I’ve loved sharing my approach and swaps to cleaning up my beauty and skincare routine throughout the past year and today I want to talk about… my armpits. SEXY. First, let me say I’m not a dermatologist or physician and am just sharing my own experience (duh), but here are the deets, plus why and exactly how I transitioned to natural deodorant.
After reading many reports on the potential health issues and concerns associated with aluminum and parabens in regular deodorant, I knew I wanted to switch to a natural and clean deodorant. But, I did NOT want to be stinky girl. I mean, I take a fitness class almost daily and I’ve certainly been on a bike in a spin class behind a stinky girl or guy and it’s AWFUL. No one wants to be that person. So I wanted to find a clean product that worked.
First, the underarm and toxin PURGE. Antiperspirants contain aluminum salts that plug your pores so you don’t sweat as much. That’s right, regular antiperspirant clogs up your armpit pores trapping all that junk in there. Ew. You can’t just make an automatic switch to natural deodorant and expect it will work exactly the same as your previous brand. You need to first clean out the residual junk.
I started my switch to natural deodorant over Thanksgiving week. Why? It’s a few days away from the office and co-workers. I really don’t care if I’m stinky around my family. They can deal. I first bought deodorant soap – Yes, you need bar soap that specifically says deodorant soap so you can really scrub your pits in the shower. So, I scrubbed with the bar soap and then used witch hazel astringent on my dry underarms every night for a week. The natural astringent really clears out those pores!
Here’s the killer… I went 3 days with no deodorant. I probably smelled like a hormonal 7th grader, but your arm pits neeeeed to adjust to not being clogged with the aluminum salts. Hence why I started this whole process over Thanksgiving break.
Then it’s time to introduce the natural deodorant! I tried out 3 different brands before finding (and loving) Native. It’s by far the best I’ve found in terms of scent and long-lasting protection. Still the same routine – Shower with deodorant soap, witch hazel, Native deodorant. Also, if I showered at night I wouldn’t put on deodorant before going to sleep. Use that time let those pores breathe, baby!
A note – You can’t just keep switching back and forth from regular deodorant to natural… Well, you can, but you’re just undoing all your work because you’re re-clogging your pores.
After a solid 2 weeks I finally felt like I didn’t smell or need to reapply my Native multiple times a day. I was less stinky, less sweaty and honestly could probably go a whole day without deodorant and not smell since my pores were cleared out.
Today, a full 2 months later, I’m still happy I made the transition to a natural product. Zak will give me a good old sniff test and says I don’t smell at all! I still wash with the deodorant soap daily and witch hazel once a week to keep clean and stink free.
Tell me – Do you wear natural deodorant or are you considering making a switch? I’d love to know!
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