Full disclosure: I am friends with the owners of Medsavers Pharmacy. However, they did not ask me to write this blog post. The opinions expressed are entirely mine.

One of the problems of chronic illness is the cost of prescription drugs that are needed. Drug costs keep rising, and insurance companies are becoming more stubborn about not paying for drugs that patients need. A study by AARP reports, "In 2013, retail prices for 227 widely used brand name prescription drugs increased by 12.9 percent." The study also notes, "Brand name drug prices increased more than eight times faster than general inflation in 2013 (12.9 percent versus 1.5 percent)." Other drugs increased as much as 113% over eight years. Yet in 2013,the cost of living increase for Social Security payments was only 1.5%; in some recent years it was 0%. 

I have most of my drugs compounded. This means that the pharmacy takes the drug powder which they obtain from the manufacturer and put it in gelatin capsules in the correct doses for me. If filler is needed, they use probiotics. It means there are no food colorings, no dyes, no artificial flavorings, and no gluten in the pills. For me, it's the difference between tolerating most drugs and not tolerating them. It also allows us to create non-standard doses that aren't usually available. For example, I take between 7mg and 9 mg of one drug four times a day. It's only available in 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, and 75 mg dosing in the standard pills. For me, the 10 mg would be too much. Because I need my drugs compounded, I am limited to using compounding pharamcies. The one I normally use is also a regular pharmacy, and I usually get any prescriptions the rest of my family needs there as well. It's a small local business with only two stores, and I appreciate that the staff there recognizes me.

One of my sons has been facing health problems for the past six months. We finally got a true diagnosis, and he's begun treatement, involving flower essences, herbs and Western drugs. One of the drugs was no issue; my son's prescription insurance through his father covered it with no problem. The second drug the insurance company refuses to cover at a rate that the pharamcies can afford because it's less than the pharmacy's costs. They end up having to sell it at a loss, so many of them refuse to dispense it. I asked the pharmacy what it would cost if we paid out of pocket, and I was told $450 for the 30 days supply we needed. Eeks. 

At that point, I called Medsavers Pharmacy. Medsavers does not accept insurance, and they only stock generic drugs. These two things allow them to sell drugs at a lower cost than most pharmacies. If a patient needs a prescription drug, then Medsavers will order it but the patient must obtain a prescription for the entire bottle. When we had older dogs with health problems (including congestive heart failure and Cushing's disease), we actually got a large percentage of their drugs at Medsavers because it was so much cheaper than buying them through a vet. 

The woman who answered the phone at Medsavers was pleasant and let me know that they didn't carry that particular dose of this drug, so we would need to get a prescription for the entire bottle from our doctor. The total cost for the entire bottle which would last my son a month? $62.42. That's versus the $450 I got quoted at my compounding pharmacy. So I got the doctor to write the prescription as needed asking him to respect the almost $400 difference between the two pharmacies. Because the doctor is very sensitive to patient's financial issues, he had no problem doing so. I've known many friends with prescription insurance who've used Medsavers for some of their prescriptions because it was cheaper to pay out of pocket at Medsavers than to pay a copay at another pharmacy. That's essentially what we did here. 

Medsavers Pharmacy advertises themselves as specializing in helping uninsured customers. They are centrally located in Austin, and they will ship wherever it is legal to do so. I think Medsavers is a fabulous example of a business which works to help those in need yet at the same time is a financially profitable business for the owners. It is possible to help others without engaging in extortion, though our health industry would like us to believe otherwise.


© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC

This week, I have been working on preparing an October meeting for my Meetup group on jealousy. I asked members which topics were of greatest interest to them, and to my surprise, jealousy came out near the top of the list. Jealousy is not something I have dealt with at the levels other people have, so it took me a minute or two to think about when I have been most envious of others in my adult life. The first thing that jumped to my mind was paint envy. Yes, you read that correctly. I have spent the past 10+ years being jealous of other people’s colorful paint jobs in their homes. The walls of my house were painted right before we moved in 14 years ago, and they are a very serviceable and resellable white. However, after 14 years of dogs and kids and regular life, the walls are showing lots of wear and need a new coat of paint.

