Chemical sensitivities, reactive airways, skin issues, etc

[I love roses]

Im having a very hard time with the barrage of chemicals thrown into society. For years I used to love and wear perfume. Then one day a new perfume made me sick. I reacted to perfume from then on. Now i can’t tolerate laundry detergent or soap. The dermatologist recommended gentle products but I was reactive to all of them. My skin breaks down and I get bumps or yeast and it get terrible asthma. I then broke out in seborrhea. Out of desperation I bathed and washed hair with raw honey from a local bee keeper and suddenly asthma, skin reactions were gone. But it doesn’t remove enough oil from the hair. So I read that mexican women bathe in Zote laundry bar soap. So I washed my hair and bathed in Zote. Cleared up the seborrhea in three days. But the asthma came back because it has artificial
fragrance in it and citronella. It is made like old fashioned lye soap and was very moisturizing. It is super cheap. The bar is the size of a brick and good for laundry, dishes, cleaning, or body. I just can’t tolerate frangance. it doesn’t have any chemicals except brightner. Does anyone else have trouble finding body washes or soap that is reasonably priced and works? Does anyone else have reactions to everything? If the air temperature in my room changes I will sneeze or get stuffy. But the days I bathed in honey it all went away. but that is expensive and it isn’t practical at all for hair and I still have nothing to wash my clothes.

 

[tree]

You could wash your hair and skin with baking soda.
(Using water with it, of course.)

Sugar makes an ok skin scrub, with water.
Not as expensive as honey.

 

[I love roses]

I haven’t tried sugar. Baking soda is a base and over time will damage the skin. It will damage the hair and so will too much vinegar. It seems to work for some people but not me. I Googled why honey worked and the scientific data said it is because there is a protein in it that is antifungal and antibacterial but not in such a way as to cause mrsa or staph. I even tried using coconut oil that was organic and expeller pressed and I have gotten sensitive to that. I used to use coconut oil as a conditioner but now it feeds the yeast that causes seborrhea so I can’t use it anymore. But the Zote is from beef tallow I think and didnt bother me. I’m just so messed up right now that if you looked at me wrong i’d break out or itch or wheeze. Also if someone makes lye soap it all thenlye isn’t processed out properly, it can irritate. I might break out my crock pot and cook a batch outside but I’d rather not deal with caustic chemicals. It’s probably not as dangerous as blowing up a meth lab, not that I know, but it isn’t something i’m looking forward to experimenting with. I just don’t know why my whole life gentle soaps like ivory, Dove, etc didn’t bother me and now they do.

 

[tree]

So called "lye soap" is only irritating if it hasn't been aged.

I don't know why you'd need a crock pot to make soap.
I have never made soap that way.

Just in a pan.

I have not seen any damage done to anyone's skin by
baking soda. It doesn't harm babies.

https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsal...ere-lye-in-natural-soap-wont-it-harm-my-skin/

 

[I love roses]

I washed my hair and body in a ton of baking soda one time when my pipes froze so I wouldn’t have soap residue in my hair. I brought in water from town. I couldn’t for the life of me get it all off even though I boiled a ton of water. It blistered me all over. I guess I used too much. So no i’m afraid to use acids and bases. But i read that old fashioned lye soaps are naturally ph balanced. I like the link you sent but it has essential oil in it and i’m even sensitive to that. I’m even allergic to hyacinths growing outside, but not roses. Roses are ok. I can drink rose water. But essential oils bother me.But notice that your link says the lye has to be completely processed out. One site said adding olive oil or a different king of oil or fatty acid helps that get processed out better so that every single bit of lye is gone. The crock pot just helps with making sure it doesn’t explode. I have an exotic bird so he can’t be around fumes. I had saved an easy recipe that uses a crock pot. it sounds easy and I have an outside electric plug. Then if I spill lye or something goes wrong for my first try, no harm done. I just won’t use the crock pot for anything else. I assume it keeps the temperature steady. Maybe that’s is an advantage. I love Zote but I can’t find out how to contact them. I bet being a manufacturer that they wouldn’t make and unscented batch just for me without brightner They are in Mexico and I can’t find a contact for them. But I dig that soap. Four light swipes lather up great and leaves a nice emollent on the skin afterward. It’s a shame I can’t use citronella that is in it. that is an added bonus as mosquito repellant.

