The Best Non-Toxic Deodorant
Regarding “natural” deodorants, I have tried a million. Well, maybe not a million, but at least eight. They kind of all “stink” if you get my drift. And hopefully, you will NOT be getting my drift. But slathering your armpit with aluminum and toxic chemicals, an area that is by the way located right next to your breasts, isn’t the best breast health idea. Here’s the scoop…
Once you go down the rabbit hole of natural health and integrative medicine like me, it’s difficult to “unsee” things. You start to really examine everything you do in life. What am I eating? How much am I sleeping? What quality air am I breathing? What kind of chicken is this? (is it farm to table? And did the chicken have friends?) Am I meditating correctly? (or in my case “why aren’t you meditating!!!” and what in the actual heck am I putting on my body? my hair? my face? my skin? my armpits???!!
First thing to understand is that you absorb ALL the chemicals you put on your skin directly into your body and eventually into your bloodstream.
How’s that for both frightening and annoying at the same time? Given that there are things we do NOT wish to absorb into our organs, here are seven common ingredients in deodorants and anti-perspirants that we may NOT want to put on our skin:
2. Parabens — this chemical is used as a preservative. Let me explain what a preservative is. It is something that prevents living things from surviving. Who wants THAT on your skin? Sometimes parabens act as estrogen in your body, which is also linked to breast cancer and prostate cancer.
3. Steareths — I’m not entirely sure what this does for armpit sweat, but it is considered a carcinogen.
4. Triclosan — The FDA considers this a pesticide as it kills bacteria in the deodorant manufacturing process, AND murders the bacteria on your skin. Do you really want a murderous pesticide slathered on your body? When triclosan is mixed with water it can also make a gas called chloroform, as seen in Dick Tracy movies of the 40s. The one where a “dame” gets “chloroformed” as part of a kidnapping in almost every episode. I may have made all of that up by the way, but I feel like it’s vaguely true…the part about the movie. Not the other science-y part.
5. Propylene Glycol — this chemical can cause damage to your brain, heart and liver. It can irritate skin too. It’s just generally bad news.
6. TEA and DEA — Triethanolamine (TEA) and diethanolamine (DEA) can absorb into your skin and attack your liver and kidneys. They have been banned in Europe because they are known carcinogens.
➔ Footnote: If it’s banned in Europe it can’t be good. I mean, let’s face it, Amsterdam has legalized pot and shrooms. And for emphasis I am now using Amsterdam to represent the whole of Europe to drive home a very important point. They aren’t exactly wusses. So if they ban stuff…we should take note.
7. Artificial Colors — this is self-explanatory. If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t want to wear it either.
For those of you who skipped the whole explanation above and frankly missed out on the tremendous wit and run-on sentence structure because you are too busy for all of this meandering and attention deficit disorder stuff…..
My favorite natural deodorant is SCHMIDT’s. You can get it at Whole Foods. Target. I’m sure Amazon. Or order it from Thrive market online. it’s got cool scents like lime and bergamot. I thought that was a cool combo. It’s not going to stop you from sweating like Richard Simmons at a kickboxing contest for the a 100 and over category, but it WILL prevent you from emptying out an elevator at work, if you are of normal sweat capacity. Give it a try. It’s worth a shot to not be poisoned by your deodorant on a daily basis. Plus your real friends will still love you anyway*
❋ Your mileage may vary.
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Ready for the legal disclaimer? Information offered here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. As with any health recommendations, please contact your doctor to be sure any changes you wish to consider are safe for you!