Beeyoutiful, a TOS Crew Review

Beeyoutiful is a company that offers consumers natural products for your skin and immune system.

Beeyoutiful sent my family two products to review for you: miracle skin salve and orange B.A.L.M. for the lips. I am a shopper who intentionally seeks products that contain no petroleum or mineral oil. And Beeyoutiful delivers. I don't have a lot to say about the products beyond that - Beeyoutiful uses the ingredients that I want in products, they don't have the ingredients that I don't want, and the company catalog continues to grow with more items that appeal to me.

Click the photos to go to the product pages with ingredient info.

I like coconut based products, and the first ingredient of miracle skin salve is coconut oil. My homeschooler and I used the miracle skin salve a lot. The scent is pleasant, too. I have eczema in both ears, and the miracle skin salve was both soothing and reduced the itching. My daughter has some eczema spots on her legs and she uses it on them. She would not continue to use it if it were not soothing to her. miracle skin salve is priced at $15 for 2 ounces.

The other product we received is Beeyoutiful All-Natural Lip Moisturizer, or B.A.L.M. I have to hid lip balms from my daughters if I want to keep them. :) This one is worth hiding from them. We received the orange scented balm, and orange is not my favorite scent/flavor for products (because it reminds me of yucky baby aspirin from when I was a child), yet this essential oil used to scent this balm is nice and the balm does not taste orange-y to me. It makes my lips feel great when they are chapped and dry. B.A.L.M. is priced at $3 a tube.

Please read the reviews of my Crewmates about these and other Beeyoutiful products here.

Beeyoutiful sent me miracle skin salve and B.A.L.M. to review for you. I was not paid for this review and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

What's Eating Your Child?

I requested this book to review because I wanted to share it with you. Kelly Dorfman has been instrumental in teaching me how to be a detective with my daughter's ups and downs. I was fortunate to attend several presentations when different organizations brought Dorfman to workshops and conferences near me. (Somewhere, among all the boxes as we are in various stages of unpacking, is a Dorfman presentation on disc on the topic of the relationship between sensory issues and nutrition.) I even know one family (in real life) who consulted with Dorfman for their child and were impressed with her knowledge.

This is one VIR. Very Important Resource.

"What's Eating Your Child?" (with the longest subtitle I've ever seen, "The Hidden Connections Between Food and Childhood Ailments: Anxiety, Recurrent Ear Infections, Stomachaches, Picky Eating, Rashes, ADHD, and More. And What Every Parent Can Do About It") gives parents, and perhaps teachers, doctors, and other professionals, too, an education into what illnesses and behaviors can sometimes be food and nutrition related.

Shortly before my daughter's second birthday, I had the courage to peek diagnostic criteria for autism in the DSM-IV, and realized in just a few moments that yes, my child is on the autism spectrum. I called the early intervention coordinator in our county and asked her, "What do I do, now?" And she told me about a conference. A biomedical conference. Coming in less than a fortnight. And I went. And between the tears (I cried a lot during that two days), I heard people, not just the professionals who were presenting that weekend, but also parents, describe the differences in their children when diets were changed, when nutrition was addressed, when dyes, preservatives, gluten, dairy were removed, when probiotics were given. I'd never even heard of a lot of this stuff.

Red, flaming cheeks, a sign of yeast in the gut? What? Head banging a sign of a calcium deficiency? Excessive ear wax = a possible need for essential fatty acids? (What's an essential fatty acid?) There seemed to be a never ending list of often familiar symptoms and what might be causing them. I thought these people were nuts, but I heard the same stories over and over from different people, parents who seemed really serious (and not nutty otherwise).

Slowly, I realized that we (society) are often medicating children when we need to look at their nutrition and make changes there, first. (I'm not saying meds aren't necessary; sometimes they absolutely are.)

When I became a believer in what I originally thought were nutty theories, when I began to make connections between foods and my daughter's behavior, I wanted a book, a guide, a reference. (Part of our experience is described here.) Outside of what I thought was a rather old book by Doris Rapp, MD about allergies (which is quite good), there wasn't one.

Now there is.

Dorfman walks the reader through the process of being a nutrition detective in What's Eating Your Child?. She uses case studies from her own practice to describe challenges and behaviors in children, and to illustrate her thinking process. She tackles an interesting mix of challengings, including ADD/ADHD, chicken skin, allergies, hives, constipation, diarrhea, lack of growth, tummy aches, spitting up, picky eaters, insomnia, anxiety, tantrums and meltdowns, acid reflux, learning disabilities, speech delays, depression, eczema, a bi-polar misdiagnosis, ear infections, and worriers.