 

[I love roses]

So called "lye soap" is only irritating if it hasn't been aged.

I don't know why you'd need a crock pot to make soap.
I have never made soap that way.

Just in a pan.

I have not seen any damage done to anyone's skin by
baking soda. It doesn't harm babies.

https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsal...ere-lye-in-natural-soap-wont-it-harm-my-skin/

Have you ever used leaf tallow? That is a special fat tallow from near the inner organs of a cow and does smell as beefy. Old fashioned lye soap can from animals can stink but it is the most gentle vs. plant oil.

 

[tree]

I wasn't encouraging or suggesting that you ought to
use soap with essential oils in it.

When I made goat milk soap, it was useful to have the
milk frozen and then add the lye to it.

The process of lye being added to the fat or milk
makes quite enough heat on its own. I don't understand
what you're getting at, with the reference to electric plugs.

Soap doesn't have to be "cooked."
The reaction (saponification) takes place without added
heat.

 

[tree]

Have you ever used leaf tallow? That is a special fat tallow from near the inner organs of a cow and does smell as beefy. Old fashioned lye soap can from animals can stink but it is the most gentle vs. plant oil.

No.
I don't and didn't use cow products.
I am allergic to cow milk, don't eat beef.

I thought, from reading, that a milk bath
would be mild and pleasant to the skin.

Probably is.
Unless you're allergic to the milk.

I get same reaction from soaking hands or
feet in cow milk as I do from ingesting it.

 

[I love roses]

Hmmm! I’ll have to look at the recipe again and see why. Does it matter if you do it in metal?

 

[tree]

"Does it matter if you do it in metal?"

Absolutely.
Never use aluminum.

http://www.lovinsoap.com/2015/12/how-to-pick-containers-for-making-soap/

The only reason I can think of for using a crock
or crock pot would be that it's made of glass,
and wouldn't be reactive.

 

[I love roses]

I wasn't encouraging or suggesting that you ought to
use soap with essential oils in it.

When I made goat milk soap, it was useful to have the
milk frozen and then add the lye to it.

The process of lye being added to the fat or milk
makes quite enough heat on its own. I don't understand
what you're getting at, with the reference to electric plugs.

Soap doesn't have to be "cooked."
The reaction (saponification) takes place without added
heat.

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2016/01/tallow-soap-recipe.html Here is the recipe. it is to render the animal fat because it is a solid. So that is the only purpose of the crock pot. So you wouldn’t even have to stir it in the crock. It could be stirred in anything that would melt or crack. Pyrex probably would even shatter if it heated up to quick, too hot, too fast. Seems like stainless steel would be best.

 

[I love roses]

No.
I don't and didn't use cow products.
I am allergic to cow milk, don't eat beef.

I thought, from reading, that a milk bath
would be mild and pleasant to the skin.

Probably is.
Unless you're allergic to the milk.

I get same reaction from soaking hands or
feet in cow milk as I do from ingesting it.

If you are lactic acid allergic then I read that you can’t allow it on the skin either. Goat and sheep milk has less. The zote bar has caustic soda instead of lye but one website said caustic soda and lye are the same thing. one lady used something from lowe’s that looked like a Draino plumbing type of pip clearing lye for hers. That creeped me out. Is there a special caustic soda or lye only for soap making? what do you buy?

 

[tree]

Rendering fat is a separate issue.

I didn't know that was what you had in mind.

Yes, naturally, rendering lard or tallow will require heat.

Last month I bought 20 pounds of unprocessed pig
fat. I froze it in small batches and take some out
and render it in the frying pan.

This is for the lard, and to eat the cracklings.
================

I have a stockpile of soap already made that I want
to re-batch, but when I was making soap rather
regularly, I used to go to the hardware and just
get Red Devil Lye.

Apparently WalMart has 2 pound containers, too.