When my ex-husband and I made the decision as to who was going to stay in the house and who was going to move out, there really was not much of a decision to make. Because of my chemical sensitivities, it made the most sense for me to stay in the house that we’d spent thousands of dollars upgrading to make it safe enough for me to tolerate. It has electric appliances, has all hardwood and ceramic tile floors, and hasn’t had fragrance or chemicals used in it in 12+ years. Finding a house like that is a needle in a haystack, and finding another for me in our price range that meets my needs seemed like a very daunting task. My ex wanted to move to a new location to start over, and I really understood that feeling. I was jealous that he got to leave and I had to stay in the house where I’d felt like I’d been trapped for all of the years of my illness including the six that I was homebound.

As we began dividing possessions for him to take things with him, I asked if he would take the white dishes we had registered for as wedding presents. Ceramic dishes don’t usually need to be off-gassed, so this was something that I could get new and not have to worry about reacting to any chemicals on them. My ex agreed, and so I set forth in looking for new dishes. I knew I wanted Fiestaware, and I knew I wanted color. Lots of color. I told my kids that they could help pick out the new dishes I was going to buy. My older son jokingly told me he wanted orange plates with sharks on them. I told him I couldn’t help him with the sharks, but we could have orange for sure. He thought I’d gone crazy that I was letting him have his way with the dishes, but since orange was part of my plan, it was good by me! We now have Fiestaware in lapis, peacock, cobalt, plum, scarlet, tangerine, sunflower and shamrock. Our table is very festive!

For the first few years after my ex moved out, I could only do limited things to change up the house because my health was still struggling and my chemical sensitivities were still so strong. I rearranged furniture, hung some of my photographic artwork on the walls (which my ex didn’t like so I’d never had it up before), and did a few other little things to make the house feel different. It wasn’t as much as I wanted, but it was what I could do at the time.

This calendar year, my chemical sensitivities have lessened further. I finally hit the point where I could paint the interior of my house. I tested a few paints and determined that Dunn & Edwards’ Spartazero no-VOC paint was the easiest for me to tolerate. My daughter and I spent a few weeks debating colors of paint samples and finally settled on our choices. We bought paint, and as I have energy and time, my kids and I are slowly painting the house. We started with the downstairs bathroom and hallway, and the difference between white and peach paint was radical. All of us were so impressed with the difference. Today we started painting the laundry room a deep lavender. I find myself just standing there and staring at the newly painted walls in awe. I am amazed at how beautiful the color is.

So what does all of this have to do with jealousy? Yes, I was jealous of other people’s paint on their walls. But what I was really jealous of was the color in their lives. I felt like I was living my life all in white, just like my house had previously been. It was the safe choice. My life until a few years ago was the safe and logical choice, too. I was with a man whom I loved but who was not passionate about me. I hid from my metaphysical gifts. I didn’t explore things in the world but rather stayed within what were deemed safe margins. Now, I want color in my life. Not just my dishes and my walls, but my entire life. I am still rational and sensible, but I want to explore new ideas, new places, and new people. I want my life to be truly vibrant.

Sometimes examining the deeper roots of our jealousy can be very telling. It might seem like we are coveting someone else’s new sports car or their fancy house or their promotion, but perhaps there are deeper issues underneath the jealousy that we need to explore. Once we identify the true source of our jealousy, it becomes easier to work on the problem and create a situation in our own lives that helps us reduce our jealousy towards others.

© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC

A friend recently apologized to me for having used soap at a house where she had previously been. She said that the soap reeked even though the label said unscented; it was strong enough that it was bothering her. She didn't understand why that was. Unfortunately, this is an issue I'm all too familiar with and have had to explain to others before.

In the commercial market of the United States, unscented products don't actually have to be unscented. What unscented means is that there is no obvious flowery fragrance to most people's noses. However, to those who are sensitive, there is fragrance, and if you look at the label, there is fragrance in the ingredients. What unscented can mean is that the company has created a product that has an odor to it, so it has added a masking fragrance to make the product smell more neutral. This masking fragrance is how they define unscented, though it's certainly not what most of us would consider unscented.

