What’s that smell? Not my armpits that much I can assure you! On January 24th I decided to make the switch to natural deodorants! Why? Simple. My health is most important, especially now that I am carrying my little girl.

I had posted a video on my instagram story showing my new found love for organzing and in one of the videos I showed my bathroom products. This included my favorite deodorant (at the time) Lady Speed Stick- powder fresh. A fellow supporter nicely told me how these deodorants can harm us and opened my eyes to researching this more. Oh yes, I am now well aware of how terrible this deodorant is on the richter scale. However, in hindsight this was my go to for years. YEARS, that’s putting it lightly for the length of time depending on your age of course, that you have been clogging your armpit pores with metal. METAL, yes I know shocking? Although it shouldn’t be because all of our Science classes taught us that Aluminium or aluminum is a chemical element with symbol Al and atomic number 13. It is a silvery-white, soft, nonmagnetic and ductile metal in the boron group.

So what does this all mean? There have been many studies done to show the long term side effects to aluminum based deodorants such as breast cancer and even linked to Alzheimers. Whether the studies were found inconclusive or not the meer thought of this being possible was enough to push me in the natural direction. Like most, I associated “natural” with body odor. However, this isn’t the case. I think it’s important to understand what causes body odor and also to know that sweating is normal and totally okay.

There is a common misconception that sweat is the culprit when it comes to B.O. In reality, there are many factors that can impact how fresh our bodies smell throughout the day. Sweat is actually odorless! I know this can be shocking, I myself just learned this fun fact. It’s actually the bacteria that live and grow under your arms that causes body odor. Some people naturally have more bacteria under their arms and therefore have a harder time controlling odor. Other things that may cause B.O. are the foods you eat, spicy and sweet, synthetic clothing like rayon, polyester and nylon. These are not breathable materials therefore it can trap the moisture which in turn causes bacteria to grow. STRESS, oh yes that lovely word that can daunt us all from time to time. There is actually more than one type of sweat. Stress sweat comes from different glands, and is made of proteins and fats. Triggered by emotional responses, stress sweat combines with bacteria to make a particularly pungent odor. G R O S S! So, time to get that stress under control as well.

What’s the difference between anti-perspirant and deodorants then?

“Anti-perspirant prevents you from sweating. That is, the aluminum contained in anti-perspirant acts as a plug on your body’s sweat ducts and prevents you from sweating and releasing other byproducts of sweat. Deodorant works by eliminating and absorbing the moisture and odors associated with sweat.”

Okay, now you know some facts. Your choice to wear an antiperspirant deodorant won’t stop the smell, it just minimizes the sweat. Like anything else in time you will sweat less once you’ve made the change. I am no stranger to embrassing wet armpits when I need them to be dry but I can say that over the last few weeks I am not sweating as much and I don’t smell. Not B.O. is key for me!

Are you ready to make the switch? Follow these helpful tips to ease your detox period. What does that mean? You may sweat more inititally when making the switch but it’s necessary. You have to unclog those pores and it’s okay to sweat infact thats one of the tips, sweating.

Steps to detoxing your armpits:

1. Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate. Did you know that your armptis have dead skin too? Just like you would exfoliate your face or body you should also be including your armpits. Get rid of that dead skin that holds onto the bacteria. You can buy a scrub or make a homemade one! I use household ingredients to make mine. Brown sugar or white sugar and coconut oil. It’s that simple, mix together and scrub! Fun fact: Coconut oil is a great antimicrobial which helps prevent bacteria growth as well.

2. Sweat it out. It’s highly recommended to sweat as much as possible and get those toxins out. This is a great time to kick in those resolutions and get to the gym. Try hot yoga if the weights and cardio aren’t your thing.

3. Hydration. Drinking lots of water will stimulate your lymphatic system which helps drain out the toxins when you use the restroom.

WHEW! I know that was a lot of information. Now that you know all of that what products will you choose?

It’s all preference and there are many great natural deodorants on the market. Personally, I chose to use the NATIVE brand natural deodorant when I first made the switch. I liked it and had no adverse reactions. There is baking soda in this brand which can cause some irritation for some users. I didn’t love the scent I chose which was lavender and rose. I had also looked in the brand KOPARI and wanted to give that one a shot instead. I have to say after using both I am in love with the KOPARI brand. Why? For starters it glides on like dream and smells great. It has a coconut oil base which again has those antimicrobial benefits. It is also safe to use for expecting or nursing mamas.

In the end you have to find one that works for you. Not all products work the same for everyone but I can easily say, I am happy I made the switch and I am loving the KOPARI deodorant. I won’t be going back to clogging my armpit pores. F R E E those PITS!

xx

Ashli

P.S

I have linked the wesbite for both deodorants, just click on the images below. :)