I'll hold up my hands (but perhaps whilst trying to keep my armpits contained) and admit, I went through a spell of not being able to control my sweaty pits.
Whether it was my age, something in my diet or something else I wasn't sure but I know I was feeling quite self conscious for a while. I tried various vegan, ethical deodorants, all the time trying to avoid any nasties like aluminium, but none of them seemed to work very well.
Then I made two discoveries. When we were in Portugal for a month wild camping I wasn't washing quite as frequently as I normally would. 'Yuck' you might say but I kid you not, I actually smelt less. Not only that but my skin felt great and my hair seemed to appreciate it too. I've read and heard about the whole not washing or not using 'products' on your skin before so it's not just me that is a dirty hippy! Your body can naturally cleanse itself left to it's own devices.
However, for most not washing just wouldn't be an option and indeed I do enjoy a good shower or bath, but it does seem that more and more people are striving to avoid exposing themselves to toxic chemicals in their daily lives. In fact Phil just told me that he read an article recently that stated that the average American woman can absorb up to 5lbs of chemicals per year from her daily make up routine alone. That is obviously the extreme and thankfully I'm neither into chemicals or the whole make up thing but my experience of not washing as much really proved to me that even applying 'natural things' isn't always necessary either.
So back to my armpit issue; what did I do to combat it whilst in the non wild-camping environment? After talking to my close colleague Jane about my armpit issue she suggested making my own deodorant and she even gave me a recipe she had found on line. After all, I make my own toothpaste so why wouldn't I give deodorant a go? Well I did but I have to say it wasn't that successful. It was made with equal measures of melted coconut oil (an anti-oxidant and moisturiser), bicarbonate of soda (to absorb odour) and corn powder (absorbs wetness) with a few drops of essential oil; all mixed together and then poured into a glass jar to solidify. It wasn't the effectiveness of the result that was bad (actually it was pretty good) it was the fact that I chose to use peppermint oil (as that is what I had hanging around) and the combination of the coconut and peppermint just lent it a bit of an unusual odour. In fairness, if I had used tea tree or lavender it may well have been a success. So the second discovery was that it was indeed possible to make your own effective deodorant but just make sure you choose the right fragrance!
My first experience of making my own deodorant did kind of put me off trying to make anymore though. Jane however came to the rescue again and presented me with a jar of a natural deodorant she had discovered herself. CoCho is made with coconut oil, bicarbonate of soda and tea tree essence and I have to say it has been wonderful as well as smelling a whole lot better than my own creation. I've been hooked ever since!
So if you feel daunted by making your own natural armpit offering never fear as CoCho can come to the rescue. Check out their lovely deodorants, amongst many other of their natural products, on their website -
CoCho by Coconut Choices
Whether it was my age, something in my diet or something else I wasn't sure but I know I was feeling quite self conscious for a while. I tried various vegan, ethical deodorants, all the time trying to avoid any nasties like aluminium, but none of them seemed to work very well.
Then I made two discoveries. When we were in Portugal for a month wild camping I wasn't washing quite as frequently as I normally would. 'Yuck' you might say but I kid you not, I actually smelt less. Not only that but my skin felt great and my hair seemed to appreciate it too. I've read and heard about the whole not washing or not using 'products' on your skin before so it's not just me that is a dirty hippy! Your body can naturally cleanse itself left to it's own devices.
However, for most not washing just wouldn't be an option and indeed I do enjoy a good shower or bath, but it does seem that more and more people are striving to avoid exposing themselves to toxic chemicals in their daily lives. In fact Phil just told me that he read an article recently that stated that the average American woman can absorb up to 5lbs of chemicals per year from her daily make up routine alone. That is obviously the extreme and thankfully I'm neither into chemicals or the whole make up thing but my experience of not washing as much really proved to me that even applying 'natural things' isn't always necessary either.
So back to my armpit issue; what did I do to combat it whilst in the non wild-camping environment? After talking to my close colleague Jane about my armpit issue she suggested making my own deodorant and she even gave me a recipe she had found on line. After all, I make my own toothpaste so why wouldn't I give deodorant a go? Well I did but I have to say it wasn't that successful. It was made with equal measures of melted coconut oil (an anti-oxidant and moisturiser), bicarbonate of soda (to absorb odour) and corn powder (absorbs wetness) with a few drops of essential oil; all mixed together and then poured into a glass jar to solidify. It wasn't the effectiveness of the result that was bad (actually it was pretty good) it was the fact that I chose to use peppermint oil (as that is what I had hanging around) and the combination of the coconut and peppermint just lent it a bit of an unusual odour. In fairness, if I had used tea tree or lavender it may well have been a success. So the second discovery was that it was indeed possible to make your own effective deodorant but just make sure you choose the right fragrance!
My first experience of making my own deodorant did kind of put me off trying to make anymore though. Jane however came to the rescue again and presented me with a jar of a natural deodorant she had discovered herself. CoCho is made with coconut oil, bicarbonate of soda and tea tree essence and I have to say it has been wonderful as well as smelling a whole lot better than my own creation. I've been hooked ever since! So if you feel daunted by making your own natural armpit offering never fear as CoCho can come to the rescue. Check out their lovely deodorants, amongst many other of their natural products, on their website -
CoCho by Coconut Choices
It's the Crystal deodorant for me every time - been using it for many years, and am on my 3rd or 4th stick? Good for frugality and low resource use; maybe I could make a re-usable stick-holder...?
ReplyDeleteHey Paddy. I tried the crystal ones and never really got on with them either. Good idea with the re-usable stick holders!
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