Lunapads Part II - w/Femme Rock!

I reviewed LunaPads back in May while I still was pregnant with Squiggle. Now that I've had Squiggle, I've had the opportunity to try them out a bit more as they were intended.

Postpartum with Bobble, I bled for 5 weeks. I had normal (cycle-like) bleeding for a few weeks before it tapered off. Unfortunately for this review (but fortunately, for me!) my bleeding tapered off to very light bleeding/spotting 2 days after Squiggle was born. Blood is blood, however, so I was able to review these the rest of the way... I just can't tell you how long they would hold up with heavier bleeding.

This review will also be without pictures of the LunaPads, as I feel I posted plenty in the previous review (seen here), and I figured that even though they are clean, nobody wants to see pictures of used cloth pads... even if they don't have any blood stains.

Yeah, you read that right. ZERO blood stains. I was fascinated by this. I truly expected them to look... well... used. Even after being washed. That wasn't the case. I wasn't certain how to store them, and so I sort of tried a few different ways. The first week I tried just putting them in a wet bag and washing them with towels when it was time. The next week I was rinsing them with our diaper sprayer before adding them to the wet bag. Personally, I saw no difference... though if I was experiencing a heavier flow, I would have sprayed them automatically.

I used Rockin' Green's FEMME ROCK as my detergent. I followed the simple washing instructions and was pleasantly surprised as to how clean they came. No blood stains. However, there were interesting "bleach" stains. The only thing was, no bleach is in Femme Rock, and I didn't use any bleach. I contacted BePreparedPeriod.com about this to see if they had any insight.

Slight backstory: When I first was using these (during pregnancy) I washed them and noticed he same thing... but I thought maybe it was the discharge that is so common during pregnancy when you're losing your plug... so I thought maybe I just didn't get them clean enough, but they still looked that way when I rewashed. They looked, felt and smelled clean.

Back to the current story!

My response from BePreparedPeriod.com was as follows:

This one is a bit of a strange, but not uncommon phenomenon. Basically, depending on the Ph of your menstrual fluid, some people can experience a sort of bleaching effect when their period comes into contact with the natural fabrics used in Lunapads. It's nothing to worry about and wont effect the performance of the pads in any way, it's just a bit surprising for people experiencing it for the first time.

So, I definitely felt a bit better after that email. Everything was coming clean. I am still a "cup" girl... but I have to say I am definitely pleased with the LunaPads.... especially knowing they didn't look horribly blood stained. That was probably my biggest concern with using them, and it never ended up being an issue.

Femme Rock did an amazing job getting the LunaPads clean, too. I love that I have a detergent to use that will last many cycles and is phosphate, scent, and SLS free. It is enzyme-based and formulated to focus on proteins, so your mama cloth will get as clean as it can!

You can purchase LunaPads and all your other reusable mama needs at BePreparedPeriod.com, and you can get Rockin' Green Femme Rock on their website and from various natural parenting and cloth diapering stores online.

Disclosure: The product(s) mentioned above was sent to me by the company(ies) in exchange for a review. This did not influence my opinion of the product in any way. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. 

Episencial Cheeky Salve (review)

I was given the opportunity to try out Episencial's Cheeky Salve recently and review it for the (Un)Babyshower. Since receiving the product, I've put it through various tests from before I had my little one up until now.

First, a bit about the product!  The description on their web page claims the balm is "great for chapped lips, dry cheeks, cracked nipples, acne bumps, cradle cap, and all-over first aid". It is edible and unscented, and is safe to use from birth. It says the uses are for face, lips, and bums.

The very first time I used this product was for what would be the diaper-area.... if I wore diapers. In my 9th month of pregnancy, I decided to try and shave a bit. You know, just to tidy up. Well, apparently that gigantic stomach of mine prevented me from seeing all that well. The only thing I successfully accomplished? A nasty razor burn. Since this product is safe for "all-over first aid" and is marketed for irritated skin, I decided to give it a try on razor burn. It worked great! (thank goodness... it hurt!)

The next test for the product was that patch of skin between your upper lip and nose. I had a lot of sickness while pregnant, and my nose was seemingly permanently dried out, as was the aforementioned patch of skin (since my last cold, actually). It hurt a lot. I tried applying the salve there and just inside my nostrils where it was super dry and cracked as well. It helped tremendously and the skin FINALLY healed up.

I also tested this out on the horribly cracked skin on my knuckles. I was trying so hard to STOP GETTING SICK during my pregnancy that I washed my hands seemingly 24/7. My knuckles were so cracked it wasn't funny. Again, this helped them heal up nicely (and I then applied the Episencial Soothing Cream after they were healed!), and they haven't been cracked since.

I've also used the product on sore nipples and chapped lips. It performed as mentioned before: remarkably!

I am very impressed with this product. It definitely is scent-free (since I actually put this IN my nostrils, I think it's safe to say I would have figured it out if it wasn't!), goes on smooth and clear, and does a fantastic job of healing up dry skin (and razor burn!). I would highly recommend the product to anyone in need of a healing balm!

is great for chapped lips, dry cheeks, cracked nipples, acne bumps, cradle cap and all over first-aid, naturally. Edible, unscented, allergy tested and designed to enhance skin immunity for maximum relief, prevention and healing protection - See more at: http://episencial.com/shop/cheeky-salve-natural-organic-lips-face-babytime-dry-skin-care-product-store.html#sthash.NONjggGw.dpuf

Episencial packages their products in containers that are recycled, food-grade, non-leaching, with no residues of dioxins, BpA, phthalates, or other xenoestrogens. Need more? They use botanical, sustainably farmed, and certified organic ingredients. The products are also manufactured under solar power. They also use all natural ingredients, many of which are organic. Go check out their ingredients to learn more about what they use in their products and why these products not only prevent damage and sooth damaged skin, but also support skin immunity!

To learn more about who Episencial is and what they believe, visit their About Us page.

Disclosure: I receive sample(s) for the purpose of testing and review. These opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.