There’s a line of thinking which says that hypoallergenic laundry soaps are only for people that suffer various allergies themselves. While of course people with allergies should use hypoallergenic laundry detergents, they’re not the only ones. There’s a case to be made for everyone in a family to make this type of switch. If you’re part of a growing family, it’s always better to take the proactive approach – especially when there are other benefits to taking the hypoallergenic route.
Allergens Can Trigger Attacks over Time
First, laundry detergents are a very common culprit of allergic reactions. Allergies are particularly difficult because it’s your own body attacking itself. Sometimes when your body is exposed to a chemical or substance it will produce a massive autoimmune response even if the substance itself is harmless.
It’s not a matter of something in the soap being "toxic" or otherwise harmful to you; it might be a simple scent agent that’s supposed to make your wardrobe smell like Spring Rain and instead causes your body to react as though it’s under a threat. You might think that you’re in the clear as far as that goes, as you’ve been cleaning your clothes for years without ill effects.
That’s not always the case, however. Allergies can develop at any time, even (or especially) to substances that you’ve been exposed to before, according to WebMD. You might have used the same detergent 1,001 times and the 1,002 exposure will be the one to give you a rash. When the very thing causing your reactions are in your clothes themselves that can lead to a very messy sort of problem.
You Can Come into Contact with Allergic People
You could go your whole life without actually running into this problem, but that doesn’t mean that everyone in your family would be so lucky, or everyone you meet on the street. If you’re washing your clothes in allergenic laundry soap you’re taking a gamble every time you lend your friend a sweater, or hold a coworker’s baby. It’s impossible to live your life with everyone else completely on your mind, but it’s a practical step to take if you’re going to be working with large groups of people or if you’re expecting a fresh addition to the family. Hypoallergenic laundry soaps are the considerate choice before you donate clothes or blankets to shelters or charity as well. You never know who is going to pick them up.
Look for "Free and Clear"
The most common cause of allergies in reaction to laundry soaps are the scents and the dyes. Some soaps are made to have that crystal blue look that’s supposed to make your whites whiter, or to fill the air with lavender when you spread your freshly laundered sheets onto the bed. When you’re looking for a kind of laundry soap that is hypoallergenic you can either look in the name, like the laundry detergent from Honest Company, or you can look for phrases like "Free and Clear". This means they’re not adding in fresh scents or extra dyes. Of course, sometimes the allergy is to a base ingredient itself. If you find yourself or a member of your family struggling with persistent itchy skin it might take a couple of tries for you to find the detergent that’s really right for you. It can be a bit tricky, but looking for phrases like that will at least give you a place to start.
They Tend to Rinse out More Completely
One of the main causes of skin irritation for people with delicate skin overlaps with one of the causes of allergic reactions: laundry soap that doesn’t rinse out all the way. When you’re carrying around half the soup in the laundry load in your sweater it’s not surprising that you might have an adverse reaction or two. The great thing about hypoallergenic laundry soap is that they tend to rinse out more completely. Less soap in your clothes means that you’re going to be carrying around less potential irritation even if you don’t have allergies.
You can add to this by choosing liquid soap over powder, according to Stain Removal 101. Though it’s just as good at getting things clean as powdered laundry soap, it rinses out even more easily,according to Baby Center. This basically means that you don’t have to resort to an extra spin cycle to be sure you’re getting the last of the soap.
The Bottom Line
There is a pretty strong case for everyone using hypoallergenic laundry soaps. Why tempt fate or bother your family members or friends when you can have clothes that are just as clean and carry around less soap residue? A simple, no fuss change can keep your clothes clean and soft while also keeping your skin blemish free and even softer with each and every load.
