Put Me In A Bubble

 Scratch Test September 24, 2015

40 and Loving It!

Bear with me, this is going somewhere allergy related.

I turned 40 in March. Most women dread it, but for me the birthday came and went without incident. There were no tears, no time lost examining myself at the mirror wondering where my youth has gone.

People always, and I mean always, gasp and then ask what my secret is when they find out how old I am. It usually comes up when I meet someone and we get to talking about our families, and I mention that my oldest son is turning 20 this summer. My daughter will be 18 in the fall, and the next one in line will be 16 after Christmas... and then there's the 7 year-old. People assume he's my oldest but then I say I have four children and it doesn't add up. Then I say I'm 40 and they say, "No way!"

Here's a selfie I took on my cell phone after my haircut one month before my 40th birthday. I'm just wearing a smidge of mascara, otherwise there's no makeup, not even powder.

Now, still in the spirit of sharing untouched photos, here's a photo of me and my husband getting into position with a blind couple at their wedding. Do I look 40 here? How old does my husband look? 

To answer my question, he is 4 years younger than I am. He said he looks old in this picture. Ha! I almost said, "Next to me you do."

Now, to the point. 

Obviously there are many factors that affect one's appearance. I don't smoke, and since I became aware of my allergies, I've given up prepackaged and processed foods. But I admit, I don't drink enough water, I don't exercise as much as I should, and I go to bed pretty late and wake up early. I could do better. Instead, I rely on my skincare products to pick up the slack.

I am wary of trying new skin products because most have either soy or papaya or some variety of salicylic acid, three things on my allergy list. I wash my face with the amber Neutrogena bar, and I use plain, raw shea butter as a face and body cream.  People constantly tell me that their products are better and I can hardly bear the ensuing argument. But then I was given a sample of Nerium. I looked over the ingredients, and as far as I could tell at first glance, it looked safe for me. I gave it a shot, and three days later I was noticing marked improvements in my skin texture and tone, and my eyelids started lifting or depuffing, whichever make them look tighter and brighter.

The best part is, I didn't have any adverse reactions. 

I safely switched to this, nothing went wrong, nothing itched, nothing broke out, and nothing burned. I use the night cream, which is essentially a mask you leave on all night. After it soaks in completely, I slather on my usual shea butter layer, which is completely acceptable. Nerium does its work while I sleep, then in the morning my skin looks and feels fabulous. Now I look at people in nearly any age group and I want to tell them about Nerium, but that seems rude. So I'm telling everyone, without bias, about this wonderful product that I secretly call "Youth Serum." 

Realistically you'll notice the texture change pretty quickly, but it takes a week or so to get an idea of what it will do for wrinkles and puffiness, and in about 3 weeks, people remark that when they compare before and after photos, there's a real noticeable improvement. 

Another tip: I am a childcare provider, and my knees are (were) embarrassingly rough and dark colored from crawling around with the kids every day. I was mortified when I tried on the dress I wore to the wedding. I thought I was going to have to wear stockings, but Nerium AD saved the day! I also use it on my hands and slip on cotton gloves before I sleep.  It used to be that even if my face looked youthful, my hands gave my age away. Not anymore!

So I urge you to head over to Nerium through my link, and read over the testimonials, the ingredient list and the science behind the product. It's not an "all natural" product by any measure, but it's fantastic and you might be able to tolerate it. This is the first anti-aging product, or "wrinkle cream," I've come across that doesn't have harsh peel chemicals. Bonus: this one is gluten free and soy free.

If I could put sparkles and animations around that, I would. Gluten free and soy free. No papaya. No salicylic acid. 

I am not a Nerium agent. I do feel obligated to mention that if people sign up to be preferred customers through my link I get free product. But the same benefit is available to any other customer as well. If you sign up for recurring deliveries (Preferred Customer), and then get just 3 people to do the same, your future deliveries are free as long as they are also receiving deliveries. So don't let the cost scare you! They also have a 30-day money back guarantee. If you have a reaction or just don't see results within 30 days, you can get your money back. So again, don't be deterred by the cost. 

I would pay nearly any price to stay youthful! And looking youthful makes me feel youthful, which makes me happy, outgoing, adventurous, which leads to feeling more youthful, and helps me feel healthy. Feeling good is an excellent motivator to maybe try something new, change your diet, make new friends, whatever you've been wishing you had the confidence to do. 

Here's an ingredient list, and a link to the website follows. I have been told that some people have temporary "sensitivity" that is very short lived, and the advice is to stick with it if it's not a true allergic reaction. That's a personal decision, and that's where the 30-day guarantee comes in, in my opinion. I'm thrilled that I didn't have any reaction at all. Not even redness. Good luck!

Water, NAE-8 Proprietary Blend (Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Nerium Oleander Extract), Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Peptide Matrix (Collagen, Elastin, Glycosaminoglycans), Caffeine, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Isohexadecane, Ceteareth-20, Polysorbate 80, Sorbitan Stearate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Dimethicone, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Coleus Forskohlii Root Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Disodium EDTA, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate.