Check it out for yourself: Chapter one is here. A bonus chapter that did not make it into the book is here. Mrs. Dorfman blogs here. Her web site is here. Some of her articles are here.

What's Eating Your Child? is a 334 page paperback priced at $13.95 and is published by Workman Publishing.

If I had the funds or a magic wand, I'd put this one in the pediatrician's lobby, in the gasteroenterologist's waiting room, in early intervention libraries, in autism clinics, in ASA chapter offices, Down Syndrome groups, etc., across the country. I wish I'd had it to give my daughter's teachers and school staff when she was in school and to her ABA staff when we did that. I often felt like I was swimming against a current at school and with behaviorsts, when I was the only parent at school who was making dietary changes and when the behaviorists wouldn't look at anything that didn't have the right kind of scientific study behind it. Some of you are going to want this one to share with your parents and in-laws (sometimes they're the last ones to join families in their efforts to help children).

This one is another library must-have. Parents, teachers, professionals who work with kids need easy access to this resource.

Workman Publishing sent me a review copy of "What's Eating Your Child?". I am not paid for this review, I do not benefit should you purchase a copy based upon this blog post, and am not obligated to provide a positive review.

My Mama's Love Organic Skin Care Review

I have had eczema all of my life. One of my children apparently inherited that vulnerability from me. She happens to be the child with an autism diagnosis.

The more I learn about toxins, the less I want gasoline on my skin. Every time I read the ingredient "petrolatum" or "petroleum" on a label, an image of a gas pump pops into my mind.

For years, I used prescription and over-the-counter steroid products on my eczema. The minute I stopped, the rash returned. Seems the steroid temporarily suppressed my rashy reaction, but didn't cure the rash. Now, I know that the skin is the largest organ, and it is important for detoxification. Rashes are viewed as part of the detoxification process by some alternative and complimentary professionals who don't advocate suppressing a rash with a steroid cream.

Still, my skin and my daughter's skin is dry, and, while we've gotten a handle on the foods that contribute to our eczema, we still need a soothing something, sometimes, a soothing something that does not contain chemicals, certain allergens like soy or sunflower, and that is organic.

I'll stop right now and make a disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice.

I am a mom who has struggled with eczema my whole life who avoids products like petroleum jelly and Vick's Salve because of the petroleum, but who misses petroleum jelly and Vick's Salve. I'm a mom who has wasted spent lots of time in supermarket, health food store, and department store aisles reading labels on lotions and ointments, trying to find a skin care product that is organic, contains no chemicals, and no products on our list of allergens.

Leslie McCann is a mom who understands. She created a concoction for a child, who like me and my daughter, is challenged with painful and itchy rashes. She came up with an entire line of organic, chemical free products. And now McCann is making her products available to moms like me.

Allow me to introduce to you her company and product, My Mama's Love. McCann sent me at no charge, in order to review, a 1.7 oz jar of Complete Skin Ailment Curative; a 1.7 oz jar of Mama Nose Best; and two .50 oz tins of Fixx-My-Lipz, one peppermint flavored and one orange flavored. The full product line is here., with lists of ingredients, which you can browse from the comfort of your computer. Shop here.

Complete Skin Ailment Curative is priced at $9.oo for a 1.7 oz jar.
Mama Nose Best is priced at $10 for a 1.7 oz jar.
Fix My Lipz are $3.50 per .50 oz screw-top tin.

I like the products that McCann sent me. The nature of the oils she used in each formulation means a little goes a long way. There are no chemicals or artificial ingredients, and the jars are glass. (Plastic means more exposure to toxins. From what I've read as I've researched, glass containers are better.) Remember when Vick's Salve used to come in heavy glass jars? They're heavy -- McCann wrapped them well -- and the cost of shipping concerns me, but I locate the bubble-wrap-lined-envelope and shipping on the package of four items that McCann sent me is under three dollars. McCann tells me that "the .50 and .85 ounce sizes are $1.50 to ship and the 1.70 and 4.0 ounce sizes are $2.00 to ship." The company facebook page mentions a new option to recycle their containers for reuse.

