Your Amazing Armpit ~ Conventional Deodorant Toxins & Armpit Detox
By Amy Lupton
To most people, armpits are a region to be tamed, suppressed, dealt with. The area can cause embarrassment, funky smells, or dark wet circles on shirts. The enigma around the pit region has always meant differing things to various sorts and cultures, beginning hundreds of years ago.
Did you know the armpit and the armpit smell of the man or woman used to be a thing of desire?
You might be thinking…wait hold up, ain’t no way that smell could be desired!
It was customary in rural Austria, as a courting ritual and the way to a lover's heart, to wear apples soaked in armpit sweat. Yep. You read that right. Young women would do a ritual dance with apple slices lodged in their armpits. After the dance, the woman would give a slice to the man of her choice, and he would then eat it. Yum. Talk about pheromone swapping. (1)
Another custom (and still practiced by some cultures today) involved a man wearing a handkerchief in his armpit thereby soaking it with his sweat. When he felt the time was right, he would wave it in his lovers face as a sign of affection.
Maybe your sweat isn't as sweet smelling or apple edible as the customs above, but armpits definitely play a vital role in our body’s balance. The armpit is a source for supple skin, lymph nodes, & detoxifying glands. You even have Vitamin D receptors here for sun absorption.
"Science has recently elevated the modest underarm to a unique and vital body micro-climate. Its dark, warm dampness is the ideal environment for thousands of unique dermal bacteria, many of which are important for our health and immunity. Sweat is the body's precious and cooling dew of fun play, heart-pumping movement and steamy soaks in the sauna. Some of the bacteria that thrive in the underarm feast on sweat, and one of the by-products of this banquet is scent or odor...Our sweat-scent is as original as our fingerprint, revealing our gender, fertility, health and diet and diffusing our personal pheromone calling-card." ~Nadine Artemis
But you still might be thinking…. my pits are funky! Well, that might be. As there are many things that affect your armpit health including your diet/what you ingest, your hormonal cycle, and the body products you use, there could definitely be some funk there that needs attending to.
I also find that when people switch over from a conventional deodorant, they will stink MORE for a time. Why? Because the armpit is finally getting to do what it does best… which is become a detox pathway and balance out all the beautiful bacteria in the pit.
Lets chat about conventional deodorants for a minute.
Your armpits natural tendency is to sweat and have bacteria present— and when you want to stop that, it can take some questionable chemicals to make that happen. Lets have a look at my four top offenders and some chemicals that will normally be listed in your conventional deodorant:
Aluminum Salts- Aluminum salts dissolve on your skin and “melt” into your pores. This helps plug up your pores and stop some of your sweat. Aluminum has been linked to altering hormones (specifically estrogen) which in turn can have an effect on breast cancer and other endocrine problems. See one of the studies showing that here: (NCBI - WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic)
Phthalates- Phthalates are plasticizers found in children’s toys, fragrances, deodorants and lotions. They’ve been linked asthma, ADHD, breast cancer, obesity, autism spectrum disorders, altered reproductive development, male fertility issues.
Triclosan & Formaldehyde- Bacteria Killers and preservatives, known carcinogens and disruptors to the armpit and skin microbiome. No thank you on the embalming fluid on my pits.
Some other pit disruptors are fragrances (which carry lots of hidden chemicals), propylene glycol, EDTA, and Parabens.
Because our armpits are in the center of many lymph nodes, putting these chemicals and disruptors on top can really do some damage to our hormones and immune system. AND, with skyrocketing cases of breast cancer, it seems best to keep this area clear of toxic stuff.
So what can you do if you wear conventional deodorant, or might have some funky pits that need some attention? Some things to take a look at:
Clean up your diet: Sticking to non-processed foods is important to keeping your entire body healthy as well as your pits smelling better.
Drink Water! I literally sound like a broken record on this one, but its important to say over and over. No tap water, clean filtered water.
Switch to a non-toxic deodorant that works for you. There are so many deodorants now that are clean, find one. Make sure the above ingredients aren’t in there. We have two types here that might work for you, a cream and a spray.
Build back up the bacteria flora in the armpit. When you are home for the weekend, skip a day using anything on your pits. When you work out, let yourself sweat. Get in a sauna. Take probiotics, or even spray probiotics on your pits. Get some sunlight in the pit area (not too much, ouch).
Do a pit detox! This is great to do once a week, or more intensely when you are switching over to natural deodorant. This can help you stink less, adjust better, and if you are getting a rash with some of the natural deodorants, this can help too.
If you want to skip a detox, purchase one of our cream deodorants (which have a built in detox ingredients).
Simple Pit Detox:
1 TBSP bentonite clay (French green clay works well too)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp water
Mix together and apply to pits. Let sit and try to keep pits open to air for a few minutes. Wet a warm washcloth and wipe away. Do as needed.
Happy peace bringing to the pit region! As always, reach out if you have any questions to bringing peace to your pits!