When Snowflake was just a few weeks old, she developed a nasty eczema rash. At first, we figured it might be a food allergy so I went on an elimination diet for several weeks with no luck. Then we speculated that it might be an environmental allergy to certain chemicals in her baby wash, lotion and detergent. At the time, I was using a pretty standard laundry detergent, Johnson's baby wash and Johnson's baby lotion. We threw out the lotions and baby wash and replaced it with Dr. Brommer's baby mild soap, an all natural lotion and I started using an all natural detergent. That seemed to do the trick, and her rash cleared right up!
Well, after some time using the new detergent, we ran out again and I decided to make our own and see if that works just as well. I was amazed at how easy this detergent was to make!
1 Fels Naptha Bar Soap (or any other bar soap)
1 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
Yields approx. 3 cups. Use 1 tablespoon for light loads and 2 tablespoons for heavy loads.
I don't think I will use this recipe for cloth diapers, however, since the Fels-Naptha and Borax are not good for them from what I have read (interferes with absorbency and waterproof shells). Hopefully this recipe will work well for Snowflake - I only made one batch to test it out first. I think I might use Dr. Brommer's soap next time to make sure there are no added fragrances that may irritate her skin. I plan on making a second recipe for her and Peanut's cloth diapers too as soon as I am able to go buy the additional ingredients I did not have on hand.
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