Switching to Safe Deodorant

When I saw my first functional medicine doctor, she talked to me about the hazards of all kinds of toxins I had never even heard of, let alone considered could be making me sick. After doing extensive reading, I switched all my daily products.  As I scanned each product with the Think Dirty App (free download), I realized my products were toxic: just like my doctor warned me. Here, I’d been buying a lot of them because I thought they were more natural. The toxic ingredients in my antiperspirant were just as harmful as all the other products I was putting on my skin and hair. I committed to switching to natural deodorant and ditching the antiperspirant.

When Switching to Natural Deodorant, Your Body Will Detox  

Your body WILL go through a detox period when you stop using antiperspirant. This is NOT a bad thing! Antiperspirants contain aluminum and parabens. Aluminum compounds clog your pores, which is why you stop sweating after using antiperspirants for a while. 

Parabens act like estrogen, and as a result, can affect your hormone levels. Other common chemicals found in deodorant include triclosan, TEA and DEA, and artificial colors. There are links between these chemicals and cancer. And it is even scarier when you think about how close deodorant is to our lymphatic system. YUCK!

But when cleaning the buildup of these products up, your body will go through a detox stage. For me, this meant smelling some actual body odor that my antiperspirant had mostly stopped my body from producing. It may seem ideal to not have the dreaded B.O., but ultimately, it is what our bodies are made to do. And like I said, this is a detox, and within 1-2 weeks, your body will regulate. I sweat but not profusely now that the initial phase is over, and I do not stink.

The book Toxin Toxout did lab tests on the sweat collected from the body and found the toxic ingredients in high levels in the sweat of the author, Bruce Lourie, after using 12 mainstream body products, one of which was deodorant. So, think about all the toxins your body is excreting when you finally let it sweat. I promise eventually you will not sweat so much and will not smell.

To help with the detox stage, you can use a counter + charcoal cleansing bar, which draws out oils and impurities in the skin. Washing my underarms with this charcoal bar makes a HUGE difference! Bonus points, this charcoal bar is perfect for use on your face as well, so it is well worth grabbing one for use beyond detoxing to natural deodorant! If you prefer a body wash to bar soap, choose the Counterman energizing charcoal body wash, especially when you sweat all over, like on hot days or after a workout. The charcoal body wash is excellent for all skin types and perfect for body acne.

When shaving your armpits, do not add additional toxins using a mainstream soap or shaving cream; use our Counterman Soothing Shave Cream. I use it for my legs, bikini area, and pits! (I won’t go into the list of toxic ingredients in shaving cream, but you can click here for more info).  I follow up with a pat of the Counterman Cooling Aftershave Tonic on my bikini area to keep from getting bumps there.

Then I moisturize everywhere else with non-toxic lotions from Beautycounter. You don’t want to be rubbing toxins all over your body in your moisturizer, especially right after getting out of a shower and opening all your pores or after shaving. If you are on the drier/normal side, you will love Body Oil in Citrus Rosemary, Body Butter in Citrus Mimosa, Hydrating Body Lotion in Citrus Mimosa, or the Melting Body Balm! If you are on the oilier side, you will love the Countermatch Adaptive Body Moisturizer. Reach out if you need help deciding.

 

During your detox period, use the charcoal mask on your pits and Lymph glands when you do your charcoal face mask for extra cleansing! Your skin will look great, and your pits will be as clean as ever!

Your Body Will Start To Sweat Again One of the effects of the detox! As the aluminum built up in your underarms is stripped away, you will start to SWEAT again. It is interesting to experience underarm sweat when your body has been tricked into NOT SWEATING for years. But again, sweating is a natural, necessary function of the body, and manipulating it into not happening is not good for your health. Think about it; for thousands of years, people have sweated. It is how our body cools itself and maintains that perfect temperature. Our bodies are amazing when you step back and think about it. And remember, your body is sweating out toxins!

Your Body Will Regulate This is the best part of adjusting to natural deodorant. As I said above, in 1-2 weeks, your body WILL regulate. Sweating will still happen, but at a lessened pace.  You will find that you will not need to reapply for deodorant even during the hot summer months.

Why It Is Worth It  Ultimately, while there is an adjustment period when switching to natural deodorant, it is SO easy to do and is well worth it. We live in a society where we have become accustomed to not questioning what we are putting on and into our bodies. Once we took a step back in our household, I cannot tell you how liberated I feel. We were using products every single day that have known carcinogens in them. Why would we continue to expose ourselves to those types of products if we don’t have to and if there are safer alternatives that work just as well!? One of my favorite sayings I have heard is “We are the gatekeepers of our home.” We get to control what we allow into it, and no rules are stating that we NEED to use products with icky, harmful ingredients. Cleaning up products and chemicals can be done in baby steps, one item at a time! Switching to natural deodorant is one of the easiest ways to start!

To shop any product mentioned, visit me at beautycounter.com/mirindabuxton

Have you made the switch yet? Come discuss with me on social: 

 

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