My Deodorant Free Journey
I smell good…
Say what? I know, sounds super hippie and a bit wacky. I have been experimenting with going deodorant FREE for the past month and a half. Call me crazy and extreme (and maybe a little stinky…) but I have been learning about how even the most natural of deodorants can have a negative effect on our bodies. AND I am all for not having to buy one more product! In my mind, less is more. The fewer products I put on my skin and hair, the less work my liver has to do to process these things from my system. We are living in a time of increased environmental toxins and I don’t want my bod to have to work harder than it already is! Poor liver. I am also super curious by nature, so when I read about doing an armpit detox I wanted to try it and see what happened!
It was a bit of a risky experiment since I spend a large percentage of my time in a close range of other people’s noses, but I decided to go for it anyways. Sorry if I’ve crossed your path lately...
From what I’ve heard, once you stop using any deodorant or antiperspirant, your body will detox and you will go through a STINKY time. This could last for a few days to a few months, depending on your lifestyle. The light at the end of the tunnel is you actually will stop smelling bad, so there will be no reason to wear it in the first place. Brilliant!
I have been using natural deodorant for years, so I thought I’d probably whiz through this detox process versus someone who has been using hardcore antiperspirants. But um, surprisingly, no. I have noticed that it really depends on how well I’ve been treating my body. If my diet is less than optimal, ewwww. Or if I get nervous, yuck! ( I’m not sure if that one will ever change.) But overall, it has been getting better and I am finding myself smelling more and more like a rose. Ok, maybe not that good. But I keep crossing my fingers that I’m not that one oblivious person in the room who everyone else can smell…
I have been using a mix of bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar to aid in my armpit detox. I’ve only done this a couple times and it seems to help! You can read more about the problems with conventional antiperspirants/deodorants and get the armpit detox recipe HERE. I also tried adding activated charcoal powder to the clay/cider concoction. That was just too dang messy and, just in case you don’t know…activated charcoal stains! I had to scrub hard to get it off my underarms. Reminds me of the time I thought making a turmeric and honey face mask was a good idea…Oi.
Ok, now you know more than you probably ever wanted to about my underarms. Try this yourself and help out your beautiful and amazing body!
P.S. Another way to help out your amazing body: sign up for one of my new health coaching programs! I have openings for my 6-month program body+mind NOURISH and starting in March, an 8-week women’s group: Balanced Badass Babes. Stay tuned for more details. It’s going to be awesome.