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In fact, I was jittery, nervous, cranky, and antsy afterwards. What’s up with that, right?
The first time it happened, I did not connect it with massage. But when it happened again, I began to look at what was used for the massage oil. Let me explain.
What’s in Your Lotion?
If you’ve read much of what I have written on this blog, you already know that I am highly sensitive to “things that smell” whether they be good smells or bad. “Things that smell” for me can include perfumes, fragrances, essential oils, automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke, and cooking smells – even my own cooking!
So when it came time to have a massage, I took in a lotion that was “dermatologist recommended.” I don’t just mean it said “dermatologist recommended” on the label. I had an actual dermatologist recommend it. It has to be good for you, right? Alas, not necessarily.
What you put on your body, winds up in your body!
After the first massage with this “dermatologist recommended,” I felt what I like to call weird. That’s a highly scientific term there. It’s a bit hard to describe. I felt antsy or jittery. I could not sit still. And everything was annoying to me. At the time, I did not relate it to much of anything. I just thought I was having a bad evening.
The next week, I went back for another massage. No, I’m not really high maintenance. This was in conjunction with treatment for a shoulder problem. Driving home from the massage, I began to have the same feelings. I also felt an intense urge to take a shower. I’m not one to take showers at 5 in the afternoon normally. That day, though, it seemed urgent. While I’m in the shower, I can feel the lotion rinsing off. It has a particularly silky/oily feel when it gets wet.
That was a big “A-Ha” moment because then I put all the pieces together. It was the lotion that was causing those feelings. Which is scary to me to think that a lotion can affect your nervous system like that. After all, your brain is the hub of that nervous system. Part of me thinks the reaction is related more to the amount of lotion used. Even at that, though, who knows the cumulative effect?
That lotion had a long, long list of ingredients. Most unpronounceable and likely many of them petroleum-based. It’s highly likely that some of those ingredients are toxic. And few, if any of them, have been tested.
The lotion went directly to the trash soon after that second massage. And I am very cautious about the lotions and oils that I use now. In fact, that experience is prompting me to create lotions that are made of natural ingredients.
We went to the newest Zoe’s Kitchen for lunch this past Saturday. The employees wore shirts with the company logo on them. And on the back was this quote from Zoe herself: “If it wasn’t food 100 years ago, it isn’t food now.” I think I would extend that to anything you put on your body as well. As we know, everything you put on your body eventually winds up in your body.
Some will say that I am “anti-science” for this belief. I disagree. I am not anti-science. I just have stricter criteria for testing of things that we put in or on our bodies.
I’m writing this post on Monday and have another massage scheduled for Tuesday. I’ve discussed everything with this massage therapist and we will be using only natural oils. I am expecting a relaxing experience.
Are you concerned about the products you use and how they can affect you and your family?
- Where Am I Now? - March 9, 2016
- Of Cantaloupes and Cucumbers - April 28, 2015
- Antiperspirants Vs. Deodorants - March 31, 2015