My daughter was diagnosed with a milk allergy when she was 13 months old. She cannot consume it or anything with it. But, here’s the kicker – she also cannot touch it - they call it contact reactive.
This knowledge let me down a very strange road, one that I most likely never would have gone down. But we will do anything for our kids, right?
Here is a basic list of items that she cannot use from the store or she will break out in hives and swell:
- conditioner
- shampoo
- sun screen
- lotions
- hand soaps
- laundry detergent
And the only thing she is allergic to is milk. Yup – milk.
Here’s where my world was rocked. Because we do not consume personal care items, companies do not legally have to list all the ingredients found in their products. And even if they do, many ingredients are really just categories that can include thousands of ingredients labeled as just one ingredient.
What am I saying – there is NO WAY for you to know what is actually in those products. If you call the company, they won’t tell you because either they will claim it to be a trade secret OR worse yet, they simply do not know. That's right, they do not know the ingredients in their own products.
Bananas!
As if this wasn’t enough – I actually found a couple products here and there that she could use. But the next month she couldn’t. Again, I had to call the company again and again to find out why. Want to know what I was told? Oh, the formula was changed. This means that the ingredients within the product were changed. AND THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO INFORMATION ABOUT THAT CHANGE ON THE BOX OR BOTTLE.
There are only so many hours I can spend on hold or talking to baffled reps from companies. There are only so many times I could watch my child suffer through hives and swelling before I said enough is enough.
And now we make our own. It’s that simple really. Now I KNOW what is in our products and my daughter doesn’t suffer from swollen eyes, red rashes and hives.
Most people are okay with this until they learn that I make our own sunscreen. They push back and tell me how “unsafe” that is and how I am put my kid at risk. I simply smile and nod at them now. I know they don’t live our life. We have been making our own sunscreen now for 3+ years…we spend hours out in the sun and we don’t burn. I did plenty of sampling tests on myself before I ever put it on my kids. I am Mom, the CEO of my household, the finder of lost things, and the fixer of problems. We had a problem. Now we don’t. I am calling my mom win from the roof tops and I share with you today in hopes that you can make an informed decision for your family and your kids and find success like I have.
And if it’s not for you, no biggie, keep buying whatever it is you are buying from the store. We are all trying to do what’s best for our kids, right?
Here’s our homemade sunscreen recipe:
- 1 T shea butter
- 1 T coconut oil
- 1 rounded T beeswax
- 1 T carrot seed carrier oil
- 1 T red raspberry seed carrier oil
- 1 ½ T zinc oxide (do not inhale powder, work in well ventilated area)
- 10 drops each skin essential oils: myrrh, s. frankincense, lavender, Melrose
Combine first three ingredients in a double broiler and melt to combine under low to medium heat. Once mixture is combined, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add in liquid carrier oils. Carefully add in zinc oxide, stir well – avoid clumps! Add in essential oils and transfer to a 4 oz container
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