I decided to buy instead of make some more. I'm loving it. It is Meow Meow Tweet Deoderant Cream in lavender. The texture is just right, a little bit goes a long way, and it has been working great.
First of all, if you shower daily you shouldn't stink, at least not to where someone who isn't actually sticking their nose directly in your armpit can smell that you haven't used any type of deodorant. Yes, there's going to be some aroma, that's natural. It's going to be musky or sharpish, or a combination of the two, but it shouldn't be horrendously offensive. If it is, you need to see a doctor or something.
Second, just to make absolutely sure, there is no such a thing as a natural antiperspirant, it's not possible and any company that tells you otherwise is full of it. Making your body not sweat is about as un-natural as you can get. The only way perspiration can be stopped is chemically or through Botox shots for people suffering from excessive perspiration.
Third, when you go off commercial antiperspirants/deodorants you're going to run into a brief period (two weeks to a month) where your body sort of has to get used to your pits sweating and smelling naturally again. Hang in there and trust the process. Once you go through this stage things level out and you'll discover you're living with all new armpits. Seriously, I kid you not. My husband and I've just gone through the phase and I am constantly surprised how mild we now smell and honestly, love the hubs to death but when I met him that man had some hard core wicked funky pits. Not anymore.
Our routine, after a shower we use a product called Liquid Rock. It comes in natural scents or unscented. He doesn't like scented products in general so we went with unscented. I also made up for myself an underarm powder I'll use on particularly sticky/humid days made of equal parts baking soda and cornstarch with a few drops of vanilla extract and a few sprinkles of cinnamon all shaken up in a small jar. I didn't have any citrus essential oils when I made it up but after using the cinnamon/vanilla I've kind of come to like it.
Just an aside, once you start moving away from scented products you start realizing how "chemically" most people smell. It's bad. Scented soap/shampoo/hair care/colognes/laundry detergent and fabric softener then air fresheners in houses and cars, scented cleaning products people use on floors and furniture. And EVERY ONE of those scented products has it's own chemical load (usually of pthalates) our bodies are dealing with, whether it's absorbing it through our lungs or skin.
Good book out there called "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" for anyone interested in learning more about the chemical assault our bodies deal with daily, particularly if you want to think about how toxin load may be one of the factors contributing to obesity (as in, our bodies literally sock chemicals INTO body fat to prevent us being poisoned as certain chemicals are lipolic).
II am a huge fan of just plain baking soda too! Just kind of rub it on. It really works as a deodorant. Some folks have had some reaction to it I guess, so they mix in the cornstarch.
I think some people just smell/sweat more than others. I shower every day, but have always been a heavy sweater and this stuff is really great. And I love the fact that it isn't scented. Just don't bring it on a plane, it looks kind of suspicious, white stuff in a plastic baggie
Great post ReNew Me! I have found the same with shampooing - I went from shampooing every day to shampooing only once a week. It takes an adjustment period where your hair over produces oil and then it calms down. It's much much better for your hair. I'm still working on finding a natural shampoo I like but that's another thread for another time.
I use Tom's natural deodorant and I have enjoyed making the switch from antipersperant to deodorant. Truth be told I was never sweated a lot so I don't even know why I was using antiperspirant for so long! With Tom's I do have to reapply during the day maybe once or so but I'm fine with that. The thing that bugs me with Tom's is that the dispenser sides are a little sharp and I have to make sure I have enough rolled out so that the sides don't scrape me. Also, I've noticed that if I have just shaved the deodorant stings a little. Is that normal or should I experiment with other types?
Wannabe - I would love to have that natural shampoo discussion. Maybe another thread would be worthwhile?
I'm on week 2 of using Crystal. I expected an increase in sweat the first week, but it's been the opposite! I've gotten quite sweaty during workouts and don't notice much wetness or odor under my pits. I've still been shaving daily, but I have zero irritation on my armpits...so obviously it was mostly caused by the antiperspirant I was using.
Now I am contemplating letting my pit hair grow *shock and horror* It's fall, no one except my boyfriend and me will see my pits, and I'm kind of interested to see how it goes. However, in the past, not shaving for a few days made my pits stinkier. So I am curious if this is still the case now that I am "off" antiperspirants! Today is day one of no shave October
Wannabe - I would love to have that natural shampoo discussion. Maybe another thread would be worthwhile?
I'm on week 2 of using Crystal. I expected an increase in sweat the first week, but it's been the opposite! I've gotten quite sweaty during workouts and don't notice much wetness or odor under my pits. I've still been shaving daily, but I have zero irritation on my armpits...so obviously it was mostly caused by the antiperspirant I was using.
