Deodorant! I seem to spend a lot of time discussing deodorant with customers at Biddy and May. It seems to be the first clean switch that people gravitate towards, and for good reason.
Antiperspirants contain aluminium-based compounds that temporarily block our sweat pores, thereby reducing the amount of perspiration that reaches your skin.
Deodorants can eliminate odour but not perspiration. They're usually alcohol-based and turn your skin acidic, making it less attractive to bacteria. Deodorants often contain perfume fragrances intended to mask odour. These fragrances can also irritate your delicate under-arm area. We all sweat, and sweat is an important function, it helps regulate our body temperature, and it is mostly odourless.
Armpit sweat however is a different story as this sweat also contains fats and proteins that interact with bacteria on our skin, which can cause us to smell. The smell is what we are all paranoid about and try our best to avoid.
We have long been conditioned to think we need a dry smell-free armpit. Reaching for the latest and greatest antiperspirant seemed to help do the trick, but an antiperspirant is exactly that, it is literally anti-sweat! It prevents sweat from happening at all by blocking our pores; so we may have uber dry armpits, but what serious toxins have we let into our body to allow this to happen?
As we you all probably know the active ingredient in antiperspirant is aluminium – this is on the Biddy + May No Go Ingredients list for very good reason. It is concerning because it traps both our bodily toxins and other product-based toxins in our lymph nodes, near our breast tissue. It may also increase sweat as our bodies go into overdrive trying to push out the toxins through blocked sweat glands.
There is relatively little known about the long-term effects of absorption of this ingredient close to our breasts and breast tissue. So we say play it safe by switching to a clean deodorant product. Our breasts are just too important to take the risk. I’ve trialed many deodorants over the past 15 years and at Biddy + May we currently stock only two brands because they deliver outstanding results. True Organic of Sweden’s Undercover Agent and Freedom Deodorant.
It’s no big secret that many clean deodorants just don’t deliver; often they can make us smell worse! It can be a case of trial and error and often times when switching to a natural deodorant people think that it should begin working immediately. However what can happen is that you may sweat more and perhaps even begin to smell for the initial 2-3 weeks while your body detoxes from the conventional antiperspirant you have been using for all those years.
Do your research and decide on a brand that ticks all the safe ingredients boxes and has an application that suits you and your lifestyle. Buy from a trusted retailer you know has done the work for you, like us. Be patient over the first 2-3 weeks while your body gets used to the natural deodorant. Don’t jump to the conclusion that it is not working.
During this initial detox phase, take your deodorant with you and re-apply during the day as needed (depending on your lifestyle and physical activity). After 2-3 weeks you should notice that your body has adjusted and you only need apply once a day in the morning and of course before or after a Workout as you would normally. Remember you will still sweat a little (again depends on your level of physical activity) because you are no longer using a product that is blocking your sweat pores. Enjoy your newly found clean deodorant and never look back!