Sustainable Beauty: By Nature Handmade Soaps’ Baby Salve

My skin’s been acting strange lately and has been in its worst state for the past couple of weeks. It’s severely drying out, and when I say, drying out, it’s almost like I have skin dandruff, especially around the eye, nose and mouth area (good thing I don’t have acne breakout). I’m certain my skin’s breaking out due to stress or whether if I already have a skin disease (e.g. Psoriasis or skin asthma), the latter, I’m not so sure of. But you get the picture, my skin condition is really that bad and it’s not an exaggeration.

I ran out of organic stash and since I’ve been so busy lately, I can’t squeeze in time to buy my supplies online (as you know, most organic products are not readily available at our local stores). I live in the southern part of Metro Manila; we have a physical store at a nearby mall but they don’t carry BNHMS products. I switched to Celeteque moisturizer, thinking my skin built an immunity of some sort to organic cosmetics; hence the “not working anymore” part. But even the gentlest moisturizer has been drying it out. And so it seems that my skin’s reacting to non-organic products and developed some kind of a super sensitivity to chemical-laden cosmetics even if it’s labeled “hypo-allergenic”.

Luckily, my friend Jen brought me to Mercato Centrale in The Fort a week ago and I was almost jumping for joy when I saw a booth selling my HG moisturizer. My head was literally spinning around. I’ve been using this balm for a good three years and here’s what I got to say about why up to now, I’m still in love with BNHMS’s Baby Salve.

It’s 100% organic. It’s chemical-free. And it’s cheap compared to VMV’s Booboo Balm (approximately P200). It’s a multi-purpose salve that can be used for most baby concerns like nappy rash, insect bites, eczema, dry patches and even small cuts and booboos. Plus it’s my HG night cream.

When my skin is drying out real bad, I use this to soften up the rough spots. It’s a staple in my stash and it’s been my night cream for three-years now. It’s sticky considering that most of its ingredients are organic oils, but when applied in front of a fan or in an air-conditioned room, it easily absorbs in the skin (if you have oily skin, you can’t use it as a day moisturizer because it would surely make you look like a sweaty grease ball). It’s a great barrier balm sans the chemicals. It dries up my pimples and gives me that glowing glow upon waking up when used as a night cream. A colleague of mine asked me long before if I’m taking any Glutathione supplements and if I have a regular facial session with a dermatologist. Yep, that good and it’s working for me.

And Why Alcohol Drinking is bad for Your Health

So what are the other culprits; besides stress, laundry detergents and chemical-laden cosmetics? Apparently, my skin has also turned acidic. I didn’t notice not until the night I’ve cried for almost three-hour tops and saw the horror the following morning. The skin under my eyes has been burnt with my tears! It’s the stress and too much alcohol drinking. Listen to your mother. Drink moderately or better yet (if you have extra sensitive skin like me), don’t drink at all. Errrr, I’m back to being annoyingly boring. Damn.

**I’ve noticed that BNHMS’s products tend to spoil easily—their balm, sunscreen, body butter and oil lotion (well, almost all 100% organic products tend to; this is a good thing though if you want the assurance that you’re getting its purest and safest ingredients). I store them up in the fridge in a separate container so it would last a bit longer. **