Neutrogena and Natural Skin Care

For those that don't know me, I'm allergic to sulfur. Like, highly allergic. Potentially deathly allergic. I've had 2 reactions so far, and the second one was 10 times worse than the first one. And my doctor told me that each reaction would be worse than the last. So, I try my best to stay away from the stuff.

Now, my allergy is only when I ingest it. I can apply it topically to my skin all day long and not have a problem. But let me get some medicine with sulfur in it, and I have the most horrible reactions ever (my last reaction including not being able to move because my back hurt so bad, and my skin looking and feeling like I had a chemical burn). Or so I thought. Now I'm thinking that maybe even having sulfur applied topically isn't great for me.

This theory came to me this morning. The other day, I found a coupon for a new line of products that Neutrogena has come out with: Neutrogena Naturals. If you go to the website, they say that this new line promises clearer skin without using harsh chemicals. That sounded good to me, so I decided to use the coupon and try it.

Now, I have been using St. Ives products for awhile now, both the Apricot Scrub in the morning, and the make-up remover at night (if I've worn make-up during the day).

Overall, I've been pleased with them. I mean, my skin hasn't cleared up like I would like, but I also don't get the hideous breakouts all the time like I used to. However, looking at the labels right now, I'm not sure I'm impressed anymore. The front label on the scrub (and even the website) say that this has "100% natural exfoliants." When I look at the back label, though, it's hard to find those "natural exfoliants" in the ingredients list. I see a lot of names that we talked about when I took chemistry (I hated that class). And I even see sodium laureth sulfate.  The make-up remover doesn't make those same claims, which is good, because I also can't find the natural ingredients on the ingredients list. But one point in its favor is that it also doesn't have any sulfur related chemicals in it. However, I also don't know what half the stuff on the ingredients list is, which is starting to bother me.

Now we move on to Neutrogena. I bought the purifying facial cleanser yesterday, and the first thing I noticed on the label was that it says "NO harsh chemical sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, dyes, phthalates."

I'm not sure what parabens, petrochemicals, or phthalates are, but there are no sulfates!!!! Happy day!!!! In fact, on the ingredients list, it does have things that I can't pronounce, but it also tells me where those  things came from. For example, Cocamidopropyl Betaine is coconut derived, and Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride is Guar Bean derived. Everything except the fragrance and sodium benzoate is natural. That excited me. So I tried it last night, and loved it. It smelled so good, and it felt really good, too. I almost didn't want to stop washing my face with it. And when I woke up this morning, my acne wasn't gone, but there was a lot less redness, and it wasn't as noticeable! :) Neutrogena has won me over with this line after just one use!

I still have some of my St. Ives products left, so I will use those up because I don't like wasting money, especially when I don't really have any. But, when I do run out, I'll be going out and buying Neutrogena Nautrals purifying pore scrub and fresh cleansing + make-up remover. They also have a lip balm, which I want to try, and a bar soap, which is a possibility. I prefer body washes, but if that bar soap can clear my skin as good as this face wash did, I just may switch.