No Stink!

I’ve just discovered what I consider to be one of the greatest finds of my life. A few weeks ago I caught a miserable cold. I realize that most people think colds are miserable. However, the typical cold appears to move through its stages quicker with everyone else than it does with me. Also, colds often turn into ugly sinus infections with me. Well, without getting into the nitty gritty of it all, let me just point out that I lost my sense of smell, as many do with the cold or the flu. For several days I couldn’t smell anything. I had never experienced such severe loss of smell. As one with severe chemical sensitivities, it was a scary thing not to be able to smell. I had no warning when a harmful chemical was coming my way.

After ten days of no smell, my sniff ability started to return. While the ability was continuously increasing, I noticed that there were specific substances I still couldn’t pick up on at all. It was about twelve days after losing my sense of smell when I realized I was going to completely recovery. Although my ability to smell in the past few years has been annoyingly extreme, I was so relieved.

While I was sick, I started to use baking soda for a deodorant. It wasn’t as if I would be doing anything too physical. I figured it would suffice until I was well again. I also thought it would be considerate to minimize any unpleasantness for my husband or a clerk at the grocery store. The baking soda was a little messy to pat on, but it was quick and easy. Whenever I felt a little hot, I noticed a tinge of dampness under my arms. I presumed there was an offensive odor that was accompanying this. Fortunately for me, I couldn’t smell it. But could others?

During my recovery and while I still couldn’t smell everything yet, I feared my underarm odor was one of the last things I would regain the ability to smell. I asked my husband to take a sniff. This was a first. I’m not in the habit of asking anyone to smell my underarms. He didn’t pay much attention (typical husband in that respect) and said he didn’t smell anything. At this point, I knew he wasn’t really trying and he didn’t want to upset an already overly emotional sick person. A couple of days later I was really starting to feel like myself and I thought I could finally smell everything again… except I still couldn’t smell my underarms. I asked my husband again. No, nothing. I had regained my sense of smell and I couldn’t smell my own stink. Was this a gift from God? Had I really found a solution to no underarm odor? I went online and discovered baking soda really works for many people.

Although I do experience some wetness under extreme stress or heat, the baking soda appears to be going strong. I have never had a deodorant work this well. Just one application in the morning and I am good for the entire day. Even after showering, it continues to work for me.

Some of you are asking, “Why do I care about baking soda as an alternative, if my deodorant works great for me?” Well, if you care about the health of your family and yourself, you will start looking for alternatives to the commercial deodorants that have been sold to us for decades. And you might also think twice about the need for the antiperspirant we have come to expect in our deodorants. Perspiring under the arms is not necessarily a bad thing. The chemicals in antiperspirants that are used to keep you dry block your pores and trap toxins inside your body, whereas sweating allows toxins to be expelled from your body. Many of us have been hearing about the dangers of aluminum in deodorants for the past two decades; but it’s time to investigate both the anti-perspirant and anti-odor chemicals in deodorants. They both are hazardous to our health.

To find out more on the harmful ingredients in deodorants, please check out these links:

http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/aluminum_in_deodorant

http://www.naturalnews.com/001061.html. This site suggests using baking soda mixed with corn starch (50/50) for a deodorant. It also mentions toxic chemicals found in our personal care and household products.

If you would like to discover what’s in your commercial brand of deodorant, click on: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/. When you get to the site, type the name of your deodorant in the search box. This is also a great place for looking up the toxicity level of your shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and cosmetics.

CONCLUSION: Chemicals in deodorants are not healthy and could be extremely harmful. There are all natural, non-toxic alternatives for deodorant. I'm stuck on baking soda. It is cheap, easy, and NO STINK! (Many health stores sell crystal deodorants. Some of these contain a different aluminum in them than do the commercial brands sold in grocery stores and pharmacies; potassium aluminum. I have not been able to locate conclusive data on the toxicity of deodorants with potassium aluminum.)

SUGGESTION: Give baking soda a try for at least 4-6 days. Ladies, don’t shave right before applying. It will irritate the skin. I shave at night to avoid this problem.