Finding an alternative deodorant that WORKS.

Today I confess to something that may cause eye-rolling or flaring nostrils. :::drumroll::: I have replaced my anti-perspirant deodorant with baking soda. Yep.

I can hear my mother now. Baking soda! What! How could you! Don't you smell disgusting and sweat all the time? Don't you WANT to have friends? I think you're taking this environmentalist crap a little too far...

Nope. I've been using it for over a week and haven't run my friends off yet.

These days, I've been much more conscious of what I buy and use. Like many products, deodorants have two main issues: 1) questionable ingredients, and 2) their plastic container.

The unfortunate reality is that the government does not currently require health studies or pre-market testing for [personal care] products before they are sold. The Cosmetics Ingredients Review (CIR), the industry's self-policing safety panel, falls far short of compensating for the lack of FDA oversight. An EWG analysis found that in its 30-year history, the CIR has reviewed the safety of just 13% of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products. FDA does no systematic reviews of safety. That means that nearly 90% of ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by any publicly accountable institution. And as people apply an average of 126 unique ingredients on their skin daily, these chemicals are raising concerns, for their potential impacts to human health and to the environment. 

(From Skin Deep, a cosmetic database run by Environmental Working Group. Emphasis mine.)

From a health standpoint, I don't think it's crazy to try and limit the amount of synthetic chemicals I put directly on my skin every day. And since my old deodorant contained aluminum, which has been linked to Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer (the research is not conclusive, however), I began to look for safer alternatives.

And, about the plastic. Most deodorants come in plastic. The implications of this man-made product stretch far beyond taking up landfill space or littering beaches. Read Plastic Oceans if you haven't already, or my blog post on Why You Should Care About Plastic to understand why it's such a big freaking deal.

So...back to that baking soda. I have it in a small dish that I keep in my bathroom. After I shower and dry off, I lean over the sink and rub it in with my fingers. Viola. Deodorized pits with one chemical (which is safe enough to eat).

I have generally been applying baking soda after I shower and/or in the mornings. It is certainly different than antiperspirant, meaning I sweat more under my arms. Interestingly enough, though, my face or other parts of my body do not sweat as much. And even though my armpits are a little wetter when I'm walking around outside in the middle of the afternoon, I'm not sweating at all when I'm not supposed to, like when I'm sitting inside.

And people, I live in the South. It's already June. That means it's almost 90 by noon. My eyeglasses fog from the heat when I get in my car. After it rains, you can almost cut the humidity with a butter knife. And, I do not sweat daintily.

All in all, it feels better. I don't smell. Not even after going to my martial arts class, in which we run around like hooligans for two straight hours in a building that doesn't believe in air-conditioning. It seems that foregoing the antiperspirant has restored the natural state of my sweat glands, which I honestly don't mind. I'd personally rather sweat a little more in my pits than on my face, which causes my glasses to slide down my nose. Also--I wear a lot of black (even in the summer...sigh) and was initially concerned about the baking soda getting all over my shirts. A little comes off when I put on my top, but shaking the fabric once or twice gets it off. And it sure is a lot easier to deal with than my old white deodorant, which seemed to somehow get everywhere.

But, I do recognize my story is anecdotal in nature, and I encourage you to read about other bloggers who have also had success with the baking soda method. One person added corn syrup because her skin felt a little irritated. Another swears by a crystal rock, which is another plastic-free alternative and probably better for you than the synthetic stuff.

By making this switch I am saving many things: money, the amount of chemicals I subject myself to, the irritation of finding out that my scented deodorant clashes with my perfume, the amount of chemicals going down the drain and into the water supply when I take a shower, space in my medicine cabinet, space in my suitcase when I travel, the amount of energy used to create a deodorant stick in the first place, gas used to transport deodorant, and finally, PLASTIC. One less plastic tube I will buy and throw away and buy again. One less container that could end up in the North Pacific Gyre.

I really encourage you to try it. Please let me know how it goes!