 

[I love roses]

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2016/01/tallow-soap-recipe.html Here is the recipe. it is to render the animal fat because it is a solid. So that is the only purpose of the crock pot. So you wouldn’t even have to stir it in the crock. It could be stirred in anything that would melt or crack. Pyrex probably would even shatter if it heated up to quick, too hot, too fast. Seems like stainless steel would be best.

I would think you could use pig fat in soap, but being from the skin it might smell. also if not used quickly can become rancid smelling I think. One old lady gave me some years ago from bacon grease. you could see the bacon sediment in it. Sooo gross! But if you like pig fat I have heard canned lard is good. I don’t think it smells. It is hard to find real lard in a can these days. But I could order it. But my link I sent you said adding olive oil or a softer oil helps make all the lye process out better. Sometimes there might be a trace that could bother some people I guess. I haven’t tried all this. But if I can make cheap soap from lard. I could grate it the bar of soap and wash clothes in it. Then when hubby washes his stuff in regular laundry soap it would clean out all the soap scum in the washer. Have you ever bought washing soda and made your own laundry soap? You can grate bar soap and make laundry powder with added ingredients or melt it with water and make a liquid.
If you like pig skins, you might like chicken skin. I used to take chicken skin and lay it completely flat in a dry cast iron skillet. set it on warm or the lowest setting possible. when almost done flip over, keep it flat. It doesn’t bubble up like pork skin but if eaten while hot it is delicious and crunchy with lemon pepper on it. I don’t need to eat that so I don’t do it anymore cause i’ll munch down on all of it. It isn’t as good later. It loses the crunch factor. The grease is good in biscuits, cake, pie, instead of hydrogenated fat as is your pork grease is good for all that, too.

 

[tree]

I have used goat milk, coconut oil, and bacon fat.
My bacon fat was clean. No crunchies in it.

I have used washing soda, but just to add
in the wash. Not to make a new product.

I try not to eat chickens.

I am not talking about making fried pork skins.
Just the fat.

People think "lye soap" is harsh because they
have used it before it was cured. This works as
well as pouring cake batter in a pan, not actually
baking it, and then complaining that it's runny.

A person could drink cake batter,
but would be very disappointed with the sunburn
feeling to be gained by using uncured soap.

 

[I love roses]

I have used goat milk, coconut oil, and bacon fat.
My bacon fat was clean. No crunchies in it.

I have used washing soda, but just to add
in the wash. Not to make a new product.

I try not to eat chickens.

I am not talking about making fried pork skins.
Just the fat.

People think "lye soap" is harsh because they
have used it before it was cured. This works as
well as pouring cake batter in a pan, not actually
baking it, and then complaining that it's runny.

A person could drink cake batter,
but would be very disappointed with the sunburn
feeling to be gained by using uncured soap.

Oh, I see! So I could use washing soda by itself for a while in the laundry? Did you like it’s results alone? Or did you add it to detergent as an enhancer in your wash, like a cleaning booster? Sorry, i’m so green to this soap thing. Up until now I wasn’t this physically bad off with the skin thing and I could get away with some store bought stuff.

 

[tree]

The directions on the box indicate that it can be used
as a "laundry booster."

I didn't go out and buy it myself.
A guy I knew used a little when he was trying
to get corrosion off a battery, and then gave
me the almost full box afterward.

 

[I love roses]

Lucky you. Freebies are always nice. I hear it isn’t expensive I don’t think. I hear Walmart has it.

 

[Major Tom]

I was going to suggest making your own soap, but I see that has been well covered. Hopefully you can find something that will give you the relief you need.
I have a hard time with certain scents, giving me an instant headache. Perfume and burning rice chaff are 2 of the worst ones. The burning rice chaff also gives me asthmatic reactions.

 

[I love roses]

I was going to suggest making your own soap, but I see that has been well covered. Hopefully you can find something that will give you the relief you need.
I have a hard time with certain scents, giving me an instant headache. Perfume and burning rice chaff are 2 of the worst ones. The burning rice chaff also gives me asthmatic reactions.

You must live near farming where they burn the fields to prevent mold spores in the next crop.