Wellness
4 Tips on Finding (and Using) Natural Deodorant
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If you’ve been around the wellness community for an asana or two, you’ve probably heard the buzz about natural deodorants.
However, even though many of us know that it’s important to seek out natural alternatives in our personal care, sometimes making the switch can be daunting or downright stinky.
The great news is that natural deodorants have come a long way in the past few years. You no longer need to compromise between feeling “hand-raising ready” and choosing a safe choice for your body and the environment.
What is the difference between conventional antiperspirants and natural deodorants?
Most antiperspirants, including the ones that your mom likely slid onto your shelves right after you had “the talk,” are formulated with aluminum and synthetic fragrances. Aluminum blocks the sweat glands in your armpits and synthetic fragrances mask odors caused by the growth of bacteria.
The bad news? Your armpits were made to sweat and purge toxins. When your body’s sweat glands are blocked, those toxins stay in your body and can lead to potential health complications.
The great news? The wellness community has been heard loud and clear, and there are now several alternative deodorants to choose from. Compared to antiperspirants, natural deodorants replace aluminum with natural moisture-absorbing ingredients and synthetic fragrances with essential oils (look for bacterial blasting tea tree).
Here’s a few tips for finding (and using) natural deodorants!
Prepare for a detox period.
Depending on your body chemistry, you can expect a 2-4 week detox period while your body gets used to living without an antiperspirant.
During this time, you may want to carry around your natural deodorant and touch up a few times a day, use a sauna to increase detoxification, and wash with antibacterial soap to keep stick causing bacteria at bay.
Try: Pacifica - Coconut & Charcoal Underarm Detox Scrub, $15
1
Prepare for a detox period.
Depending on your body chemistry, you can expect a 2-4 week detox period while your body gets used to living without an antiperspirant.
During this time, you may want to carry around your natural deodorant and touch up a few times a day, use a sauna to increase detoxification, and wash with antibacterial soap to keep stick causing bacteria at bay.
Try: Pacifica - Coconut & Charcoal Underarm Detox Scrub, $15
Look for deodorants with natural ingredients.
When looking at labels, aim to get as close to 100% natural ingredients as possible.
Look for plant-derived ingredients and natural clays and steer clear of aluminum, synthetic fragrances, and BHT (aka butylated hydroxytoluene, a cosmetic preservative).
2
Look for deodorants with natural ingredients.
When looking at labels, aim to get as close to 100% natural ingredients as possible.
Look for plant-derived ingredients and natural clays and steer clear of aluminum, synthetic fragrances, and BHT (aka butylated hydroxytoluene, a cosmetic preservative).
Adjust your products for sensitive skin.
Many people complain that natural deodorants give them a rash or irritate their underarms. This is generally because many natural deodorants use baking soda as an ingredient to aid in absorbing moisture. Baking soda can be effective for keeping sweat at bay; however, it’s also quite abrasive (think: baking soda based toothpaste and home cleaning products).
If you tend to have sensitive skin, seek out deodorants that have arrowroot powder or kaolin clay.
Try: CLN&DRTY Natural Skincare Lemon Eucalyptus Natural Deodorant, $16
3
Adjust your products for sensitive skin.
Many people complain that natural deodorants give them a rash or irritate their underarms. This is generally because many natural deodorants use baking soda as an ingredient to aid in absorbing moisture. Baking soda can be effective for keeping sweat at bay; however, it’s also quite abrasive (think: baking soda based toothpaste and home cleaning products).
If you tend to have sensitive skin, seek out deodorants that have arrowroot powder or kaolin clay.
Try: CLN&DRTY Natural Skincare Lemon Eucalyptus Natural Deodorant, $16
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
Don’t be shy to try a few natural deodorants until you find one that’s good for you. Test out a few different brands, scents, and ingredient profiles before throwing the towel in. And remember to give yourself the full 30 days to detox from aluminum and other chemicals.
Switching over to natural products can be overwhelming, so we encourage you to remember that it’s all about progress and not perfection.
