A question I’ve pondered all the way back to my pre-adolescent phase; how to get rid of body odor?
The thought {and smell} of body odor takes me back to my 6th grade classroom. The time and place when everyone starts to smell but no one knows how to take care of it. Only to soon be masked through the 7th and 8th grade by body sprays, perfume, cologne and every other measure that is humanly possible to take away the awkward conversation of body odor.
I’m sure we’ve all had our fair share of embarrassing encounters with personal body odor issues. Or maybe you haven’t and in that case go on and judge me. Because let me tell you body odor runs through my pores, literally.
While I could be alone, I’m going to assume by the statistics on deodorant sales we all have issues with body odor. Yes I’m proud to now know statistics on body odor. Don’t bother looking it up, I got your back.
In the latest podcast you can hear about my body odor detox and how to stop smelling for good. I’m a proud testimonial that it can happen. And I’m not joking when I say I literally have struggled with body odor for as long as I can remember. Find out how you can detox and overcome your own smell by listening in below.
Listen on iTunes | Listen on Stitcher | Listen on Google Play | Review the Podcast
In the meantime, lets break down deodorant.
white streaks
The first thing I remember when my smell became a problem was the blue stick of Dove antiperspirant deodorant. My day usually started as I slathered that stuff on like frosting, getting white streaks all down my clothing, frantically wiping it with a wet cloth as my mom was yelling at my sister and I to get in the car for school. It was a common occurrence, way too much deodorant, which got all over my clothes only to be left frustrated with more than two problems.
- Body odor
- Excessive sweating {which got worse with deodorant use}
- White streaks all over my clothes
I was a hot mess, but the battle wasn’t over. I continued to use antiperspirant deodorant numerous times a day battling the ongoing smell. It wasn’t until after my first baby was born that woman’s deodorant soon stopped working completely. Now it was onto the big guns, mens deodorant, which either was better at masking the smell or actually had a different formula.
Either way it seemed to be working until I soon realized the health implications of said antiperspirant deodorant. The list of ingredients and what they were doing in the body led next to the crippiling thought of the dreaded ‘natural’ deodorant that you knew didn’t stand a chance. But my health… and my armpits… and that smell…. there had to be something, an answer, a reason.
A reason I smelled, that we smelled. What was the purpose of body odor and how in the world could I manage it?
That is what I went on a mission of finding and have actually found the answer.
I’m now a proud wearer of natural deodorant, with one proud application a day {big news coming from someone who used to apply it at least three to four times}. My friend, it is possible to overcome body odor and actually be able to stick with a natural version and have it work, and work really well.
Goodbye pit stains.
your deodorant is making you smell
So how is this all possible? You’ll have to listen to the podcast episode above to find out how to overcome your body odor issues. It’s not what you think and in fact is rarely hormonal {the sweating is, the smell isn’t}. But like I said, we’re just breaking down deodorant.
So the question I want you to ponder is; could your deodorant be making you smell?
The answer is absolutely! I know it sounds counter productive and not possible but hear me out.
If we break down {quickly} the function of our armpits {because they rarely get any glory} they are actually home to some of our most expansive lymphatic nodes. If we remember from our lymphatic system lesson, one of its primary roles is filtering out and eliminating toxins from our cells to be excreted. Funny how these lymphatic nodes lie right next to one of our greatest excretion points {our skin + sweating}.
Essentially our armpits are essential in eliminating toxins through our skin and sweat via the lymphatic nodes and pores. While sweating or excessive sweating can come as a result of hormonal and energy changes, the smell is actually from an imbalance in our micro biome on our skin which is born through toxic waste both internally and externally.
your antiperspirant
If we take this a step further then we must understand what our antiperspirant deodorant is doing. The active ingredient in antiperspirants is aluminum salts. These aluminum salts dissolve into the moisture on the skin’s surface forming a gel. This gel temporarily sits on top of the sweat glands reducing the amount of sweat that can be released.
Essentially it blocks the pores preventing sweat, toxins, electrolytes and impurities from escaping.
This means there are at least two big problems with using this;
- It prevents toxins from leaving your body creating back-up in your body wrecking havoc inside your body. Essentially creating a sluggish liver, kidneys, lymphatic flow and more.
