When it comes to clean beauty, I go through phases. Years ago when I was a writer and editor and reading and research was my life, I went on a huge kick to get rid of all environmental toxins, from replacing our vinyl shower curtain liner to buying non-toxic cleaning products and clearing my beauty cabinet of fragrances and chemicals. I even threw out my favorite antiperspirant whose scent I loved and tried every natural deodorant I could find. But then I eased up as life got crazier and I was too busy to research every product I consumed and used. And if I’m being honest, many of the clean and green products at the time just didn’t work as well. As much as I was worried about certain ingredients, I pushed it out of mind because I just wanted my skin to be clear and my hair to be shinier, and my armpits not to smell. And while clean beauty products have come a long way in recent years, and I’ve found many nontoxic skincare and makeup products that I love, I can’t say the same about natural deodorants. Even though I’ve been worried about aluminum and fragrance and chemicals in deodorants, I struggled to find a natural deodorant that actually works.
When I was pregnant with James, I tried to switch to all-natural deodorant, but it never lasted. I just smelled like B.O. a couple hours later. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the natural deodorant scents available. Tbh, lavender isn’t my favorite. So I went back to my regular antiperspirant, and figured deodorant would be my one non-clean thing.
But after struggling with infertility, I’m more cognizant than ever about what I’m putting in my body and exposing myself to and how that’s impacting my health and fertility as well as that of my family’s. I feel so strongly that it’s the environmental toxins and hormone disruptors that we’re constantly exposed to to is causing fertility problems for an increasingly number of families, not to mention acne, weight issues, and more. With all the money, energy, time and heartbreak we put into getting pregnant the second time, I once again began to rethink the products we used in our house and on our bodies, including my deodorant. I’ll tell you that also as a parent, I’m far more concerned with the products we use in our home and on ourselves, and I will stay up late into the night researching chemicals and natural alternatives, and once again, finding a good natural deodorant that actually works has once again become a priority for me.
I’ll fill you in more on my journey as I try different green cleaning products, non-toxic makeup and more, but the biggest and first small change I’ve made has been switching to a natural deodorant. I f I won’t let my family eat anything that isn’t organic and I won’t let my kids use any products that aren’t non-toxic and clean why wouldn’t I stick to the same standards for myself?
I’m not going to lie, my convert to all-natural aluminum-free deodorant hasn’t been smooth. I tried several different deodorants with varying results, but by the end of the day, I smelled like B.O. and the pits of my clothes smelled too. I’m not someone who sweats profusely — it’s just the smell that bugs me and I’m hyper sensitive about smell. I tried Tom’s and while I love Tom’s products, it just didn’t get the job done. I also tried Kopari, which smelled so lovely but as someone who is constantly running around, it just didn’t cut it for the entire day. By the end of the day, it smelled like coconut B.O. — an improvement but not enough to make me a convert from my extra strength cucumber scented deodorant.
But then I got a shipment of deodorant from Native sent to me. I’ve heard people rave about Native, including so many bloggers I follow who have done the switch. And the hype is true. It smells so good — and it works! One of my favorite bloggers talked about her switch to natural deodorant recently and said that you have to give it at least two weeks to get all the aluminum out of your system, so I committed to trying it for two weeks to see what happened and agreed with myself to live with B.O. for two weeks if I needed to. But it turns out, I didn’t. It worked from day one.
It doesn’t leave residue on my clothes and I don’t find myself sweating more than usual. Again, I’m not a super sweaty person, but that was one concern I had — I was worried all the aluminum was the reason I didn’t have dripping wet pits. To be honest, I probably do sweat a bit more, but honestly, it feels natural and now I am kind of grossed out by the idea that I was suppressing a natural bodily function meant to regulate body temperature. I’ll take a little sweat in exchange for my health.
Bottom line: This natural deodorant works and I’ve seriously tested it. TMI, but I’ve been working out in the mornings after dropping James off at school and often not showering again until bedtime, and it keeps me smelling fresh the entire day. Best of all, I didn’t have to wait two weeks for the aluminum to leave my body but I would recommend giving yourself that two-week trial window before giving up.
Do you have any all-natural, non-toxic products for the house or beauty products you recommend? Let me know if you want to hear more about our journey to finding more clean products.
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