I’m pretty conscious of what foods I choose to fuel my body with. I believe that the quality of the foods I put into my body are reflected in my appearance, my mental health, attitude, the list goes on. This belief spreads beyond the foods I eat and sometimes into the products I use.
Over the last year, every time I ran out of a cleaning product, I’d replace it with an eco-friendly, non-toxic version. From laundry detergent to the sponges (recycled) I scrub my pots and pans with. This is a really small effort, admittedly, and has really not taken much planning or much of a change in my lifestyle at all. A total no-brainer. I felt better about cleaning with products that did not emit fumes that could cause reactions in my husband or myself.
In December, I lamented the fact that my skin had been going haywire. I began using coconut oil as my primary face and body moisturizer and my skin has never looked or felt better. I’ve just baby-stepped my way into cooking with it too. (Note: since I keep the coconut oil in the bathroom, I think it’s hilarious to grab my moisturizer from the bathroom and spoon it into a saute pan. Anyone else?) While I may have been skeptical at one point about how effective the natural stuff can be, I’m now a total believer. Not one of these changes has been difficult. In fact, the transitions were completely seamless.
Until my newest endeavor.
I have a confession to make. I haven’t worn my usual antiperspirant or any deodorant at all since Sunday. That’s right, my new project involves me saying goodbye to the aluminum-laden, chemical antiperspirants and deodorants I have been using daily for the last 15+ years.
So what’s the problem with aluminum? Well, official reports (like this one, this one, and this one) say pretty much nothing. Studies suggest that the amounts of aluminum found in antiperspirants are in fact pretty safe for us. But for me, I take a slightly different approach. Will I die or get Alzheimer’s from wearing antiperspirant every day? Probably not. I also might not become seriously ill from washing my tub with bleach, but as long as there’s a natural option out there, I’d rather not take the chance.
This is actually something I’d been toying with for quite some time. Actually, since I heard this podcast on Whole Food’s Whole Body series. I had researched the best natural deodorants, read reviews of people who made the switch, articles praising going au naturel, but would never pull the trigger. Here’s the thing. I tend to glisten. (Sorry, potential TMI alert.) A lot. Anti-perspirant is like my lifeline. The thought of letting it go gave me nightmares of having, uhh, shirt moisture of epic proportions. And have you ever been in New York City in the summer? It’s hot and humid mess.
So last week, I received Natural Health magazine in the mail, and thought it might be a sign. In this issue, it discussed natural deodorant, and it suggested, when making the switch, to go completely deodorant free for a week before starting on the natural stuff. As I was explaining this to my slightly frightened husband, I realized that this week I didn’t have work (yeah mid-winter break!). This would be the trial week – it’s certainly not hot out, and if things went horribly wrong (I’m not entirely sure what this means exactly) but I wouldn’t have to face the horrors of deodorant withdrawal at work.
A few things I’ve noticed over the past few days sans deodorant:
- As counterintuitive as it seems, I’ve been sweating less without antiperspirant or deodorant.
- After the first few days, the body seems to get the bad stuff out, and any perspiration smells less strange.
- Without the chemicals in antiperspirant, the underarms of my white t-shirts are NOT getting discolored with sweat. (This one intrigues me, I’ll do a little more research to find out why — anyone know?)
- The stuff they say about pheromones is true
I’ll be picking up some natural deodorant tomorrow (I’ll be trying the Weleda spray, and Dr. Hauschka), and will report back after my full (and hectic!) week back at work.
I’d love to hear your own experiences with natural deodorant… have you tried to go au naturel? If not, what’s holding you back? Also, do you have any great natural deodorant suggestions?
Note: This, as well as eating habits, etc. is a personal decision. I do not feel that my decision is better than someone else’s to hang on to the Degree. I’ve been working on going more natural since cleaning the window fan in my NYC apartment last year. The amount of black filth filtering through it really made me nervous for what harmful chemicals I’m unknowingly breathing in simply due to where I live. I’m trying to make any effort I can to control the things that I put into and on my body to combat the things in the air that I breathe (which I cannot control).
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