WalMart

My family knows that I am no fan of WalMart, for many reasons, not the least of which being that it just isn't a safe place for me to go (too many people, too many chemicals). However, one of my grandsons saw a toy there that he really wants for his birthday next week, so yesterday morning I ventured into their aisles.

Also, I thought it might be a good idea to look at the personal care products at WalMart to back up the claim I made in a document I sent to local church leaders last week, stating that unscented products are readily available locally. I made the claim based on what is available at Safeway and the Real Food Market, but knowing that many church members shop at WalMart, I thought it wise to check out their offerings as well.

I am happy to report that WalMart carries a wide array of unscented personal care products. One of the particular questions I get from people is what hand lotions to use. After all, no one could realistically expect a woman to go sans lotion after washing her hands in a public (or church) rest room. What I found at WalMart was that Lubriderm, Eucerin, Aveeno and Equate (WalMart's house brand) all have unscented versions of their hand and body lotions. And both Suave (the cheap brand) and Salon Grafix (a more expensive brand) produce unscented versions of their hair sprays.

By the time I wrote down all the names of all these products, I realized I was going to be late for a lunch date with one of my grandsons, so I didn't get to look at shampoo, rinse and hair gel, but I am hopeful that unscented versions of these products are also on the shelves at WalMart. And I know they are on the shelves at Safeway, so I don't think I'm guilty of making any false claims.

Of course, just because these products are unscented doesn't mean they are void of any toxic chemicals or safe for me to use myself, and I would still like to steer people in the direction of the more natural products found at the Real Food Market (a shameless plug for my favorite place to shop). However, I see a switch to any unscented products by church members as a huge concession to the needs of the chemically sensitive, and I will gladly accept such an offering with the grace it is given.

(My husband suggested that we just place bottles of unscented lotion in all the church restrooms. Would it be sexist to only put it in the women's? Do men, other than my husband, use hand lotion?)