Why I broke up with Sulfates

Sulfates and I have been together since before I can remember. Sulfates were familiar, easy, and made me miserable! The biggest problem was that I had no idea the sulfates were the cause of my melancholy. I blamed everything else, brands, water, and dry skin. It was a little over 2 years ago I saw the light and snapped out of my sulfate stockholm syndrome.

What are sulfates?

Sulfates are bonding agents and emulsifiers. This is what makes the products lather, bubble, and spread.

What are sulfates in?

Shampoo

very few conditioners

body wash 

facial cleanser

toothpaste

laundry detergent

hand soaps

body scrubs

vitamins

household cleanser

and many other things

Why did we break up?

 To make a long story short, showering was torture. I know that sounds a little dramatic but trust me, it was awful. While showering my eyes and throat would burn and if I was in there for too long my chest would start to ache. Seconds after leaving the shower my skin would itch and sting  like a thousand ants were crawling around biting me.

Over time my symptoms became worse and worse. I tried showering in cold water, using water softeners, using expensive salon brands nothing was working.

After years and years of dealing with this I finally figured out there must be something in these products causing this to happen.

I went though all the barely used products in my beauty graveyard and started looking for common ingredients (there were surprisingly few). After googleing the common ingredients, I learned sulfates dirty little secrets.

What are sulfates bad?

Sulfates are too harsh for our bodies and they are over used in many products.Sulfates dry out and irritate your skin, scalp and hair. It can cause dandruff and split ends.

The other tricky secret?

It goes by other names!

 SLS

 SLES

SMS

SDS

Finding sulfate free products is a huge pain, but it has made all the difference in my everyday life. I actually enjoy my shower time, my skin is silky soft (without lotion) my hair is in the best condition it has ever been in and best of all I don't feel like I need to be locked into a straight jacket to keep from itching my skin.           It just doesn't itch!


Below are a few lists of sulfate free shampoos for reference if you are thinking about going SLS free <3

For list #1 $5-$9.99 click here

                                                          For list #2 $1-14.99 click here

                                                          For list #3 $15-$19.99 click here

                                                          For list #4 $20-$24.99  click here

                                                          For list #5 $25-$29.99 click here

                                                          For list #6 $30 and up click here

Mascara Monday #2 Prolonging Your Mascara's Life

Welcome back to Mascara Monday!  Today's tips touch on how to prolong the life of your mascara.

Bacteria is mascaras mortal enemy. Once bacteria has taken over, there is nothing that can save it. The good news is there are ways to prolong your mascara's dark fate.

Tip 1
Always apply mascara to freshly cleansed face, to keep as much bacteria out of your mascara as possible.

Tip 2
Store your mascara in an even climate room that doesn't get too hot and steamy. Prolonged exposure to excessive warmth aides in the multiplication of bacteria.

Good storage: A hall closet or bedroom that stays cool throughout the year
Poor Storage: Your car or bathroom

Tip 3
Don't ever, ever, ever share your mascara. Not even with your mama. Each of us already have our own bacteria hanging out on our eyelashes that our bodies are used to, throw in someone elses bacteria and you are just asking for an eye infection.

Tip 4

Don't pump the wand in and out of the tube this can dry out your mascara faster and allows bacteria grow faster.

 Tip 5

Don't wipe the excess mascara on the top of the tube. These clumps of mascara dry out and then end up on the wand and in the tube which adds more bacteria and can make your lashes look like a flaky mess. Instead wipe the tip off on a baby wipe or tissue and make sure the tube's top is clean as well.

How do you prolong your mascara's life?