What started out as a DIY project of making my own deodorant with only three ingredients, including lime juice from my own little tree, became a quest to make an effective deodorant people might not only like, but buy!
My grandma died of lymphoma and I always wondered if it was from the products she used. For one thing, she always had a beautiful, pink, bejeweled container of talcum powder with a big, round, powder puff which was absolutely irresistible to a little girl. I remember taking that puff and heavily dabbing my nose with it, surely breathing and eating some. I loved the smell and texture of it. It seemed so harmless. We now know some talcum powder contains asbestos and is a suspected cause of ovarian cancer. For so long people have unknowingly exposed themselves to toxins because they thought corporations cared about the safety of their products and the FDA was watching out for them (Pardon me while I laugh up my sleeve).
Along with talcum powder, people have used antiperspirants that contain aluminum salts that dissolve on the skin clogging pores and resulting in less sweat. Some think this prevents the body from secreting toxins, but cancerous toxins are not removed from the body via the axillary (underarm) lymph nodes but through the liver and kidneys. However, there has been a link between breast cancer and women who heavily used antiperspirants with aluminum. So, best not to use antiperspirants with aluminum.
God made our bodies to sweat and we should sweat, but we don’t have to smell. Sweat is made up of mostly water, salt, proteins, and oils and isn’t necessarily the cause of body odor. B.O. can be caused by many factors such as hormones, certain medical conditions, and foods we eat. However, it is mostly caused by bacteria on the skin breaking down sweat. The bacteria and fungi, or microorganisms, that live on our skin are called the microbiome. Helpful microbes found in the skin’s microbiome protect the skin from harmful microbes that might overgrow on the skin and cause infection resulting in a rash. A good deodorant will keep that microbiome in balance.
When applying our deodorant, apply it lightly. It seriously does not take much. We have even gotten reports that it doesn’t even need to be applied every day to prevent BO.
Lastly, we decided to go with the cardboard applicator even though the plastic applicators are more durable, have the twisting knob for up-and-down ease, and, we will admit, just look nicer. However, our guts told us the people most likely to buy our deodorant will also hate throwing plastic in landfills and will be in favor of its sustainability. I hope we were right!
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