"Caution! Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter May Block!" - Anonymous Testimony
"Caution! Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter May Block!"
Note by Annette: We have been receiving notices from folks who were using products with Shea and Cocoa Butter that there are signs of blocking. After removing the questionable product from their daily regime, these folks report a return to normal clearing. The following is a testimony from one of these folks. This person, who lives on the mainland, contacted us after going backward on the protocol and finding the newbie packet information on our website.
Could Soap Bar Containing Shea Butter be a Possible Blocker? (by Anonymous on the mainland)
I initially cleared very rapidly while exclusively using a salicylate free liquid soap. A few years later, I purchased soap bars with shea butter listed as the sixth ingredient. I bought these bars primarily to use on airplane trips. However, I also used these soap bars at home very sparingly (no more than two or three times a day just to wash my hands) for about two and a half years. One bar would last me for about two months (please note that my primary soap which I used for bathing and most hand washing was the salicylate free liquid soap which I had used exclusively when I initially cleared successfully).
Several months ago I ran out of the salicylate free liquid soap. I then began using the soap bars with shea butter exclusively for all purposes (bathing and hand washing). About one month later, my symptoms began to return. This went on for several months (while my symptoms got worse and worse) until I began suspecting that the soap bars with the shea butter may be causing me to block. I immediately stopped using the soap bars with the shea butter and at that time resumed exclusively using the salicylate free liquid soap (which initially allowed me to clear several years ago). Once I did so, I began to clear again. I am gradually improving.
What is noteworthy is that I got mapped six days before I stopped using that soap and had about 49 nodules! I then got remapped one month after the day that I stopped using the soap and I only had 17 nodules (there was therefore one month and one week between mappings) and my left thigh had cleared completely! My doctor, who is an extremely skilled mapper, was astonished.
Prior to blocking on the soap I was living a completely normal life (no symptoms) on the protocol with energy to spare. I could burn the candle at both ends and get away with it. I worked 7 days a week for several months (I am an engineer with very intellectually demanding work). I also went to the gym and would work out for one to two hours lifting weights and/or walking very briskly on the treadmill. I have been off of the soap for about 51 days at this point and notice that I am gradually heading back towards normal.
Although I had lived symptom free on the protocol for a total of 5-6 years prior to blocking on the soap, the bad experience I had with that soap made me strongly doubt the protocol! The reason for that is that the soap was a "trusted" product and I had no idea that I could possibly be blocking! If I doubted the protocol so strongly at that point (with all of my success on it), imagine how other people who were new to the protocol and never had felt normal would feel if they unknowingly blocked on that "approved salicylate free" product. Such a person might erroneously conclude that the protocol did not work and give up! They may further spread the erroneous message that the protocol does not work to others who could greatly benefit from it! I do not want that to happen. There is enough erroneously negative information regarding the protocol on the internet as it is! I want to spread hope.
Some points to bear in mind:
--While pure shea butter is not believed to be a blocker, other inferior oils may be used in processing shea butter. These inferior oils may block. The vendors who sell these shea butter products may not be aware that their manufacturers are using these inferior oils in processing and thus may list the shea butter as being pure (i.e., the manufacturer may possibly tell the vendor that the shea butter is pure when in fact it is not).
--Since shea butter (possibly containing other inferior oil which may block) was the sixth ingredient listed on the soap bar, and since individual tolerances to blocking vary, it is possible that I could have tolerated washing my hands a couple of times a day without blocking. Then, when I began showering with this soap bar as well, my tolerance to salicylates was exceeded and I began to block.
No matter who you buy your salicylates free products from (trusted company or not), please, please, please check the labels!
Also be aware that shea butter (and other butters) advertised as "pure" may not actually be and that other inferior oils which may block (but are not listed) may be present!
This protocol really works when done properly!!!
Thank you for allowing me to tell my story. I do so only to help prevent someone else from going through what I went through.
Annette and Vicki, thank-you for your wonderful support group! Vicki , thank-you for taking the time to speak to me on several occasions and for emailing me. You have been a Godsend to me!
Thank-you again for helping me to help others have hope.
Addendum submitted 4 months later:
I have been off that soap for 4 months at this point and continue to improve gradually. I sleep well and awake refreshed.
I work full time as a mechanical engineer which requires me to be mentally sharp. Additionally, I go to the gym almost every day. I walk very briskly on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes, sometimes up to an hour. I also do core exercises and stretching. Moreover, I have started doing pull-ups again! I can do 12 in a row (for my first set) with a little bit of weight added to make them more challenging. I am up to doing 5 sets of pull-ups (about 38 pull-ups total) per gym session! I mention these accomplishments to give others hope regarding the protocol. Annette, I was so inspired about you climbing the great wall of China only 6 months after starting the protocol and competing in a high level tennis tournament after being on the protocol for only year that I wanted to share my success as well!