What if I told you that smelly arm pits are an indicator of your health? Sweat does not smell, but when it comes into contact with certain bacteria on the skin, it can cause you to smell. Although you have products that may (or may not) cover up body odor, that doesn’t fix the root problem and can potentially cause other problems.
What Can I do to Decrease Body Odor?
First and foremost, nothing feeds the good bacteria on your skin like a clean, healthy diet. Organic produce, minimally processed foods, drinking filtered water, and avoiding foods with unhealthy fats and refined sugar can all help to improve your personal microbiome (the bacteria that hangs out on your body). Ingredients in conventional deodorant such as aluminum and parabens are indiscriminate in the bacteria it kills off and leaches into your body via the skin (the largest organ of the body).
When your body smells, it is trying to communicate “I have too much junk built up in here!” One way to decrease this crude, is by switching to a natural deodorant. Even conventional deodorants still have other things in them you don’t want to put on your skin, so looking for a trust worthy brand with ingredients you can read is important.
Think about it, you’ve got about 20 lymph nodes in each arm pit. When you are slathering on your deos and antiperspirants, you are putting all the junk in them about as close to them as you can. When your lymph nodes get overloaded trying to filter out fast food, desserts, and processed meals, they’re already working overtime, which can lead to a decrease in your overall health.
Changing to a Natural Deodorant
When switching to a natural deodorant, you may need to look into an arm pit detox. I know I sound completely crazy, but you need to help that skin as best you can to prevent smells. This also clears the skin and helps it breathe!
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Throw out offensive anti-perspirants
- Throw whatever conventional deodorants that are in your home in the trash! They aren’t helping your stinky arm pits.
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Show your pits some love
- Exfoliate your pits with a natural sugar scrub (remember, minimal ingredients!) or make a DIY version. Then, use a natural soap. You don’t want to put more crude on your skin to absorb that is going to have to get filtered out of your body later. Finding a trust worthy brand, like this one, with an activated charcoal soap is a great option to help the process too!
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Make your armpit mask!
- I have been using this bentonite clay for facial masks and detox baths when our house is sick even before I heard of using it for an armpit detox. I mix it with raw apple cider vinegar (ACV) to make a thick paste. Let it dry until hard, about 20 minutes, then wash off. You can also mix with filtered water to make the paste if you don’t have ACV on hand. You may need to do this more than once or whenever you have a particular bad food run. I personally wouldn’t put the bentonite clay on my skin more than twice a week because it can be very drying to your skin.
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Show your body some love in what you put in and on it!
- Aim for fruits and vegetables, make meals homemade and not out of boxes, avoid fast foods & refined sugars, exercise so your body can sweat out what it’s filtering out, choose a natural deodorant and other skin care products, and keep the nasty toxin fills products in the garbage!
Even doing the above steps, some people may experience smelling worse before smelling better. This is your body adapting and trying to rid itself from the rest of the junk built up in your body. Don’t go back to conventional products! This can make it worse and will make it so you have to restart your arm pit detox. It is worth it, I promise! I was obsessed with antiperspirants & the fear of smelling. I don’t smell anymore (trust me, when I sweat I’m stinking my nose down into my armpit to make sure!) You deserve to be a happier, healthier you. It has been a bumpy road in choosing a natural deodorant for me, but I have been using one for almost four years now! And I’m not going back.
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