Posts Tagged ‘simplicity’

Posted by Colleen     September 8, 2008

All-Natural Hypo-Allergenic Soaps and Cleaning Products

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About two months after my son was born, I developed an allergy to most standard soaps and detergents. So I started using all-natural and hypo-allergenic dish, laundry and household cleaning products.

For a long time they weren’t readily available in the rural area that we live in. I had to make a special trip to a little health food store several miles away, and just the dish soap alone cost $8 a bottle. It was expensive, and inconvenient.

In recent months I’ve noticed more and more all-natural products popping up on the shelves of the two big discount stores near us, Walmart and a regional chain (MI, OH, IL, KY, IN) called Meijer. I’ve tried out a few different brands. I thought I’d share about the products I use, in case you’re looking for something similar.

Besides being hypo-allergenic, these products are environmentally friendly. And since most of them are also petroleum free, they help reduce oil consumption.

Seventh Generation products recently became available at Meijer. Many of you are probably familiar with that brand already. Until Meijer started carrying it, I could only find it at the health food store. It’s significantly less expensive at Meijer. If you haven’t tried Seventh Generation, it’s a fantastic brand that offers many options when it comes to all-natural products. Meijer also carries a few all-natural products with it’s own label. I’ve only tried the dish liquid, but it’s good quality and a fantastic value.

Walmart just started carrying a brand called Simplicity. Besides being hypo-allergenic and all-natural, it claims to also be non-toxic.  I’ve used their dish liquid, and fabric softener. The dish liquid works great, and is pleasantly scented. With less in the bottle, it isn’t as good of a value as the Meijer brand. The Simplicity liquid fabric softener worked just as well as the Seventh Generation product, and it cost about half the price. Simplicity also has dryer sheets made of biodegradable paper. I haven’t found hypo-allergenic, environmentally friendly dryer sheets anywhere else.

I also just discovered a line of bath products called Pure and Natural that’s actually been around for a while. Their website says the line is available at several stores. So far I’ve only used their liquid hand soap in the Almond Cherry Blossom scent. I love it, and plan on picking up some of their shower gel and bar soap as well.

When it comes to laundry detergent, there are more options. Many of the major brands offer “free” soaps that are hypo-allergenic, but not necessarily all-natural. When it comes to value, All Free & Clear is my favorite. I just purchased Purex Natural Elements Laundry soap and fabric softener for the first time last week. Their Linen and Lilies scent smells really nice. The Purex detergent is a good value aslo. I like the Purex Natural Elements liquid fabric softener better than the Simplicity or Seventh Generation brands.

When it comes to other household cleaning products that are all-natural, I’ve only used two brands. Seventh Generation and Holy Cow. Holy Cow was at Walmart, but I think they stopped selling it. I don’t know why, because because it worked great and was a good value. I used their all-purpose cleaner and glass cleaner. You can find a list of other stores that sell it on their website.

This is a little off the topic, but I’m even allergic to many underarm deodorants. I’ve been using Almay Hypo-Allergenic Antiperspirant Deodorant. It’s doesn’t have a nice perfume scent like most other deodorants since it’s fragrance free, but it does work.

Whether you need hypo-allergenic products or you just want to go green, it’s getting easier and more affordable all the time.

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