Consider transitioning to one “clean” product per month rather than throwing out your entire medicine cabinet and starting from scratch. And remember, the natural personal care industry has grown so much in the past few years. You no longer have to compromise between being healthy and loving your personal care products!
Want to learn more about natural skincare? Discover tips, new products, and more at https://clnanddrty.com/ or follow @clnanddrty!
4
If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
Don’t be shy to try a few natural deodorants until you find one that’s good for you. Test out a few different brands, scents, and ingredient profiles before throwing the towel in. And remember to give yourself the full 30 days to detox from aluminum and other chemicals.
Switching over to natural products can be overwhelming, so we encourage you to remember that it’s all about progress and not perfection.
Consider transitioning to one “clean” product per month rather than throwing out your entire medicine cabinet and starting from scratch. And remember, the natural personal care industry has grown so much in the past few years. You no longer have to compromise between being healthy and loving your personal care products!
Want to learn more about natural skincare? Discover tips, new products, and more at https://clnanddrty.com/ or follow @clnanddrty!
Wellness
Foundational Steps to Cultivating a Daily Self-love Practice
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When you think of self-love what do you think of? Bubble baths, walks on the beach, facemasks, or what? Self-love can mean so many different things but when we think about self-love, we have to acknowledge loving ourselves both on the outside and on the inside. The way that we show ourselves love is one of the most important things we will ever do.
How do we treat ourselves? How do we talk to ourselves? What foods are we putting into our bodies? How are we thinking about our overall well-being when practicing self-love?
As self-love defines and redefined itself for you over the years, here are a few foundational tips to think about when easing into your self-love journey.
Step 1: Learn to set boundaries
Don’t we love this one? Loving ourselves has a lot to do with the boundaries that we have for ourselves, with others, and for others. Take time to think about your own emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual needs when setting boundaries that reflect your personal needs. Boundaries don’t have to be big and scary; they are here to remind us that you get to have your lived experience and still have expectations about how you’d like to be treated and what you’d like to feel.
When thinking about your boundaries, ask yourself:
- How do I feel without having boundaries?
- What would I like to have boundaries around?
- Are my boundaries actual boundaries or am I creating walls in my life?
- How do I plan to uphold my boundaries?
Step 2: Cultivate self-compassion
In a world where perfectionism and curated existences have been rewarded, begin to cultivate compassion for yourself. You are a soul having a human experience and it’s totally okay if things are not perfect.
Mindfulness exercises such as Breathwork, self-care activities, and self-compassion, all help train the mind, emotions, and even the body’s stress chemicals to be able to deal with undesired situations. Self-compassion means, can you be nice to yourself? Can you find empathy and kindness for yourself in the middle of what feels chaotic, stressful, or unwanted? Self-compassion means that we get to make mistakes, have our plans not work out the way that we wanted, and we still get to celebrate that we are doing the best that we can and it is enough.
When thinking about self-compassion, ask yourself:
- How do I respond to stressful situations?
- How hard am I on myself?
- How do I celebrate myself?
- How do I show myself kindness?
Step 3: Nourish yourself
In every sense of the word “nourishment”, begin to learn what nourishes you and what depletes you. Nourishment doesn’t just mean food for yourself; it means that whatever you are consuming whether it be media, podcasts, people, energy, information, etc. all impact the way that we think, feel, and experience life.
Nourishing yourself definitely goes right along the lines of having your boundaries intact and practicing self-compassion.
When thinking about nourishment, ask yourself:
- How do I nourish my emotional well-being?
- How do I nourish my mental well-being?
- How do I nourish my physical well-being?
- How do I nourish my spiritual well-being?
- How do I nourish my social well-being?
- How do I nourish my financial well-being?
That’s it. Those are the foundational steps to cultivating a self-love practice that you can ease into your daily routine. Come back to these questions often, because like anything else, self-love is a practice and it takes effort, time, and intention to maintain.
If you’d like to try breathwork, mindfulness, or play classes with me, check out these workshops and training sessions that work with your schedule. For other breathwork classes, browse Mindbody.
