Natural is good, to a degree. I like natural.
My husband recently developed hives and then his arms and legs began to swell. He downed antihistamines for a few days before we sat down with a calendar and tracked the start of the itching to one particular week. That week he went to the dentist and was prescribed antibiotics. A few days later he quit taking the pills, blaming them for the developing welps. A new truck also came into play. I was the one allergic to the truck (sneezing, stuffed nose, etc…). And then we also remembered that we had switched to hand-made natural laundry soap that very same week. Bingo.
The natural laundry-soap helped me with my sensitivities to certain fragrances, but it certainly did not help my husband with his skin. Once we realized the laundry soap was the culprit I immediately re-washed every fabric that he comes into contact with, and just like that, at a snap of a finger, his arms and legs quit swelling.
There is a reason we have conveniences. There is a reason some products are commercially made. And sometimes natural isn’t the best, not for everyone.
Yesterday someone mentioned a supplement that they wanted to try for weight loss. My interest was piqued, and my questions followed. How does it work with your prescriptions? What side effects does the supplement have? Has it been time-tested, or safety tested? The person replied to me, “It is all natural, it has to be good for you!” Wrong! Very, very wrong!
An all natural body cream, with no preservatives (and there is NO natural preservative that works effectively), is trouble waiting to happen. Do you want to spread invisible fungus on your body? An all natural supplement does not guarantee safety (Google all natural supplementst that have resulted in permanent health damage and death). A mushroom is natural, but that does not mean we can pick just any mushroom from the forest and cook it for dinner.
As I said, I like natural. I like foods and cosmetics made from whole ingredients, but natural does not mean safe. And natural does not mean no chemicals, every natural thing that exists on this Earth is made up of chemical compounds. Chemistry and chemicals are not four letter words.
Buy smart. Live smart. Be smart. Natural isn’t always the answer.
Annie’s Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps – Smell and Feel the Goodness!
Annies Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps 
My Mom can only use certain soaps and such and wear certain material, etc. because of her eczema as well as her allergies and asthma (she can’t handle strong perfumes and strong scented candles).
Amy
I left you a link Mary and this is the perservative I use in my lotions it is natural and does work. I do agree though natural is not best for everyone. Thanks for sharing Rebekah
http://www.theherbarie.com/Leucidal-Advanced-Aloe-pr-469.html
Rebekah, I had not heard of Leucidal. It appears to be a new preservative (?), and would definitely be worth a shot for cosmetic makers to check into and have challenge tested in their formulas. Thank you for the link.
Your welcome have a great day!
Rebekah, what preservative where you using before you began using Leucidal? If you don’t mind me asking. Did you need to make any adjustments to your formula when you switched preservatives?
This is a good article, Mary! I wonder what the culprit was in that natural laundry detergent? It is true that people often think they are allergic to the synthetic or “chemical” components of their products, when it may be more likely that it’s the aloe vera or the essential oils! Natural ingredients are hugely complex chemical compounds, making them far more likely to be sensitizing. Synthetics are generally of more simple chemistry and quite sterile.
My husband later reported that he was allergic to Tide when he was a child. The natural laundry soap did smell close to the powdered detergents we had in the house when we were children. I am leaning towards the culprit being the laundry soda or the borax. But, it could also have been the essential oils, one of which was lemongrass. I do want to add here, he does not have a sensitivity to any of our handmade soaps.
Good points about the complexity of natural ingredients, Katie. Plant based oils, essential oils, are extremely complex, and the molecules easily enter the body due to their structure.
So true, Mary.
That is exactly why I am hesitant to use those all-natural weight loss supplements. If you research the forums you can get a lot of insight to
how they and other things have effected individuals.
There is ton of info on the web about loss of life and organs due to “natural” weight loss supplements. Natural is good. But everything is a chemical, natural or not. Some things are just not so good for you.
Besides all of that, losing weight the hard way is probably smarter (but difficult). Eat less and get active.