So how does one get a truly unscented soap (or detergent or other body product)? The label needs to read "fragrance free." This will almost always guarantee that there is no synthetic fragrance added to the product. There may be natural essential oils added to create scents, though, which can be a problem for those with strong chemical sensitivities. Be sure to read the label carefully to see what is in the product. It's amazing how many products, including medicines like hydrocortisone creams, contain synthetic fragrance despite the fact that 15+% of the population is sensitive to fragrances. 

If a company does not fully disclose a product's ingredients, including what is in the fragrances themselves, consider whether or not you really want to use products from a company that is not honest enough to tell you what you are putting in or on your body. We absorb a great deal through our skin, and many fragrances contain carcinogens and other toxins. However, labeling laws don't force companies to list the contents of "fragrance" which means we don't know what we are putting on our skin. 

For my family's part, we do not buy or use any product that contains synthetic fragrances. Because I react strongly to synthetic fragrances due to multiple chemical sensitivities, this was a choice we were forced to make for health reasons. However, as one person told me many years ago, we're all chemically sensitive in some way. It just depends on whether we get migraines or fibromyalgia flares now or cancer in 20 or 30 years from the toxins. 

© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC

Toothpaste and I have had a long and arduous history. Starting in high school, I became very intolerant of most types of toothpaste. At that time, my mother would buy whatever was cheapest with a coupon and on sale at the mainstream grocery store. I couldn't stand most of what she bought, so I resorted to brushing my teeth with baking soda for a while. Once I departed for college and was able to get to the store by myself, I bought the plain, original, no fancy frills, cheapest available Colgate. If the toothpaste had tartar control or whitening or any of the other whistles and bells, I couldn't stand it.

Fast-forward 10 years in my life, and I became aware of the issues with fluoride and the other toxic ingredients in many mainstream toothpastes. I was horrified. Thus, my search for a new toothpaste began. After not too long of a search, I found one and only one kind of spearmint Tom's of Maine toothpaste in the gel form that I could tolerate. Anything else was too intense and too disgusting for me to handle. My sensitivity to the toothpaste issue was bad enough that if my ex-husband used the "wrong" toothpaste and then tried to kiss me, I'd reject him until he went back and brushed with the right one. It was amazing to me how often he would forget and use the wrong one!

However, in recent years Tom's of Maine has been bought out by a major corporation and no longer holds to the same high ideals as the small mom-and-pop company it used to be. The toothpaste I used when through at least two formula changes that I noticed; each time I begrudgingly adjusted to the new option though I wasn't thrilled about it. Thus, one day when I was standing in line at Whole Foods, a bin of toothpastes by the conveyor belt caught my eye. I had heard about using clay and salt to brush one's teeth, but I was too lazy to work on creating my own toothpaste out of it. Instead, through suggestive marketing I had chanced upon Earthpaste, a clay and salt based toothpaste. Reading over the ingredients, I was far happier with what I saw compared to the Tom's that I'd been using. Knowing I was very likely buying a product I'd have to push off on my less picky kids (at least when it comes to toothpastes) or my ex-husband, I bought one. What happened was shocking to me: I LOVED the new toothpaste. I greatly prefer the peppermint flavor to the cinnamon; the only other flavor my Whole Foods carries is wintergreen which I've avoided because wintergreen essential oil can be very difficult for the liver to detoxify.

The tube design of Earthpaste is different than most other toothpastes: it is designed to stand on end which forces one to put the cap back on, something I was admittedly bad about previously. The hole which the toothpaste comes out of is much smaller than a standard hole. This is beneficial because it means less toothpaste comes out which means less toothpaste gets used, and the amount that comes out is really quite rational compared to the wide-mouth toothpastes. However, that same narrow hole can get clogged much easier which means on occasion I'll have a wild splurt of toothpaste all across the mirror or the sink. 

It's been at least a year now since I switched brands. My last dental checkup was great. Not only did my teeth look great but I'd had two minor cavities that we'd delayed filling spontaneously remineralize. I can't attribute that to the Earthpaste, though, as I'd had one remineralize previously when I was using the Tom's of Maine. I think my immune system, my diet, and my major efforts at healing my body are far more likely to be responsible as I have not done anything to achieve the spontaneous remineralization.

