The Stinky Armpit Situation
- amyk73
- Oct 31, 2018
- 6 min read
When it comes to natural deodorant, I think this was by far the stinkiest and hardest transition we have made in our adventure to use more natural products in our life. As I write this post we are still working through an ideal solution for our needs.
I was always a Dove or Secret brand loyalist when it came to my deodorant. My purchase decisions were based on cost, what was on sale, what I had a coupon for and what would work to keep me from sweating through all my tops. Most commonly I would purchase the clinical strength versions to increase the dryness effect. I mean seriously who wants to have sweat marks on your shirts while at work, on a date or like anywhere outside of a workout?
As we started transitioning our home to natural solutions, we eventually opted to try natural deodorant. I figured it would be an easy thing to change over because well it’s deodorant so how different could it be from the regular stuff?
Unfortunately, this has turned into months of trying different brands, types and aromas. Through our trial and error attempts to find a natural deodorant we liked and that worked it really has became quite comical around our house.
Well, comical and stinky
The majority of natural deodorants we tried left us without much in the way of protection against wetness, which living in a humid and hot area of the United States really wasn’t pleasant and fun. Who wants to sweat through pretty tops and have stains that don’t wash out from sweat? Just gross!
We also discovered that most natural deodorants didn’t work to protect against stink. When applied after a shower some would work at first to cover any smell but most petered out by mid-morning leaving us smelly and gross. It was really unpleasant.
Then the real fun part of it all were the numerous rashes we got from some and we’d have to stop using anything until they healed. Our armpits were raw and just as it healed up and we’d resume using a natural deodorant it would be no time at all before they broke out again.
My husband said some were hard to apply through his hair leaving clumps. I developed dark spots under my arms that wouldn’t wash off and further irritated my skin in that area.
So here we were with sweaty wet, stinky with broken out arm pits
With growing frustration I started searching on what we could possibly be doing wrong or should be trying to get a natural deodorant that worked.
I learned it can help to “detox” your underarms before you start using a natural deodorant and periodically as needed. There were several methods suggested for accomplishing such a thing but the one I settled on required the mask cream you use to do a home facial. Let me just say it was not a bunch of fun walking around with a facial mask cream applied to your underarms.
I used the doTERRA Spa Mud Mask. It smells nice and I know it works well on my face but the whole experience of putting a mud mask on your underarms was quite strange.
The “detox” experiment did nothing to help natural deodorants from working better and did even less to remove the darken spots caused from the natural deodorant reactions I was having. I will say it did seem to calm the rash I had from the natural deodorant so it wasn’t a complete waste of time and comfort.
Natural Deodorants Acquisitions
Through this process I learned that one of the natural deodorants we tried was acquired by P&G which left us concerned the natural product would be introduced to chemicals and changed from pure natural base.
With the popularity of natural solutions, larger companies are acquiring lots of small natural brand names to add to their product offerings. Once acquired nothing stops that larger company from adapting the formula of the product, changing pricing, and packaging to fit their portfolio. (I do not know if P&G or Unilever have done that to the companies they have acquired at this time but it is very common to see happen in these situations.)
Meanwhile We Were Still Wet and Stinky
It seemed we were spending a lot of time thinking about, washing, detoxing and smelling our arm pits all for the sake of trying to reduce aluminum and other toxic ingredients from our deodorant.
Seriously, no one should have to spend that much time worrying about their arm pits!
In the end I tried 4 to 5 different brands of natural deodorant and my husband tried 2. I had so-so results with one and nothing good at all with the others. My husband broke out with both types he tried.
So the options were go without (not a delightful option), live with broken out arm pits that hurt just so we could say we were using natural deodorants (also not an option) or go back to regular deodorant (worth thinking about given our results).
Surely, someone would have a natural deodorant that worked, didn’t cause painful irritation and wasn’t filled with chemicals that could cause major diseases and autoimmune problems.
doTERRA’s New Natural Deodorant
doTERRA already had a natural deodorant but it may have been the least purchased item doTERRA offered. Others I asked who had tried it said it didn’t work at all so I didn’t even try it when we first started out looking for a natural option.
While at the doTERRA Dream Global Convention when the new products were being described, I actually moaned and rolled my eyes when I heard they had redone their deodorant and it was good. I had just got my armpits to not be red and broken out from the last experiment I did and had purchased a package of Secret Clinical Strength to make this trip to Utah for the doTERRA convention. To be very honest, I just did not want to risk being stinky and sweaty among 40,000 of my closest doTERRA friends for 3 days and to date none of the natural products we had tried stood up to this challenge.
The new deodorant currently comes infused with the doTERRA Balance oil blend but will also be available soon with doTERRA Citrus Bliss and a sensitive skin version. I was able to smell both and try them at the product showcase while at the convention.
Ok, so they smell good. I liked the Balance more than the Citrus Bliss one but both smelled pleasant. There were people taking the little sample stick and putting it on their underarms in the product showcase to try. People in general seemed to like it and no one said it didn’t work.
The latest doTERRA blog post is describing the new deodorant says it is curated to help support odor protection and absorb wetness.
Here’s the video they showed at convention with the results some users had in trying this new deodorant.
I’m willing to give it a try based on what I experienced at convention trying it, the comments of those in the video who have tried it and the trust I have in doTERRA to have done their research for what works.
Balance oil is excellent at hormonal support and emotional needs to help you feel centered, confident and supported. I use Balance daily on the bottom of my feet and we use it regularly in diffusers around our home. The idea of it being in a natural deodorant is interesting because the oil smells nice and I’ve seen results with using it in our home.
With the deodorant also containing Frankincense as well I’m thinking it will help with potential rashes and irritations. Frankincense is very calming to our bodies and skin.
Looking at the price and size of the package it is very economical compared to the $10+ dollars I spent on trying other brands. Truth be told, I spent more than $9 on the Secret Clinical deodorant for my Utah trip so if this new reformulated deodorant works it’s a win financially too.
What’s Next?
I have 2 packages of the doTERRA Balance natural deodorant I brought home from Utah for my husband and I to try.
I admit while I love doTERRA I’m skeptical about this natural deodorant. It’s like my underarms are already tingly with the thought of trying yet another natural deodorant that will fail but I’m willing to try it and give an honest assessment of what happens.
Once we try it and go through about half the package I will give an update to this post on what we’ve seen. Hopefully our results will be as great as those in the video.
Interested in more?
Want a Free doTERRA Balance Deodorant to Try?
If you are looking for a natural option to your deodorant and have had failed attempts like us, please share what you have done! I’m giving away 1 free doTERRA Balance deodorant for the best story. Post in the comments of this post.
As always, please email with any questions and help finding the right essential oils and natural products for you.
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
Wholesale members can receive at least 25% off all their purchases with doTERRA for an entire year. Membership is just $35 for the first year! Become a member today and start enjoying what it feels like to live naturally!
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