Ditch the Baking Soda in Your Deodorant
Why on Earth would I want to sweat - I can hear you asking me that question as you begin to read this piece on why I would tell you it's a great idea!
First off, why is sweating important? It is one of the most effective and efficient way for our body to flush out toxins. In several studies by the Archives of Environmental and Contamination Toxicology they found the body was purging itself of additional toxins that weren't monitored on a standard basis in traditional blood tests, and concluded sweating was more important than they originally thought. Sweating also promotes healing on a cellular level. Stem cells are found within our eccrine sweat glands, which focus on healing our wounds, cuts, scrapes, etc. The most common reason for sweat importance is body temperature regulation. When we sweat it is our body's way of communicating with our brain on adapting our body temperature to our environment. Another fascinating reason is overtime as you sweat, your body will build up an endurance to specific temperatures, and reduce the amount of sweat that occurs as you heat up.
Currently, you can find antiperspirants at your general store. Antiperspirants are deodorants that inhibit you from sweating. Although keeping dry sounds appealing, it inhibits the body to function appropriately. When you inhibit the body from purging toxins, a build up can occur, and that build up gets diverted to the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes collect this build up over time, which can cause cellular changes, and ultimately has the potential to lead to cancer. Additionally, most antiperspirants contain aluminum which is what causes you to stay dry. The chemical reaction between aluminum and the sweat is what creates the plug.
In short, it's important to sweat.
As you look into deciding on a natural deodorant keep one thing in mind. Baking soda. Although baking soda is a natural substance, and you technically cannot be allergic to it, skin irritation can occur. Baking soda is a pH neutralizer and overtime it can alter the pH of your skin. Whether you have a reaction right away, like redness, itching, flaking or dryness, you may randomly have a reaction to the substance one day from an unhealthy concentration of baking soda being applied to the skin. Arrowroot powder is an easy alternative, and a great odor neutralizer.
Now, you have probably heard of the DETOX PERIOD when switching to a natural deodorant. Did you know that per the FDA antiperspirants are considered an over the counter drug? That means that your body is dependent on it, and will go through a transitional detox period which can last up to 4 weeks. During the first week of transition my body didn't notice a difference in deodorants (shocking!) because my pores were so clogged with the antiperspirant chemicals. Your shift could happen within a matter of days, and you'll start to notice your body odor changing. The second week you are going to stink. Honesty is the best policy guys, and that's why quarantine is the perfect time. Your body needs to flush out all the chemicals it has been holding on to, and your body odor will tell you just how badly it had needed the purge. You might also be more "wet" than you'd expect as your body begins to adjust to the regulation. During the third week your body odor should start to subside as the bacteria works its way out of your system. By week four your bacteria levels should have subsided, and your wetness level should be normalized.
Natural deodorants are a fabulous alternative to what is available at your traditional store; baking soda free of course. Once you move through the detox period you will see a difference in your body, and you can rest easy knowing the change you have made has aided so many processes that will only support you.