LAUNDRY day is a chore many people prefer to leave to the last minute, but those who love the gym know it can’t wait.
As a fairly sweaty person, and someone who likes a long workout session and staying active in general, I often need to do two loads of gym laundry a week.
Unfortunately, I do have sensitive skin, so finding the happy medium of the perfect laundry detergent that will do the job without causing an uncomfortable irritation can prove difficult.
For the sake of team sensitive skin, I decided to give top detergent brands a shot.
I tried a combination of different products — some scented and others unscented — to find the best fit for my active lifestyle.
The detergents included: ECOS, Molly Suds, Myer’s, and Jessica Alba’s Honest Company.
For my first load of laundry I tried the unscented version of ECOS, which sells for $17.29 on Amazon.
Shlepping my big bag of sweaty gym clothes to the laundry room, I used a cap full of the detergent to test its effectiveness.
The detergent did its job, getting my clothes clean and pristine, but the smell test was the real defining factor.
My clothes smelled clean, but without any added fragrances, which my skin thanked me for.
However, I missed the smell of scented laundry detergent, so I decided to try a few with aromas I love — basil and lavender.
For the second load of laundry, I went with Molly Suds’ lavender laundry detergent, retailing for $21.84 on Amazon.
I was blown away by the scent of the product, especially as a lover of all things lavender.
Most importantly, the fragrance from the detergent did not cause any irritation.
The detergent is designed for delicates, which worked well for some of my gym outfits that don’t stand up to machine washing.
Excited about a natural detergent with fragrance that agreed with my temperamental skin, I tried another scented detergent.
For my third load of laundry, I used Myer’s basil-scented laundry detergent, retailing for $17.08 on Amazon.
Right off the bat, the smell was off-putting and didn’t bare any similarity to to the freshness of basil, but rather something more rancid.
Committed to the experiment, I used the detergent on my least favorite activewear in my collection.
Just as expected, Myer’s basil detergent made my gym clothes smell horrible and they went straight back to the hamper.
The experience left me feeling like it was a waste of money.
Finally, I went back to unscented laundry detergent, using Jessica Alba’s very own Honest Company.
The Hypoallergenic Baby laundry detergent by The Honest Company currently retails for $20.49 at Target.
I am no stranger to using products marketed for babies to agree with my sensitive skin.
I was pleasantly surprised by the cleaning power of a cap full of the detergent.
After wearing the gym clothes again to workout, I had no adverse skin reactions to the product.
In all, every detergent I tried did a good job of cleaning my activewear.
My only qualm was the extremely off-putting scent of Myer’s, which shocked me because I typically love anything basil-scented.
The smell issue left me feeling so grossed out, I couldn’t wear the gym clothes until they were washed again.
The unscented detergents by ECOS and The Honest Company did the job, leaving my clothes fresh and clean. I would also recommend these two to anyone with uber sensitive skin.
Overall, the winner was Molly Suds’ lavender-scented detergent.
It didn’t just do a great job of cleaning my clothes, but it left a nice, subtle lavender aroma behind.
I also appreciated that it was formulated with delicates in mind, which is useful for some of my more ornate activewear that holds up better with hand-washing.
In all, the detergents don’t have the strong fragrances of bigger contenders like scented Tide, but I was pleased with the results and effectiveness of the sensitive alternatives.
That doesn’t mean I’ll be repurchasing Myer’s though, I’d rather a bit of sweat than the basil scent.
