Several years ago, I went through all of my personal care products and tossed nearly everything. Anything with parabens, phthalates, artificial fragrances, dyes, sodium laureth sulfate, etc. I kept just a few items, and it’s made my daily routine much simpler too. Not to mention the fact that the air quality in our bathroom is much better without all of the fragrances from the products I no longer use. After I got rid of my conventional body lotion, I switched to using coconut oil instead. We live in a very dry area, and humidity here is usually non-existent… some sort of lotion is a must, even for those of us who are very careful to get lots of Omega 3 fatty acids in our diet.
I liked using coconut oil because of how simple it was – only one ingredient, and it’s edible (I prefer to avoid inedible body care products, since our skin absorbs whatever we put on it… why would I want to put something on my body if I wouldn’t be willing to eat it?) But it was a bit greasy. After putting it on, I would have to be careful to not let my skin rub against stuff for half an hour or so while it soaked in. I figured it was a good trade off though, for not having any nasty gunk in my lotion and for not having to pay an arm and a leg for fancy organic lotion at the health food store.
When we were getting ready for the birth of our second son earlier this year, our midwife brought over a little supply bag of stuff that she likes to have on hand for new babies. It included a tiny little bottle of grapeseed oil, labeled as a moisturizer. She told us to rub it onto our baby’s bottom at each diaper change in order to keep the initial tar-like newborn poop from sticking to his skin. She also mentioned that it would be a great all-over moisturizer for him. We used it on our son, and it worked great. I noticed that whenever I would rub it onto his skin, my hands would absorb it very quickly and didn’t feel greasy afterwards. So I decided to try it on myself, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I have been buying grapeseed oil at Costco for quite a while now – I love it for cooking as it has such a high smoke point. And now it’s my daily moisturizer too. A little goes a long way, and it doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy or sticky at all; it soaks in within just a few minutes. It has a very neutral fragrance that pretty much disappears once it soaks in, and best of all, it works! No more dry skin.
Instead of buying a tiny little bottle labeled as a moisturizer, I just refill the one I have from my giant jug in the kitchen. Definitely my current favorite personal care product: inexpensive, easy to use, no greasy legs, and no questionable ingredients.
On a completely different note, I love this post about saving bugs instead of killing them. I have always been a rescuer of creatures (so are all of my siblings – it’s just how we were raised). I can remember my little brother being afraid of the spiders (harmless, but big) that were in our farmhouse, and my mother sat on the floor with him and let a spider crawl all over her to let him see that there was nothing to fear. We grew up in an area that had lots of copperhead snakes, but also lots of other non-poisonous snakes. Rather than teaching us to fear snakes, my parents taught us how to tell the difference between the copperheads and all the other snakes. (They also taught us to be careful – to never put our hands or feet somewhere we couldn’t see, for example.) Same thing with spiders – there are very few spiders in the US that can actually cause serious harm to humans, and they’re pretty easy to recognize… the rest are only a concern if you’re a fly. So my siblings and I all have a healthy respect for creatures that can harm us, but no irrational fear of bugs, snakes, mice, etc. And we have all been known to go out of our way to rescue bugs from drowning, squashing, or being encased in concrete. Anyway, I loved Gena’s post about catching bugs and taking them outside, so I had to share it.
nikki m. says
I am the same way about the little creatures. I have taught my children to be careful not to harm them and to respect all living things. It is important that we all make room for each other and to be aware of what lives around us.
I love the grapeseed oil idea and can’t wait to try it out! Thanks for the post!
Kelly says
Did you find any problems with the grapeseed oil and cloth diapers. I know some oils can cause cloth to repel. Also, I am mostly with you on the bugs. I never kill them outside and frequently set any spiders, moths, etc I find in my house free. However…mosquitoes are an entirely different story. I kill any mosquitoes I can! Both my daughter and I (but not my husband, lucky guy!) are very sensitive to mosquito bites. My daughter and I were both bit up something fierce the other night, despite wearing {California Baby} bug spray. Each bite my daughter has is swollen up to the size of a goose egg and she is miserable. We have been doing oatmeal baths at least twice a day. So yeah, I am with you on most bugs, but mosquitoes must die!
How’s life with baby number two? Would love an update on adjusting to two (as I am just 10 weeks away!) if you had the chance or were so inclined!
