The skin is the largest organ of the body.
Read it again.
Again.
Yes, it means that whatever you put on it, it will be directly absorbed into your body, as if you were eating it. So now it might be time to re-consider what exactly we are ingesting through our skin. Make-up, skincare, sunscreens, moisturizer, powders, body lotions, shower gels, shampoo, hair spray, nail polish, antibacterial gels and soaps, deodorants or antiperspirants, rolls or sprays…. We all know that all those daily goods are loaded with harmful toxic chemicals. Some people may say that they are harmless because they only contain minimal doses of potential carcinogen, endocrine disrupting, toxic substances.
But who exactly knows how much per day we are absorbing? We are using so many of those different products, especially women (but men are getting there now), that no one really knows the potential risk to our body. These poisons accumulate in our body and this can not be safe.
For example, some research show that concentrations of parabens, aluminium, and other normally used cosmetics chemicals are much higher in breast tissues compared to normal. This is because they are the main ingredients of most of the deodorants or antiperspirants out there. Some health professionals see a direct link between those harmful substances and cancer – or endocrine imbalances.
Because I know many people still go on using toxic cosmetics, I decided to write this article about the deodorants and antiperspirants in particular.
1. The difference between deodorants and antiperspirants
Deodorants inhibit the smell of the sweat by killing odour-causing bacteria through antiseptics. They don’t block the sweat, just the smell that is the produce of this bacteria thriving in it. And then most of the time, a chemical fragrance is added to cover any persistent odour. For the antiseptic to have a long shelf-life, parabens is often added. Parabens are absorbed through the skin, and mimic estrogens, disrupting the natural hormonal balance of the person, women and men.
Antiperspirants do block the sweating, an essential natural detoxification process: sweat is good, it takes many toxins out of the body, helps the body regulate its internal temperature. The more you sweat, the more you get rid of bad stuff that make you smell bad! And the cleaner you get, the better/or the more transparent your sweat odour will be. Natural human odour doesn’t smell bad, if the person is healthy and not toxic. The main ingredient in antiperspirants is Aluminium Chlorhydrate. It helps block the pores from producing sweat. But we know today how Aluminium is poisonous. And today it is well known that it increases risks of breast cancer, when used on the armpits…
Parabens, Aluminium, Triclosan, Propylene Glycol are the main ingredients used for all those products, and if you do the research you will quickly understand how toxic they are. Whatever is said, cumulating all those harmful chemicals together can not be a good idea.
But also, we know today that we can not live without our bacteria and internal microbiome. They are part of us and help us in many ways. By killing them off, using all those chemicals, and antibacterial soaps as well, we disrupt our internal balance and this can lead to many health problems, from allergies, to immune weaknesses, to other skin rushes, diseases, gut and brain problems, and much more.
For all these reasons, it just makes sense to let our detoxification system work the way it should. It has even been proven that the more you sweat, the less you will smell, as you are detoxifying your system.
So let’s find other solutions for people who can not stand the idea of sweating and smelling in a natural way.
2. Alternative solutions exist
So, we now understand that the only way to have an odourless natural sweat, is to sweat out all the toxins and have a quite clean lifestyle: eat organic, avoid all processed foods, stay away from all chemicals that your body might need to fight against to clean itself. In the meantime, you can:
- Wash regularly (3 times per day should be enough) your armpits with just water and natural soap
- Wash your armpit with water and Apple Cider Vinegar
- Have regular Epsom Salt baths or Magnesium Flakes Bath and apply Magnesium Oil on your armpit. This will help with detoxification and sweating a lot
- Use this natural deodorant recipe, easy to do and really efficient:
o 3tbsp of coconut oil
o 2tbsp shea butter
o 3tbsp baking soda
o 2tbsp corn starch
o 5 drops essential oils (peppermint, lavender, orange, rose…)
- If you are not there yet, you can go to a Health Store and look for Natural Organic deodorants, but beware because some might still not be that good. An amazing datasource that tells you whether this product is good or not is EWG. You can also download their app “EWG: Healthy Living”. By scanning the barcode you can get all results and analysis about the toxicity level of each product. A must have!
Hope this will help you understand how important the products you are applying on your skin are. Don’t underestimate the impact they have on your overall health. In the long term, a toxic lifestyle can lead to many heavy health issues. On top of that, the chemicals that get sweat off or that are eliminated naturally (through urine or washed off) are found in our lakes and oceans. We can not go on polluting our environment just because we can not take care of ourselves in a better way. Solutions exist. Respect yourself by respecting your body and the planet. It is a good deal, isn’t it?
With Love and Health,
Stephanie