Flauntly Yours

I feel beauty secrets and routines are the forefront of fashion. If our bodies do not look and feel their best, we do not look our best.

I know we all do it. Use things that are not “main stream” for our beauty routines. Some are passed down from generations, others are found by reading or by accident. I never really thought about this too much. However, when I was in my early 30’s this changed this for me.

In my early 30’s I developed a rash with huge welts that was VERY itchy all over my body. It very much looked like contact dermatitis. That is a rash that develops due to your skin coming in contact with something it doesn’t like. For example, maybe a change in laundry detergent or soap. The problem was, I had not changed anything.

The itching was so terrible. I saw my primary care provider. I was started on a steroid dose pack. The rash and itch went away very quickly. I was so thankful as I was miserable. Unfortunately, when the steroid taper was finished, the rash came back rather quickly. The itching was almost unbearable. After a couple of times, taking steroids, rash and itching going away, then coming back as soon as the steroids were finished. I got allergy tested.

I did not have to do the scratch test for allergies thankfully. However, to have the blood test done, they took 8 large vials of blood. Sent it off to be tested. The lab tested for numerous environmental and food sensitivities. Surprise! I was highly allergic to Soybean.

Now, a lot of you reading this may be thinking the same thing I did when I first found out about my soybean allergy. No asian food, nothing with soy sauce, and do not eat any soybeans. This was just the beginning. I had no idea how many foods and products contained soybeans. What shocked me the most was how many soaps, shampoos, lotions, moisturizers, and makeups had soybean in them. Keep in mind I live in the United States, this maybe different in other countries.

This lead me to exploring ingredients in everything. While doing this, I saw how many chemicals were in everything we use on daily basis. I thought maybe less is more?

I started thinking about and researching ingredients. A big problem I had was finding a good lotion that did not have soy in it. I found one I love, Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum cream. I chose this because it has fewer ingredients than other lotions, has great reviews, and no soybean products. It also smells amazing. I still use this when I go on vacation out out of town. The downside to this is that the cream is on the more expensive side.

One day I was talking to a pregnant friend of mine. She was saying about how her belly was itching due to the skin stretching and using coconut oil helped. This was like a light bulb going off in my head moment. I thought, this would be a great alternative for me. Literally one ingredient, no risk of soybean being in it. It was fairly cheap compared to the lotion I was using.

I actually had some coconut oil at home in a kitchen cabinet. When I got home from work that night and took my shower, I used the coconut oil instead of lotion. It was weird at first because it was so oily on my skin, but it did make my skin feel soft. That is what we use lotion for after all. I continued to use coconut oil as lotion for years, except when on vacation or out of town. It can be messy to pack, so I used and use Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum cream on trips.

A couple of months ago, I was watching a movie with my husband that had JLo staring in it. I have always admired her work ethic, beauty, and of course fashion. I kept thinking, “I wonder what her beauty secret is to looking so young.” After reading several different articles and interviews about her, I learned she uses olive oil in her beauty products and routines.

Since this is so close to using coconut oil that I had already been using, I thought I would give it a try. I had some olive oil in a kitchen cabinet. I tried it that night after my shower. It leaves my skin oilier than the coconut oil does. Because of this I only use it at night. If I take a shower during the day or before going somewhere I use the coconut oil as it seams to soak in better and not make everything I touch as oily.

This is my “off label” beauty secret and how it became my daily routine. I wish I would have started doing this years ago.

If we look our best and feel our best, our fashion and ourselves look so much better! What is your beauty secret? Why did you start using it?

Remember confidence is beautiful and to flaunt what you got!

Flauntly Yours,
A

This is not medical advice, this is just my personal experience.

including a picture of the rash on my arm and hand. The rest of my body looked just like this