Health Forum says
I am definitely going to try out this moisturizer because it seems likes that it worked out well for you
FrugalBabe says
Kelly – we only used the grapeseed oil on our son’s bottom for the first few days, until the meconium was gone. We were also using disposable diapers during those days. We had one pack of disposables that we used until he was about a week old, and then we’ve been using cloth every since, just like we did for our older son. So no issues with the oil and diapers. Not sure how it would have been if we’d been using cloth and the oil at the same time, but we only had to use a tiny bit of oil for his bottom, so it might not have been a big deal either way.
Also, I agree on the mosquitoes. I started swatting mosquitoes when I lived in Africa and was surrounded by malaria. Mosquitoes were much more than just a nuisance. And now, with West Nile Virus in the US, I continue to kill mosquitoes. We have a bug zapper light, and we swat any that we see in our house – I don’t want them biting my boys. We use Dr. Mercola’s bug repellent, and it works pretty well (still a few bites, but not many when we use it).
Best of luck with the last couple months of your pregnancy – I hope all is going well!
Leah says
I’d never heard of grapeseed oil as a moisturizer. I’ve been slowly working on greening my home (we pretty much clean with vinegar and water for almost everything), and my personal care products are the next step.
What do you use in terms of shampoo? I’ve been using Jason shampoo or Trader Joe’s shampoo, but I only shower once or twice a week to cut down on shampoo use.
Kelly says
I found it funny that right after I read this last night, I was on facebook and a friend of mine had posted that after trying every expensive and fancy cream and lotion, it was a $3 bottle of grapeseed oil that cleared up her 4 month old daughter’s eczema.
Kay says
I’ve used grapeseed oil on my face before and have only got compliments! I have absolutely no idea why I stopped it. :O
Btw, you might want to consider organic grapeseed oil. Grapes are grown with a very high amount of pesticides and the seeds might absorb them too. Organic grape seed oil is still inexpensive compared to any lotion as it lasts for ages.
Molly On Money says
I agree with Kay- when it comes to grapes go organic. Grapeseed oil is an emoillent which is very important for a moisturizer to contain. It feels so great because it hydrates and heals the skin. For a moisturizer to be complete it also needs to contain a humectant (like glycerin), emulsifier (beeswax), penetration enhancers (rosehip oil) and an active ingredient (like vit. C & E). I’ve tried to make my own moisturizer but to get a great texture is tough to get.
Kaytee says
My skin is so desiccated that I use EVOO and/or unrefined shea butter even in the summer! It doesn’t matter how much I get into my diet, I have my mother’s dry skin. I use the same EVOO that I use for cooking. I do have a small container of Honeygirl’s that is also nice, but don’t intend to replace when it’s gone. A little goes a long way so it will be awhile.
We leave the bugs in our apartment alone unless they start to get out of control and then they get relocated. My cat does tend to eat spiders when she catches them (then she runs around crazily with the same look on her face that Homer Simpson gets when he licks the backs of toads). I have no problems killing mosquitos, fleas or ticks (lyme disease is no fun, I’ve had it twice). We feed the ginormous spring time ants to the spiders.
FrugalBabe says
The little bottle of grapeseed oil I have is organic, but the big one is not :( I would never buy conventional grapes for my family to eat, so I don’t know why I have a big jug of conventional grapeseed oil in my cupboard. Oh well. I’ll make the switch next time I buy it. 95% of the groceries I buy are organic, so I don’t worry too much about the occasional conventional product. Our EVOO is organic, and the coconut oil I buy is also organic.
Leah – I’m currently using Aubrey shampoo and conditioner. It’s about $10/bottle, but I only wash my hair about twice a week, so it lasts a long time (the other days, I put my hair in a bun before I shower). In our old house, I had good success with baking soda and vinegar, but we have harder water here, and it wasn’t working as well, so I switched back to shampoo and conditioner… but nothing with nasty chemicals in it.
Connie says
FB – Do you also use grapeseed oil on your face? Also, have you noticed any difference with mosquitoes while you work in your garden? I’ve noticed that different scents seem to attract them more than others.
Thanks!
FrugalBabe says
Connie – yes, I use it on my face, and I love it! I use Dr. Mercola’s bug repellent, and haven’t had much of a problem with mosquitoes this summer. I also tend to come inside and change into long pants and a long sleeve shirt in the evenings, if I notice that the mosquitoes are particularly bad. Not the most convenient, I know, but it works for me (I do the same thing with our sons)