When I began using Earthpaste, my teeth felt fresher and cleaner. Then, the funniest thing happened for a while after I switched brands: I was induced to start flossing daily. I have no idea what about the toothpaste prompted that strange urge, but unfortunately it didn't last. However, I have remained very happy with the Earthpaste. It's nice when a new product not only meets but exceeds my expectations!

© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC

(Please note that these recommendations are not paid for or compensated by the companies mentioned in any way. They are simply my personal recommendations of what we use in my household.)

Until one has to deal with the pain of arthritis or a similar restriction in one’s hands, one doesn’t realize how much we depend on them for basic tasks. Lyme has unfortunately created pain in my hands that is termed “Lyme arthritis”; many who have Lyme but don't realize it are misdiagnosed with arthritis. Recently I was wishing my children were at my house that day because ironically I needed help opening a childproof medicine cap that my hands were too pained to open that day. However, it goes beyond the obvious difficulties of opening jars and bottles, fastening buttons, or negotiating jewelry clasps. There are days when I struggle with many tasks that most people don’t even think twice about tackling.

One such issue, superficial though it may be, is the issue of dry skin on rough heels. Like many in this part of the world, I wear sandals the majority of the year. This leaves my heels open to exposure, beating them up quite a bit. A few years ago, a few women in my wider social circle highly recommended the PedEgg as better than any pumice stone they’d ever used. I bought one and had to agree: The PedEgg does work much better than a pumice stone. However, I found it very painful to hold and use for the amount of time that was necessary to begin working on the skin on my heels. This is something most people wouldn't have to worry about.

Then, a few weeks ago, I was on Amazon looking for something else, and Amazon suggested the Amopé Pedi Perfect electronic pedicure foot file. It was an “as seen on tv” product and certainly seemed too good to be true. However, tired of being able to scratch up my opposing leg accidentally with my heels during the night while I was sleeping, I decided to give it a try. Despite my reservations, the Pedi Perfect actually turned out to be a purchase that was well worth the $30 investment. The file works amazingly well, smoothing off incredibly rough dead skin with very little effort on the part of the user. The handle on it is wide enough to make for a comfortable grip for my weakened hands. The device requires very little pressure to be effective; too much pressure actually renders the Pedi Perfect useless. The only complaint I have about it is that it there is no device for collecting the skin dust which flies off in all directions including becoming an inhalation risk. I’d recommend using the Pedi Perfect over the bathtub or other similar collection area.

A popular saying claims that it’s the little things that make us happy. I have to agree that the Pedi Perfect is one of those little things which has made my life happier in a miniscule way. A task that was previously too challenging for me to handle is now easy and painless to perform. Sometimes technology can really make life a little easier!

© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC

I shop at Whole Foods regularly, and at the location I visit most often, I have noticed that recently Instacart has taken over the first checkout lane near the door. I didn’t really consider using their services because I assumed they would be outrageously expensive, plus, I *love* grocery shopping. It’s a luxury to me. For the six years I was homebound, I missed shopping. I would occasionally make it to the Boggy Creek Farm stand when my health was returning, but for the most part, I couldn’t shop for myself due my severe chemical sensitivities. I was dependent on others, mostly my then-husband, for ensuring I had food to survive.

I used a local produce delivery service for a while many years ago, but the produce quality was declining, and the company was substituting local products for organic but continuing to charge organic prices. They also were substituting for items that I very specifically had said NO SUBSTITUTIONS on my standing order form. I had a phone conversation with the company owner; I found him to be arrogant and ignorant. He didn’t really seem to care about anything I was upset about, but he tried to convince me that local and organic were equivalent in the big picture. At that point, I canceled my subscription. I still cringe when I see that company’s delivery trucks on the streets of Austin because it was such a bad experience by the end.

