeup brush

Directions:

  1. Mix two ingredients together, adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil (optional) in a reusable container.
  2. Shake container or stir together gently and dip a makeup brush into mixture.
  3. Tap off excess and apply to greasy hair at the roots.
  4. Shake out excess powder with your fingers so you it doesn’t look like gray roots (see below).
dry shampoo

Before shaking it out. Me in 20 years?

dry shampoo baby

How do you handle your greasy hair in between wash days? Let me know if this works for you!

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