As children we are taught hygiene. We are taught to brush our teeth, bathe, and put on deodorant. Especially in the “Black” community! You CANNOT go anywhere stank. If you do, you already know what is coming next. We grew tough skin and odor free bodies!

I don’t know about your journey, but mine included changing from deodorant to deodorant, trying to manage the funk. Solid bars never worked for me so I eventually knew to use the gel. Trial and error taught me exactly which brands to stay away from and which ones have a chance for working for me. And then there was the sweat. For some reason I always sweat profusely under my arms when dancing in the club no matter the brand.

And then I switched to natural deodorant. It was a natural part of my natural journey, so I did created my transition deodorant myself. It was the safest for me at the time because I didn’t trust any brand of almost anything at this point. Internet browsing, I found a recipe online that said 1 part coconut oil to 1 part baking soda to 1 part arrowroot. I used that recipe and noticed that I wasn’t as fresh as I would like for a few days in the beginning. Eventually I was ok and was glad that I stuck it out. It was the worse at the end of the day and I was home to take a bath anyways so I made it! A week or so later, I had a conversation with a friend, and she started explaining that I went through the purge which was my armpits adjusting to the non toxic deodorant. That satisfied my confusion for the moment.

As time progressed, I took the arrowroot out of my formula, because I thought it was the cause of the irritation under my arms. I knew by this point that essential oils are too strong for the underarm, so my natural scent was fine by me. And then I came across a recipe without baking soda, because it was actually the irritant. Baking soda, come to find out, is good for cleaning the teeth and the house, but it is not so calming for the skin in the armpit. (but that makes sense when you think about it…)

Come to find out, the toxic deodorants that we buy in the store are made to be an antiperspirant, which uses unnatural ingredients that are harmful to the body, like aluminum, phthalates, propylene glycol (antifreeze), and formaldehyde to essentially clog our pores so that we do not sweat. This is by design. Studies show that the types of bacteria change based on the type of chemical introduced to the area.
(The skin is the largest organ of the body and responsible for detoxing the body.)

When switching to natural deodorant, you can do as I did and ride out the funk, you can use solely apple cider vinegar, or your can pull from the synergy of the ingredients in the “Armpit Detox” recipe below to hopefully speed up the process.

1 Tablespoon Bentonite Clay

1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar

1-2 Teaspoons of water (to get the consistency of sour cream)

DO NOT USE METAL when mixing Bentonite Clay as you will neutralize its ability to pull metal and toxins from the body. Place the mixture evenly under your arms for up to 20 minutes. Remove if it starts to burn. You may have to work your way up from a couple of minutes.