In recent weeks, my body has been weak because of the intensity of the medical treatment I have been undergoing. A friend suggested that I really should save my energy and use Instacart instead. Because of that bad experience with the produce delivery company, I was hesitant to try another delivery company’s services, but I decided that since the fridge was echoing, I needed to find some food before my kids rebelled. I didn’t want to tax a friend’s generosity again by having her take my teens shopping, so I plugged myself into Instacart while curled up on the couch. It took me quite a while to get my order together, but my preferences are now saved and ordering in the future will be very quick and easy in comparison to the first major trip (which was about 2 weeks of groceries for my family).

Instacart offers the first delivery free, but it is courteous to tip the shoppers/drivers for their services despite the free delivery. I am a very generous tipper, yet it was less than if I’d paid a personal shopper to do the shopping for me. In addition, the company did the best job I’ve ever had when a friend or stranger bought me groceries. The programming allows one to indicate a substitution or not; the user can also add notes about any given item. If they don’t have an item listed but you know that the store carries it, you can request it and upload a picture to help the shopper find it. I had six items, five of which were fairly common, that I requested that weren’t in the database. The shopper was able to find them all for me.  The only thing that I think needs some major improvement on the Instacart pages is that the produce selection shows what might possibly be available throughout the year, not what is actually in the store at this time of year. For example, Instacart had many organic stone fruits (peaches, plums, etc.) listed, but they are not yet in season or available in stores yet. 

When you check out online, you are able to indicate a one hour delivery window (or you can pick up at the store). I selected a 6-7 pm delivery time, and my driver texted just before 6:30 that she was on her way and would be there in 5-10 minutes. My kids helped her unload the car (though that was certainly not something she was expecting from her response). The driver was sweet and polite to the kids. She gave me a list of everything that they didn’t have as well as a kind note wishing me well. I was really thrilled with how well the whole process went.

I subsequently logged in to see how much delivery charges would be if I had Instacart bring me groceries again after the “first one free.”  For my local Whole Foods, the grocery prices are the same as the shelf prices at Whole Foods. Depending on the delivery time I selected, the delivery charge was between $2 and $8 total! I was shocked how low it was. Even with the tip for the driver, that still is an incredibly reasonable rate for the service provided. I was thrilled to discover this, and I will be using Instacart again. I regret not doing it sooner now that I’ve had such a great experience. Instacart also does shopping at Costco and another local grocery store which may come in handy for me.

A friend of mine in New York uses FreshDirect for her grocery delivery. She has her health, but she despises grocery shopping. Instacart seems to be targeting most of their marketing toward “busy people” who don’t have time for shopping for groceries. However, I think Instacart missing out on a huge market: The chronically ill, the disabled, those undergoing medical treatment, and new parents. All of these populations have members who can use help with grocery shopping, if not regularly, at least on occasion. In addition, Instacart has gift cards which would be great gifts for someone whom you might want to help but who lives in another city or state. Most parents with a newborn (and especially those with twins or higher order multiples) would be happy to have someone else do the grocery shopping for them far more than they need another pair of baby booties!

Overall, I am pleased to have found this new resource for assistance; I hope they continue to grow and thrive in the Austin area so that I can rely on their services for years to come.

© 2015 Elizabeth Galen, Ph.D., Green Heart Guidance, LLC

Up until several years ago, my sensitivities were so severe that I had difficulty tolerating even airborne unadulterated essential oils (EOs).  Since then, my body has healed enough that I am sometimes able to use EOs for spiritual and healing purposes, but I still don’t use them often and I don’t use them like perfume.  On those occasions when I do use them, I follow safety protocols to protect my health.

When I first was exposed to some of the multi-level marketing (MLM) essential oils such that are now flooding our society, I was instinctively repulsed by them.  I wasn’t sure exactly why, but I knew that the energy that was coming across was completely wrong.  In the years that followed, I’ve been able to discern and pinpoint more specific reasons why I had that initial and correct repulsion.

The first and foremost reason is that the sales tactics used by many agents of MLM essential oils are little more than fear mongering.  This shows up frequently in their sales pitches be it on Facebook, on their websites, or in Meetup groups.   Many of the sales agents bring up the horrific dangers of life in our world and then inaccurately argue that EOs are the solution to all of these problems.  While essential oils are extremely powerful healing agents, they are not the new miracle solution to everything.  Anyone who promises you a magic cure to everything should be held a distance.

