Perfume & Your Pits: How Toxins In Deodorant & Perfumes Can Make You Sick (Part 2 of 2)(Part 2 of 2)
By Nadine Artemis
Sweat is a vital bodily process, and the quality of the odor of our sweat may be an indicator of health. The kidneys, liver and gut are designed to eliminate toxins and waste products from the body. Sluggish digestion, improper hydration as well as impaired kidney or liver function causes a back-up of waste in the body that is then released in the sweat, giving it an unpleasant odor. A great first step to sweet smelling sweat is to keep the digestive system cleared out by eating a colorful, organic whole-foods diet including probiotics and fermented food.
Also, unbalanced hormones stemming from issues with the adrenal gland may increase sweat and body odor. By passing on birth control pills and limiting exposure to hormone-disrupting chemicals, like fluoride, adrenal gland will be free to regulate the natural flow of hormones.
How to Make Your Own Natural Deodorant
Instead of masking odor or plugging up sweat glands, we can rely on nature’s beautiful plant botanicals to charm, not harm, the underarm. Essential oils harmonize with our bodies, our sweat, our hormones and our natural skin bacteria. Sandalwood essential oil, distilled from the inner bark of the sandalwood tree, is especially beautiful; it has an affinity for the armpit because it contains phyto-androgen, a substance similar to the androgen exuded by our armpits. Its warm scent smells beautiful on people, and it is the inspiration for Poetic Pits, our underarm libation that turns your sweat into sensual aroma. Unlike chemical-based, cancer-correlated deodorants, sandalwood oil contains alpha-santol and beta-santol, making sandalwood a chemo-preventative agent.
Baking soda, a staple in every kitchen pantry, is also a wonderful body freshener. Dust a clean armpit with baking soda, or tune in to your inner mixologist, and make your own sweat-sweetening balm.
Combine in a lidded glass jar:
- 2 ounces baking soda
- 1 ounce melted virgin coconut oil
- 25 drops of one, or a combination of these essential oils: sandalwood, frankincense, lavender, palo santo, cape chamomile, rosemary, cardamom, or white fir
- Shake and pop in the fridge to solidify and store at room temperature.
Another option: simply use a drop of pure undiluted sandalwood for each armpit.
An even more simple solution, especially appealing for sun-lovers, is to give your pits a daily sunbath. The golden rays of the sun are effective anti-bacterial agents, cleaning the armpits while also raising your daily vitamin D intake.
We can liberate our sweat from the “small stuff” and free our noses to enjoy exquisitely natural scents. In doing so, we keep ourselves and our loved ones in harmony and health.
About the Author:
Nadine Artemis is the creator of Living Libations, an exquisite line of serums, elixirs and essentials oils for those seeking the purest botanical health and beauty products on the planet. She is a frequent commentator on health and beauty for media outlets and her products have received rave reviews in The New York Times, The National Post and The Hollywood Reporter. An innovative aromacologist, Nadine develops immune enhancing formulas and medicinal blends for health and wellness: her potent dental drops are used worldwide and provide the purest oral care available. Nadine’s new paradigm for beauty and her natural approach to health presents a revolutionary vision: it allows the life-force of flowers, dewdrops, plants, sun and water to be the ingredients of healthy living and lets everything unessential, contrived and artificial fall away. Also by Nadine Artemis: “Successful Self Dentistry: How to Avoid the Dentist Without Ignoring Your Teeth” You’ll also learn how to improve your diet, how to protect your children’s teeth, herbal therapies, how to choose a dentist and how to prepare for a dental appointment.[1] Handwerk, Brian. “Armpits Are “Rain Forests” for Bacteria, Skin Map Shows.” National Geographic News. May 28, 2009. news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090528-armpits-bacteria-rainforests.html
[2]Ackerman, Diane. A Natural History of the Senses. Random House. 1990. pg. 24
[3]Darbre, PD. Journal of Applied Toxicology. 2003 Mar-Apr; 23(2):89-95.
[4] www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2010/07/start/whats-inside-dove-original-deodorant
[5] Flarend R, Bin T, Elmore D, Hem SL. Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Pennsylvania State University Altoona. “A preliminary study of the dermal absorption of aluminium from antiperspirants using aluminium-26.” Food Chemistry Toxicology. 2001 Feb; 39 (2):163-8.
[6] www.keele.ac.uk/lifesci/people/cexley/
[7] Toxicology Data Network. toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/f?./temp/~G9f6B6:5
[8] Sandalwood oil was used topically for 20 weeks and decreased the incidence of skin papilloma and inhibited TPA and ODC activity which are prominent in skin cancer. (sandalwood at 5% dilution) “Sandalwood oil prevents skin tumor development in Mice.” Dwivedi, C, and Zhang Y. European Journal of Cancer Prevention. 1999. Oct; 8 (5):449:55. http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/12/2/151.full.