I am tickled to pieces to find a Vick's Salve / Mentholatum substitute! I missed those products. My husband, whom I very rarely include in my blog (his preference), tells me matter-of-factly as I am playing with the jar of Mama Nose Best, that, "Vick's is all about the scent." when I tell him it's an organic and chemical free substitute for Vick's Salve. (He misses Vick's, too, I think.) I opened the jar of Mama Nose Best for him to sniff -- he says it's pretty good. ;) He generously gave me permission to share that with you. (He is testing the Complete Skin Ailment Curative with me, too.) The scent of Mama Nose Best is more subtle than the store petroleum brands and I like the hint of mint in it. Mint is not as strong as eucalyptus. I used it on my sore nose this week during a bad cold/cough, and I rubbed it on my chest at night. It's nice! ;) Mama Nose Best is scented with essential oils (not synthetic scents).

I'm using the Complete Skin Ailment Curative on some stubborn dry spots that tend to flake. It does not break out my skin or irritate my skin and it's soothing. It's firmer at room temperature and melts in my hand. I use it at night, and yes, I feel an improvement in my skin. I need to get in a routine of using it every night.

Fixx-My-Lips lip balm is soothing, not too heavy, and the peppermint flavor is not too minty. One natural brand from a trendy specialty store known for natural products is too minty and burns my lips -- Fixx-My-Lips does not give me that burning sensation. I prefer a stick of balm, but the ingredients in Fixx-My-Lips are probably not firm enough to make a stick. I gave the orange flavored Fixx-My-Lips balm to my middle schooler. She likes it and says it soothes her lips.

I like products made by moms, particularly when those moms understand our situation because they live it, too.

If you're avoiding petroleum products, looking for natural and organic, and have a long list of allergens to avoid, check out My Mama's Love Organic Skin Care - Leslie McCann's probably got a product that fits your needs.

Leslie McCann blogs here. You can become a fan of My Mama's Love on facebook.

Delayed food allergy testing, before and after photos

I am prompted by a discussion on a Yahoo group to post some before and after photos of my daughter. I sometimes post photos of her, simply skim my archives to see her now.

Our GFCF diet anniversary is next week: EIGHT years. We slid for several years, staying *mostly* GFCF, but using digestive enzymes to allow occasional, deliberate infractions for pizza or a sandwich on wheat bread. We've struggled on-and-off w/ eczema. I have it, too. The eczema became a family member for a while, and I wasn't sure what was contributing to it. My baby girl's face showed evidence that something was affecting her skin, but what? (Double click on the photos below for a close-up of the rash on her face.)

A "Food-Specific IgG Antibody Assessment" from US BioTek Laboratories revealed delayed food allergies to gluten, casein, soy, and several other foods, including pineapple. When we saw the lab results, we immediately returned to strict GFCF again, also removing soy. We switched to a pineapple-free enzyme, too.

My daughter's skin improved within a few days of changing the diet. I thought you might like to see the photos.

About two months after we returned to a strict GFCF diet plus soy free and a few other foods, my daughter ate a slice of pizza. I caught her with the crust in her hand. Wheat, milk (mozarrella was one of the biggies on her delayed food allergy test), and probably soy were in that slice. I gave her digestive enzymes (a bromelain-free enzyme) and crossed my fingers, hoped for the best. For two days, I saw no changes. On the third day, she was veeeeery easily frustrated, screeching more protests at me, resisting joining me in anything. On the fourth day after the dietary infraction, she was much worse, behaviorally, melting down (or as HANDLE says, "flaring up") with self-regulation decreasing. US Biotek's paperwork says that the delayed food allergy REACTION can be observed up to FOUR days later. Well, guess what? On the FIFTH day, the eczema returned to her face and legs.The pizza infraction was an eye opener for me. Having her at home with me in a homeschool setting has allowed me to see a lot more. I was missing a lot when she was in public school.

When we saw our DAN! doctor again in person several months later (we were there for one of many strep tests), he walked into the exam room and stopped in his tracks, his jaw dropped for a moment, and he turned his whole body around to look at me, asking with loud excitement, "WHAT DID YOU DO???? WHAT DID YOU DO????" I was caught off guard -- I had no idea what he was referring to (we had not seen him in a few months and I had forgotten that he had not yet witnessed the improvement in the eczema). He was amazed that we were not using any cream or ointment or anything on it. We just changed her diet.

Here's a BEFORE food allergy testing revealed some delayed food allergies that we didn't know about:

And here's an after (these photos are taken a year apart)


Another BEFORE


And another AFTER