The deodorant you’d buy in the shop certainly works well to prevent odors, some better than others. But did you ever question how exactly it works? We did, and we didn’t really like what we learned.
The Three Factors Of A Deodorant
The strong odor comes from the byproducts of bacteria that grow in the warm (and sometimes moist) environment of the armpit. So the first factor of a deodorant, is to get rid of these bacteria to end bad smell. There’s some scary chemical-compounds in those deodorants for this purpose. Most of them make the armpit salty, and thus create a bacteria hostile environment. Of course those chemicals are harmless, especially in such a low dosage. But if applied everyday . . . who knows?
There’s a second factor that some deodorants have, which is to prevent or reduce sweating. This is a preventive measure, since a dry armpit is less likely to form bacteria in the first place. Our body is a natural sweater, so the deodorant has to block the sweat. They do this by literally plugin up the sweat glands with little aluminum salts, with clogged glands the armpit is unable to sweat. However, aluminum is highly toxic and can cause cancer, it is therefore best to avoid aluminous deodorants.
The third factor is the deodorants scent, which basically covers your own odor with a more pleasant one. And this whole chemical mixture is then wrapped up in a fancy bottle, even with gas sprayer for some.
The whole experience of using a deodorant has drifted far away from the green way of living. The trash is creates, the toxic waste, the unhealthy aluminum. So we set out to find a more eco-friendly way. Here’s what we found, let us introduce some real alternatives to commercial deodorants.
How To Make Your Own Deodorant Cream
The basic recipe is very simple and you just need two ingredients. Just mix coconut oil with natron in about a 1:1 ratio and apply the cream under your armpit.
The natron, being a salt, will take care of the bacteria. You’ll find this ingredient in most pharmacies or grocery shops (baking section). The coconut oil has also some anti-bacterial effect, but more importantly does it keep the natron on your skin and it is also a moisturizer.
The basic recipe can be tuned according to your needs: – Add some essential oil to for a nice scent (we like lavender for men, or rose oil for women) – Add arrowroot powder or cornstarch to make the mixture less fatty (the arrowroot powder works a little better)
Natural Crystal Stone Deodorant
We found the crystal stone by chance on a market in the city. The vendor had it shaped and smoothed to a stick shape with round top, just like a deodorant roller. This shape is very convenient to use the crystal. Simply wet the stick or your armpits slightly and apply it to your underarms, again just like a regular deodorant roller. You might need to rub a little bit longer than you normally would.
The crystal is actually a salt, and thus works pretty well as we learned earlier. However this kind of salt seems to be less aggressive than the natron and is therefore a little less effective. Also, it doesn’t dry out the skin, and can really be used just as it is. The salt works best when applied on clean skin, as a preventive measure. The salt has no antiperspirant effect and is not scented.
There’s different kinds of crystal salts that are suitable for this purpose. One stick lasts more than a year if applied daily. You can find them online, for example here: http://a.co/hnnXbRg
Conclusion & Comparison To Commercial Deodorants
After more than a year since moving away from commercial deodorants we can make a firm statement about the home made or crystal alternatives. They both work fairly well, although less effective than the commercial ones.
- The coconut-natron cream works pretty well, is easy to make and use. The anti-odor effect lasts from morning till evening.
- The crystal is very easy to use and well worth money, since it lasts so long. It’s a little less effective than the natron cream, but still works great.
The crystal stone is our favorite due to its sheer simplicity.
Bonus Tip
Shaving the hair under the armpit also seems to have a positive effect against odor. We suppose its because it is just a little bit less warm and a little bit less moist without the hair. Also, similar as the pubic hair, the armpit hair would normally produce pheromones that would then mix into the overall odor. So trimming them off seems to help, but be careful, you might loose some sex appeal 😉