Beyond the fear based tactics, I am dismayed by the poor education of many of the sales people for MLM EOs.  Most of these people have only had minimal training with essential oils and are trying to work well beyond their educational limits.  Essential oils can be incredibly dangerous when not administered properly.  While one can argue that these people are well-intended and want to help people heal, that argument is undercut by the fact that the more oils the salespeople sell, the more money they make.  Healing is only part of their goal in most cases.

From the lack of education stems more serious health related issues involving essential oils.  EOs need to be diluted properly.  If they are not, long term dangerous effects can result including permanent sensitization.  Techniques such as the Raindrop Therapy actually expose skin to unsafe levels of many essential oils, and the redness that many practitioners claim is detoxification is actually a reaction.  Likewise, inappropriately ingesting EOs can cause severe organ damage and even death.  Essential oils aren’t water flavorings!  (If you do suffer from an injury or illness due to essential oils, please report your problems here.)

Furthermore, most essential oils have not been approved by the FDA for use as drugs.  Thus, MLM essential oil sales agents claiming healing properties are actually in violation of national laws through some of their advertising techniques.  Recently the FDA warned two of the major MLM essential oil companies that they were in violation of these laws.

Finally, one of the most disturbing things to me is the deceit practiced by some of the companies and their founders.  This includes scientific proof of adulteration of theoretically pure essential oils with synthetic ingredients and the subsequent cover up of those findings.  A video of the deposition of one of the scientists uncovering the deception can currently be found here, but as threats of lawsuits abound, this video keeps being removed from the internet though the courts have already given permission for it to be published from what I understand.

As a result, I do not use or advocate the use of multi-level marketing EOs.  However, I do still support using essential oils, especially for spiritual healing practices.  So how does one go about doing this safely?  First of all, it’s always best to use a highly educated aromatherapist who has extensive hours of training.  In addition, one should look for objective scientific research on the safety of whatever oil one chooses to use just as one should investigate any new drug before taking it.  A great resource on essential oils is the safety manual written by Robert Tisserand.

© 2014 Green Heart Guidance

(Please note that these recommendations are not paid for or compensated by the companies mentioned in any way.  They are simply my personal recommendations of what we use in my household.)

My kitchen floor is the 25 year old vinyl squares over a slab foundation that the original owner had put in.  At some point I will have to replace it as it’s starting to chip in places, but for now, it’s serviceable, as off-gassed as it can get, and doesn’t look absolutely horrendous yet.  Like most hard floors, vinyl over concrete can be really painful on the legs and back when prepping, cooking, and/or cleaning up.  Since I love to cook and will sometimes spend several hours at a time in the kitchen, my body knows kitchen fatigue all too well. 

One solution to this is to wear shoes in the kitchen.  I do not like wearing shoes when I don’t have to, especially in hot situations like the kitchen! I bought a pair of orthopedic Crocs to only wear in the kitchen, but I found my feet sweating.  That was a short-lived experiment though it did give me a bit of relief.

Another solution is anti-fatigue mats.  These mats are designed to help reduce the strain on the body when standing for a long time.  I was initially skeptical of how much they could help, but I was tired of my body hurting so much after I spent time in the kitchen.  Most of the anti-fatigue mats contain PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a toxic chemical which releases nauseous fumes that are very difficult for the chemically sensitive to tolerate.  

I found a series of mats by Imprint that was PVC-free and actually wasn’t much more than other anti-fatigue mats.  I bought one in February 2012 and put it in the garage when it arrived.  It off-gassed very quickly and was able to be in the house within a week even with my severe chemical sensitivities.  I was really impressed with how non-toxic they are.  Best of all, the mat helped amazingly with the fatigue on my feet, legs and back in the kitchen far more than even wearing shoes did.  (Good riddance!)

