Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Ditching deodorant

That’s right, I haven’t used deodorant in months. I’m a stinky feral hippy-don’t come too near because I may just raise my arms and you’ll pass out from the fumes.

  Actually, not. Sorry to disappoint. After not being able to find a non-toxic deodorant that actually worked without thrice-daily application, it was time to DIY. First up we tried diluted tea-tree oil. It was passable, it worked as well as the commercial eco variety. But it was impossible to carry around in my handbag for midday reapplication.

  At one such midday reapplication (think market stall, stinking hot, insane humidity) I was afraid the first paragraph was coming true so pulled out the eco roll-on, whinging about it’s crapness. And a friend said ‘Why don’t you just use bicarb? I do’. So I tried it and haven’t looked back. Man, the stuff is awesome. Dust some on in the morning and you’re fine all day. The husband has made me sniff his armpits after mowing the lawn in 30 degree heat and he doesn’t smell. Anyone who lives with a male of our species knows that that is a truly fantastic accomplishment, yet to be achieved by Lynx/Adidas/Rexona and company. All from bicarb.

  I have read you can mix bicarb and arrowroot 50/50, and you can chop herbs and put them in the jar to infuse the powder with scent, but i’m pretty happy with plain bicarb in an old pasta sauce jar. Fashionable, my bathroom is not. We use our fingertips to dust it on, and are on the look out for an older style shaving cream brush or similar to use instead.

  And that is as easy as it is. Really truly.

4 comments:

Vic said...

Thanks for the link, shame nothing exciting is happening there at the moment! :)
I got a metal parmesan cheese shaker from the grocery and shake it on with that, it kinda goes on the floor a bit but I like that nothing is touching skin and going back in the container if that makes sense.
I love bi-carb!!!!! Vic xx

Tamara Kelly said...

Hi ya! Over the years I have used; metho, dilute eucalyptus, vodka with vanilla beans, plain salt, almond oil, bicarb & alum salts. For me, alumn salts due to it's convenience has been the winner and bicarb comes in a close second.

Tamara Kelly said...

Hey ya! I'm going shampoo free this winter. I have a few friends who have never used shampoo and their hair is gorgeous so I'm giving it a go. I'll let you know how the experiment goes.

Miss Practicality said...

I'm doing bicarb/apple cider vinegar for my hair ATM, works well. I'm hoping that will fix my itchy scalp so then I can try no-shampoo, if you succeed i'll follow!

I couldn't try the vodka, i'd be tipsy every morning. Do alum salts actually have aluminium in them?

Vic, will keep an eye out for one as I have no idea what they are!