Armpit Wars

It's 2016, should you cause a stink over which deodorant you're wearing? 

There are three types of people in this world, those who wear antiperspirant, those who wear deodorant, and those who wear natural deodorant.

For the past four months I have been someone who wears natural deodorant. I have committed to wearing an all natural deodorant every single day, regardless of activity, what I'm wearing, where I am, or the temperature. I mean I have REALLY committed, if you came close enough you would confuse me for a hippy, perhaps even a yoga instructor, or the check out girl at the health food store. Its not that I stink, stink...but I don't not stink; you know what I mean? In case you don't know what I mean let me break it down for you...

Natural deodorant is a far cry from actual deodorant, or antiperspirant. But at some point of every woman's life we are faced with the dilemma of deciding if we are going to be an antiperspirant or a deodorant girl. Thankfully for my outspoken mother I grew up hearing that antiperspirant would give me the C word, and that I was never to use it because it contained harmful chemicals, and NOT TO MENTION it stops the body from sweating which just isn't natural! Thank you mom! 

My mom's rant was actually not unheard of. During the 90's women were being warned of the potentially harmful affects of wearing antiperspirants every day. Most of the uproar around antiperspirants is due to the fact that antiperspirants that are applied under the arm (near the breasts) are made to clog the pores thus reducing sweat in that area. When applied frequently the aluminum in antiperspirants and the clogging of the pores can lead to an increase in hormones (estrogen in particular) which has been proven to cause breast cancer. Its science! This obviously struck a cord with the antiperspirant manufactures who began their defence by saying that the little scientific fact above is completely false. 

Not sure whether to believe the manufacturers, the hippies, the health food store girl or my own mother I ultimately  made the decision not once, but several times throughout my life to switched to natural deodorant. Cause why take the risk? 

My most recent attempt at al fresco arm pits came while I was pregnant. Because of course I didn't want harmful chemicals to seep through my pores and into my unborn child. Because I wanted to expose myself to once less slew of chemicals on a daily basis seems like seems reasonable enough to switch. But earlier this fall when I attempted for the third time in my life to wear all natural deodorant I thought of some other reasons. Such as, detoxification,  and to prevent common skin irritations. Furthermore, there's good enough reason to just want to take a stab at embracing a more natural beauty routine. 

Oh ya and, when in doubt, ask a member of the male species. So I asked my husband, turns out he goes by the belief that if your body is meant to sweat than why would you try to stop it? At the end of the day antiperspirant stops your body's natural process of sweating through your under arms, which is not good for you body's detoxification. 

Need more reason to switch? Consider this, most deodorants contain "compound propylene glycol"; yeah I dunno what that is either. And when I'm trying to do something "healthy" I go by my motto, if I cant spell it, or I cant eat it, I dont buy it. Propylene glycol is known to cause rashes. 

So back in September I took the plunge and threw out my drug store brand deodorant, which had been working perfectly well by the way. I am a very warm person, even in the winter I over heat and prefer to wear t-shirts to avoid sweating. So deodorant is kinda  big deal to me. Anyway, my initial attempt at natural deodorant was not very successful, I eventually went through three different types until I stumbled upon one from Saje Natural Wellness. 

The winning natural deodorant is Saje Natural Wellness floral crystal fresh deodorant.The active ingredient in this miracle product is liquid mineral salts. This stuff fights unwanted smells by neutralizing odour-causing bacteria rather than just merely masking it. Oh, oh AND, just for shits and giggles, check out the description Saje offers up for this stuff..."Our floral scent formula is a delightful blend of lavender, geranium, ylang ylang, and sweet benzoin leaves you smelling like a gentle breeze through a field of wildflowers". 

TOLD you I could be confused with a hippy. 

In all seriousness this stuff really works. I'm quite impressed. It is available in several different fragrances and I'll definitely be trying out all of them. The floral scent is quite pleasant, and I highly recommend you try it for your self. Of course smelling like a gentle breeze through a field of wildflowers is just a bonus...