The kids and I were scooting the original mat around so much that I bought two more, one for by the sink and one by the stove in addition to the original one we kept by the island counter where we prep food.  Then I started using one of the mats for while I was ironing.  I was getting tired of moving it into another room to iron, so now I bought one for just by the ironing board.  (I wear a lot of 100% cotton clothing and sew quite a bit, so the ironing board does get a lot of use in my house.)  In terms of body fatigue, the mats are so much better than the hardwoods or throw rugs in my house.  Because I loved the mats so much, I also bought one for my dad for his birthday last year.

The price varies by color and size; the 36" ones that I have purchased varied from $42-$56 when I have bought them depending if I could catch a sale or not.  My original color choice was determined by the one that was significantly cheaper than others!

© 2014 Green Heart Guidance

Because of my chemical sensitivities, many people around me know that I have to find the safest products for my personal use and for my family’s use.  I will often get messages asking me, “Hey, what do you use for sunscreen, deodorant, shampoo, etc.?”  I’m going to compile a few blog posts around some of my current recommendations.  I am aware that there is a certain big online database that gives recommendations for healthier products; however, I strongly disagree with the ranking system on that website and can create another blog post about that site.  It often lists very toxic products as safe, something that horrifies me.  I do not recommend people use that database except as a starting place in seeking out products that might be useful.

Please note that these recommendations are not paid for or compensated by the companies in any way.  They are simply my personal recommendations of what we use in my household. 

Please also note that these recommendations are good for today and probably tomorrow, too.  However, companies are often changing formulations. Sometimes companies get bought out by big conglomerations, and when they do, ingredients and quality can change drastically, usually not for the better.  So while these are the products we use now, they might change tomorrow to become less than tolerable.

Sunscreen is a really tricky one.  When I ask you to think about what a swimming pool smells like, you’ll quickly be able to bring to mind the smells of chlorine and sunscreen.  Most sunscreens stink in a way that people identify with summer, and most people want that sunscreen smell.  What that smell usually is, though, is a concoction of toxic chemicals including a large number of synthetic fragrances.  For me, most sunscreens are as terrible to tolerate as straight perfume or cologne.  I can’t get anywhere near public swimming pools, including non-chlorinated ones, because there is so much fragrance in the air.

Even many natural sunscreens are loaded with highly fragrant essential oils (some of which I react to) and some questionable synthetic chemicals.  Just because a sunscreen is sold at a natural foods store, don’t automatically trust it to be safe for you.

So when asked what sunscreen I usually wear, the answer is that I don’t.  Skin cancer paranoid people should not panic.  I do not spend much time in the sun, and when I do, my body desperately needs the vitamin D created by the sun exposure.  I am also not on bodies of water, so I don’t have sunscreen needs for that reason either. 

My kids, on the other hand, are a different story.  My daughter inherited her father’s pale Irish/English skin pigmentation, and she burns in the blink of an eye.  She has to wear sunscreen, reapply frequently, and still will often burn.  All my kids do water activities in the summer, and so they do end up needing to use a sunscreen that won’t leave a fragrant toxic residue on their sensitive skin, either.

The best sunscreen we have found in terms of being odor-free and non-toxic is UV Natural’s Baby Sunscreen (SPF 30+).  It is not cheap.  It didn’t use to be available locally, so I would order it online.  In theory, sunscreen should be replaced every year because it can go rancid, but we’ve often found tubes will last for two or three years before going bad.  So while it’s an investment, it lasts.  It’s also cheaper than medical bills for skin cancer!  However, this is the best we’ve found in terms of being tolerable to my super-sensitive system.  I can be around my kids when they have it on and not have a problem.  When I start needing to wear sunscreen, this is where I will start.

The backup recommendation that I give people is for California Baby No Fragrance (SPF 30+).  I am not fond of many of the ingredients in it, but it is more commonly available in local venues.  It’s relatively tolerable for me to be around, though it does have more of an odor than the UV Natural.

We also tried another natural sunscreen with even more minimal ingredients (organic soybean oil, organic aloe vera butter, candillia wax, vegetable emulsifying wax, zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, and cosmocil). My kids just burned too quickly with it both in zinc oxide and titanium dioxide forms.  I recommend that company for other products but not their sunscreen.  Because it’s a negative review for a small online vendor, I choose not to give the company name here.

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