Switching To Natural Deodorant

My husband calls me a “modern hippie”.
Is that even a thing? 😆
I suppose a more accurate, trendy description would be that I’m considered more of a “granola cruncher”, if anything.

I’ve always had an appreciation for clean products as well as a more natural life style. I have an understanding of the importance of it. My caring about earth and the environment has made it that much easier making conscious decisions to do better and be better. I have switched to using toxic free cleaning products and choose clean beauty products when it makes sense (but I’m a makeup lover, so this one I’m not as strict on), toxic free scents, choosing to eat whole foods that fuel my body and saying no to unnecessary plastic/waste. I also should probably mention that back in my “younger days” I wanted to see how long I go without washing my hair - I made it over a month, friends! 🙈😬 Yikes. (does that make me a modern day hippie? 😅).
I’ll save sharing some of the products I have switched to and some of the conscious decisions I have made for another day and another blog post.

Alo Knotted Tank: Size small
Alo Leggings (old): Wearing size small. Here are a few other ones I like. These and These.
Adidas Shoes: wearing size 9. True to size or if in between go with the larger size. You can get them here and here.

Today I want to talk about why it was important for me to switch to natural deodorant and the journey I went on. I say “for me”, because while it is important to myself, I don’t believe in pushing ones beliefs on another individual. Each person has the wonderful ability to make decisions for themselves. Nothing in this life is a “one fits all”. However, educating oneself, questioning and doing research is hugely important to me.

Prior to making the decision to solely use natural deodorant 3-4 years ago, I would alternate between natural and traditional deodorant, so I already kind of had an understanding of what I was going to be getting into.

WHY make the switch:

Traditional deodorant and antiperspirant is filled with harsh chemicals and aluminum. Our pores directly absorb what we put onto our skin and body. 😳 Not to mention that there has been diseases and cancer linked to using traditional deodorant!

Also, by sticking with traditional deodorant, you create a build up of the bad bacteria called Corynebacteria. Which = more bad oder in the long run.

HOW to make the switch:

These are all so important.

Get in the mind set that sweat is good. We are suppose to sweat.
Sweat allows toxins to be released from our bodies and if we’re not sweating, then they aren’t being released.
Sweat isn’t what makes us smell bad. It’s actually the bad bacteria on our skin that it comes in contact with. However, when you make the switch your sweat glands overcompensate from being clogged for so long and you… smell… unpleasant…for a period of time.
Combating bad bacteria/detox phase.
When you make the switch to natural deodorant you will go through a detox phase. How long is dependent on each person, it could be a few days, weeks or even a month. Heck, I felt like mine was WAY longer because, well, pregnancy hormones (what am I talking about, I’m still dealing with out of whack hormones). 😩 However, there are different things that you can do to help yourself during this phase.
Clay mask.
Mother Dirt (this is what I did! It puts the good, peacekeeper bacteria back on your skin)
Use an anti-fungal body wash, like this one, to help combat stubborn body oder caused by bacteria and fungus.
Wish Deodorant wipes. To use throughout the day.
Figure out what works for you!
This is the tricky part. Natural deodorants tend to be a bit pricier and I wanted to use each one for a while, allowing my body to adjust before making a decision if it was working or not. I did figure out that I am extremely sensitive to deodorants with baking soda in them. So, now when choosing a new deodorant that I want to try that is the first thing I look for. One thing I did to help keep me organized is I created a list of deodorants on my phone that I was interested in trying/have tried, whether it be a suggestion from someone or one I have found from researching online. Some of them I still haven’t gotten to but do I dare say that I think I have found THE one I want to stick with.
Stay hydrated.
Drinking an adequate amount of water is import in general, however, it will help speed up your detox process by helping your body to flush out everyday toxins at a quicker rate.
Diet.
Fueling your body with clean, nutritious food is so important in so many ways. Your diet affects your health and how your body performs but it also affects your smell.
Topical Beauty Products.
Keep in mind that if you are using beauty products (lotions, spray tans, perfumes, etc) that are full of chemicals, that is going to make a huge difference on how effective your deodorant works. Again, I want to remind you that our skin and pores soak everything in - “putting it on our skin, lets it in”.

I want to share a few of the products I have tried and which one has been working the best for me.

Native. This is when I figured out I was sensitive to baking soda. I went through 3 entire sticks (so about a years worth. My poor underarms!!) before deciding to try others. This one so many people raved about, so I really wanted to love it! They since have come out with a couple that are baking soda free, but I have not tried them yet.
Schmitt’s Sensitive Skin Deodorant. This one actually worked pretty well and I liked it, but I wanted to see if there would be something that worked even better for me.
Tom’s of Maine. This one didn’t do much for me.
Crystal salt deodorants. If I remember right, the ones I tried were an okay option but I didn’t love the feeling of it on my skin. If I were to try one again, this is the one I would get.
Green Goo. This one did nothing for me and probably was the ONLY stick I didn’t completely finish before deciding to try something different.
Mega Babe. By far my FAVORITE natural deodorant I have used so far. I love that it has sage and green tea in the ingredients to help with bad bacteria.

Extra tips:

Keeping the Pacifica underarm wipes on hand has been good. I find that you can’t reapply natural deodorant like you can traditional. It’s better to start “over” or “clean”.
You can find these wipes at Ulta and Target.
With the cooler months approaching, if you are considering making the switch then would be a great time to do so!
Remember to be patient and give it time. I know it is hard and it’s not a fun process by any means, but it is so worth it.