Now I am contemplating letting my pit hair grow *shock and horror* It's fall, no one except my boyfriend and me will see my pits, and I'm kind of interested to see how it goes. However, in the past, not shaving for a few days made my pits stinkier. So I am curious if this is still the case now that I am "off" antiperspirants! Today is day one of no shave October
Hair holds on to moisture and aroma so if you let your hair grow out significantly then yes it will smell more. Not that it's a bad thing. I let my hair grow out and only shave about once a month in the winter, only once a week in the summer. But I'm blonde and my hair is very fine, it's not too bad.
I was wondering do you find your white clothes being stained yellow in the pits at all? I know that for me when I used commercial deodorant that had white in it or white that goes clear, the talc caused my shirts to get yellow stains in the pits Since I have switched to mens clear deodorant I have not had yellow stains. IF I start making natural deodorant such as your recipe I wonder if the cornstarch or baking soda would cause yellow stains?
Johanna
Last edited by Pete veritatem; 01-03-2015 at 04:15 PM.
I'm super into the Liquid Rock, by Kiss My Face--they have an unscented one, but I like the lavender pretty well.
I tried several other kinds (including the homemade, who knew baking soda could give you hives?), and that's the only one that works for me. It's not an antiperspirant, but it does a good job as a deodorant.
Dr. Organic roll on in the Manuka Honey scent. It's available in the UK/Ireland (not sure about the rest of the world). The scent is gentle, not too overpowering, and lasts all day. I wouldn't be a big sweater anyway, so don't notice the absence of the anti-perspirant element. Smells great and lasts for ages. The other scents in the range don't work as well in my experience.
I have PCOS and the darkness under my arms has improved since I stopped using anti-perspirant.
I didn't expect it to work because I haven't had luck with natural deodorants before, but Primal Pit Paste seems pretty good so far. (I'll get back to you on that in August, LOL.) The manufacturer's only mistake is using only 5 ingredients that I can easily obtain myself and make my own rather than buy more. (Shea butter, coconut oil, baking soda, beeswax and arrowroot powder.)
This is random, but I was just looking at my armpits (lol) and thought I should update myself experience!
I used the liquid Crystal deodorant (lavendar scented) until it ran out, and loved it. Then I bought the solid version (unscented) since its supposed to last a year and HATED it. My pits smelled and I think I was sweating more. So I'm back to the liquid and I think I'll stick with this for a while! Occasionally I add some baby powder (corn starch, actually) for extra protection, and I do find I get pretty stinky after an intense workout, but then I just wipe my pits down with soap and water and throw some more deodorant on.
I also went most of the fall and winter without shaving my armpits at all. This is kind of unrelated, but I was just really annoyed with the irritation on my armpits. Instead, I trimmed them a couple times a week with a trimmer. It didn't seem to make my pits smell worse, so that was a plus! I think I'll continue that in the fall and winter from here on out. It's not like anyone except me and my bf sees my pits in the winter!
But now that it's hot again, I'm shaving once again. I recently bought myself a double edge safety razor (think old school, what men used to shave their faces with!) and I love it. Instead of having to shave under my arms every day, it's more like every 2-3 days. And I get at most one or two bumps from razor burn. Razors are only like 50 cents each!
Anyway, so my armpits are happy and healthy and I just wanted to share! I've made a ton of other changes to my beauty/personal routine (mainly reducing my use of all kinds of soaps) and I'm sure it's affecting my overall health in positive ways.
Now I just need to get my boyfriend on board. His pits get noticeably irritated from the crap he uses (I think its Old Spice deodorant), but he keeps using it anyway.
Nonameslob I used to love the liquid crystal deodorant too, I think it had a purple top. I just moved on, no reason. I like to try stuff sometimes, went back to chemical Secret dedorant, now I am back to using natural deodorant, and right now my favorite is LaVanila (yep spelled without the extra "l") healthy deodorant in Pure Vanilla it smells great and offers light-medium protection especially when combined with dusting powder from LUSH Vanilla Puff (it contains talc which I've heard bad things about talc but for now I use it as an effective deodorant). The only drawbacks to my Lavanila healthy deodorant & LUSH dusting powder combo is they are not heavy duty, if I don't workout I can last from day to night and smell good, but if I work out, they may wear off. Also when I try on clothes...I sometimes leave residue in the underarm area of from the dusting powder, I can wipe it away, but that is a drawback.
I use the baking soda, cornstarch, eo, and coconut oil. I'm on my second batch and never had a problem with it. Your probably aware of it but No More Dirty Looks is a green beauty blog with lots of reviews. The comment section is always filled with recs.
This is what I do too! I use arrowroot power instead of cornstarch, but I've used both and they produce the same results for me. My favorite eo is lavender. I highly recommend making your own. I've used natural kinds and not-so-natural kinds and this sweaty, stinky girl has the best luck with homemade. Good luck! PM if you have any questions.
Since I have switched to mens clear deodorant I have not had yellow stains. IF I start making natural deodorant such as your recipe I wonder if the cornstarch or baking soda would cause yellow stains?
