I don’t use antiperspirant anymore. I know. Ewwwwww. Grody.
But I’m tired of putting that toxic mess of chemical soup on my skin – especially skin that’s right next to my lymph glands. Your skin is your biggest organ, and I want to protect it the same way I’m trying to protect the rest of me. Your skin tries to eliminate toxins when you sweat – and antiperspirant stops that. Doesn’t sound healthy to me. Even if you don’t buy into a possible link between aluminum and cancer or dementia – your body needs to get rid of toxins. Anything that stops it makes it harder to be healthy.
I’m also horribly sensitive to perfumes and most deodorants/antiperspirants have obnoxious chemically flowery scents that give me horrendous headaches that last until I wash it off. 15 months ago I had my second baby through c-section. You can’t drive until the doctor clears you, and my husband had his hands full taking care of me, and our 2.5 year old. I ran out of antiperspirant. I bought some off my favorite retailer, and the scent wasn’t the same one I was used to. My headaches were awful, and lasted for weeks. Needless to say, headaches are the last thing a nursing mother with a newborn and an insecure 2.5 year old and a struggling daddy need. I tried for months to ignore the perfume and headaches but I just couldn’t take it. I needed an alternative. When I was pregnant with my second I’d had a number of challenges to overcome, one of which was an overactive thyroid. In addition to the heart palpitations, freezing all the time, nausea throughout my entire pregnancy, I also developed extremely dry skin and hair. My lotions just couldn’t keep up. I somehow ended up smearing coconut oil on my face (the worst offender) and it helped immeasurably. When that worked I did the rest of my body. Relief!
I knew that coconut oil also has antibacterial properties – so I tried it on my underarms. Didn’t work for me, and I didn’t have time to experiment and mix stuff (coconut oil and baking soda is supposed to work really well). The commercial healthy deodorants were out of our budget. I read somewhere about trying lime juice. I figured it couldn’t hurt to try (except after shaving, lol). Lime juice after a shower seems to work really well for me – even with running after very active little boys and working out regularly.
One warning. Apparently limes are phototoxic – meaning if you go out in the sun with lime juice on your armpits, please make sure you’re covered. Lime juice will cause you to burn badly. So in the spring and summer when you are out there getting your vitamin D, you need to use another natural deodorant. I read that milk of magnesia also works great, and you get a transdermal boost of magnesium (most of us are deficient, so this is another plus). I’ll try that in a couple months and let y’all know how it works.
At some point I may try to make a stick type deodorant with coconut oil and baking soda. It’s supposed to work really well. If I do that, I’ll share my experiences. For now, I’ll stick with lime juice. It’s cheap and fast, which is what I need in my life. Let me know what works for you!