Nerium Website: dianabentley.nerium.com

Oral Allergy Help

What is Oral Allergy? In short, it's a reaction to food that is localized to the mouth. It's not the kind of thing that causes shock or a full-body reaction (although clarify all of your symptoms with your doctor).

Sometimes, when I eat bananas or avocado sometimes I develop red patches on the skin around my lips. Every time I eat them my gums throb and burn like I swished acid around my mouth. Sometimes this happens when I eat apples. I avoid bananas and avocados all the time. Washing my apples really well before I eat them seems to help.

Since we can't always control what gets into our food, I always carry two things: an EpiPen and Benadryl. We know the EpiPen works, but here's a different way to use Benadryl. My doctor told me in the event of an oral allergy response, just put a bit of liquid benadryl in my mouth, swish it around and spit it out. Genius! I'm asleep within 10 minutes of an ingested Benadryl dose, so I only take it if absolutely necessary. The "swish and spit," I can do.

To make it even easier, I found these pre-measured single dose packets, which are much easier than trying to lug around bottles of liquid Benadryl. Also, liquid is generally faster acting than pills, so if I do need to ingest a dose, I like having these around.

I heard at one point these were recalled or discontinued, but I have seen them around. Walgreens and CVS sell store-brand versions as well. I ordered a large supply from drugstore.com when I got mine, just in case.

New to Food Allergies?

Visit the FARE website and download "Your Food Allergy Field Guide."

Food Allergy Awareness Week

Food Allergy Awareness Week Starts Tomorrow. Head over to the FARE website for profile images, banners and shareable fact images. Spread the word, raise awareness! 

Learn more at FARE

Eat This Regular Food: Breakfast Burritos

This is not exactly a recipe of the purest ingredients, but it's extremely helpful in my house. It feeds The Six without gluten, soy, or dairy contamination. I use soft corn tortillas, and everyone else uses fajita size flour tortillas for theirs. These packets of potatoes, sausage, and scrambled eggs are in the freezer, ready to grab and reheat. Use veggie sausage, turkey sausage or traditional pork if you like, even substitute egg whites in place of whole eggs if you prefer.

Cleaning Done Right

I used to be on Etsy. I loved Etsy. The things people made from ordinary items were marvelous. There, I stumbled upon Chase Street Soap Co. and two of my all-time favorite products. She sells bar soap for dogs that soothes the skin and helps release loose fur, and also repels insects. My other favorite is her laundry detergent. She calls herself the Soap Lady. Making all those soaps, one day she found herself with a heap of soap shavings going to waste. Why not mix them into a basic laundry detergent, she thought. Thank you Soap Lady! By the way, she has moved to a new website, away from Etsy. 

The original appeal to the detergent was that I only needed a tiny bit per load. The Bentley Six generate a lot of laundry. Additionally, my daycare babies and toddlers spit up, poop, and dump food on themselves. I wash a lot of washrags, sheets, and baby clothes on a daily basis. Originally, the basic formula of this detergent was alluring only second to the cost. I have an H.E. washer, so 1/2 TBSP does a whole load and everything gets clean, every time. I pay $18 plus shipping, and I buy it about 4 times a year. Take a minute to do even the most basic math and it's way, way cheaper than store-bought detergent no matter how you add it up. 

Sometimes I procrastinate. A few months ago, I put off ordering more detergent until I was completely out. No worries, Soap Lady ships Priority Mail, so I just had to get through a few days. Spoiled by her cost-effective product, I bought the smallest box of the cheapest powdered detergent I could find, just to get us through. 

Then the itching began. Three days later, still itching and now my skin was burning and I had trouble sleeping with the sensation of bugs crawling all over me. I swore I had mites. The detergent arrived after a few days, and I rewashed my clothes. A day later, no more itching. Now I have a new appreciation for cleaning products with minimal ingredients. 

I scoured the Web for more information and I found this great list of 10 cleaning products you can make with 10 regular ingredients. Bonus, it's inexpensive. 

I primarily clean everything with a mixture of vinegar and water these days. I can spray it on the windows, the toilet, my stove, and the kids' table. It's safe and effective. Yesterday I mopped all the floors and gave the floor cleaner recipe a try. I love it! 

My only words of caution are to try these things in small proportions before diving in. The bathroom cleaner worked great but wasn't something I want to deal with again, and for laundry detergent I am going to try a soap bar called Fels-Naptha instead of Ivory. I hear that Ivory has trouble dissolving in the wash, and since I always wash with cold water I'm sure Ivory won't work for me. I'm still a loyal Soap Lady customer, but I've learned my lesson about not having things on hand. 

Lastly, the Soap Lady also sells essential oils if you're interested. I was very happy with an orange scent I purchased a while ago. However, I like to keep things basic so I don't even mess with essential oils. 

This list is from a website called Living Well and Spending Less. If you're looking for products with minimal ingredients, pay attention to savvy shoppers and thrifty housewives, er, house managers. To download your own 8 1/2" X 11" copy, click on the image below and then scroll toward the bottom of her page.

Green and Thrifty Cleaning Products at LivingWellSpendingLess.com