- It introduces the heavy metal aluminum which can create heavy metal toxicity. Heavy metals are most known to cause or increase neurological disorder and disease, cancer as well as grow and expand viruses, not to mention break down your immune system.
So not only are you preventing toxins from leaving your body creating build-up inside, you are also introducing heavy metals which only further the problems. If we take it one more step further, we can also see that the ingredients in most deodorants are actually causing an imbalance in our skin micro biome. Given our skin is our largest organ, this has its own negative effects just like our GI tract.
how to stop smelling
So how do we stop the smell? You can start by doing a fully body odor detox which really stems from a complete body cleanse. The Simple Cleanse program is perfect in eliminating toxins from your body which will eliminate the smell. But more than that we have to get back the right micro biome on our skin.
This means committing to a natural deodorant free of chemicals, heavy metals and other toxins.
Now I know what you are thinking…. but….
Trust me, I know! I can’t tell you how much I know. But here’s what you need to know about natural deodorants. They take a few weeks for your body to adjust. In some cases less and some unfortunate cases more. But regardless, it takes time to detox your body, regulate your armpit microbiome and get rid of your smell.
In fact most natural deodorants are made of ingredients that naturally detoxify the body, pulling toxins out. This means when you initially start, through the detox phase you may smell worse and sweat more than normal. You have to just embrace this phase and know it will get better and soon enough your smell will be gone.
But just like most good things, it has to get worse before it gets better.
my deodorant recommendation
Like I mentioned, I’ve tried nearly every brand of traditional and natural on the market. I’ve only found a few that I like and one that I love! Before we get to these brands {which are not sponsored but my own opinion} I do have to mention that you can make your own homemade deodorant.
Many people do and it is a good adjustment to the natural world.
However, you know me and making excessive stuff. It just doesn’t fit into my schedule right now, especially when there are reasonable places to purchase good quality from. Just like bone broth, some things in my life have to give and this is it!
However, if you were to make homemade deodorant you would need a mixture of coconut oil, baking soda, shea butter, and essential oils. Some recipes call for arrowroot powder and a few other things to make it silky smooth.
For me though I just buy deodorant and I have to say I use less deodorant than I have my entire life. So let me rate my good brands. They work fine but definitely have a few kinks to work out:
- Primal Pit Paste – It works for 6-8 hours but goes on very hard. It’s an okay back-up if needed.
- Norwex Deodorant – This only worked for about 5-6 hours. It went on smooth and smelled okay but not as long-lasting.
But to be honest, there is one company that stands above the rest. I can’t even tell you how blown away by this deodorant I was. It smells amazing, goes on smooth and works a solid 12 hours. Once I got through the first few days I literally put it on one time a day and occasionally once before bed.
The company is Primally Pure. They have the best products I have used {all of them} but the deodorant blows me out of the water. Not to mention they have a formulation for people with sensitive skin. However, if you use a natural deodorant and develop a rash, most likely it is just a part of the detox phase and not an actual reaction. But in either case, the sensitive skin is to prevent this. Check it out here.
One tube of deodorant lasted me about a month give or take a few days. Now I have it stocked up in our house because it is legit.
I’d highly suggest you run and get some today! If you struggle like I do this could be the simple secret. In the meantime work on that body odor detox!
body odor detox
Don’t forget if you want to do a body odor detox then check out the podcast for more information.
Otherwise just note, the best way to get rid of body odor is to cleanse your entire system. The Simple Cleanse is a 28-Day Real Foods Cleanse that has cleaned my system and detoxed my armpits. It’s a detox program that is realistic, healthy and without any gimmicks. There are no supplements, no shakes, no tinctures, just real foods and a healthy lifestyle that can change not only your body odor, but your energy levels, mood and weight.
I can assure you, it will change your health for good and that includes your body odor. To learn more about how you can get started today on this 28-day life changing program click here. You can also grab my FREE detox guide and start changing the way your body naturally detox’s today! I hope you’ll join me in changing the way you do health and have more energy than ever!
Here’s to ending the B.O. and smelling better than ever!
Don’t forget to drop me a note and let me know what you loved about this show and what questions you have! Also, I’d love to hear your testimony from doing the body odor detox. Just send me back an e-mail or leave a note in the comments section to see how this changed your life.
