Strange...but true

I've become increasingly conscientious of the ingredients not only in the food we eat, but also in the products we put on our body. After all, the skin is the body's largest organ and a lot gets absorbed into our system through the skin.


For a while, I've been using the "natural" deodorants - the ones without the aluminum, parabens and other sketchy chemicals which are found in much of the deodorants in retail stores (except for most natural food stores or sections). If any of you have tried natural deodorants, you probably found the same thing I did - they were great at not yellowing or staining the armpits of your shirts but they didn't rate so hot on the odor prevention scale. Nature's Gate was the brand I found to be best at odor fighting.


And then, in doing some research I'd encountered a tip that baking soda works well as a deodorant on the body as well as it does in the fridge. At first I was skeptical - there was no way plain old baking soda could do better job than the manufactured deodorants which were formulated after much research and testing. I hestitated to try it, not believing it would really work.


But on a day when I knew I would see anybody besides my family, I decided to try it. It was kind of scary - would I be really sweaty and smelly? Even more than when using the natural deodorant? After all we were in the heat of summer. Bravely, I put some on and would peoridocally check for any hint of odor. Anybody who is of an origin other than North American is probably shaking their head at this - yes, we are obsessed with the cleanliness and lack of stinkiness of our bodies in this part of the world.


What were the results? It worked! I am not kidding - it really worked and better than any deodorant I've ever tried in my life (and I've tried quite a few in search of freedom from odor).

If you are interested in trying this experiment, here's what you do: wet underneath your arms with water, sprinkle some baking soda on your hand, rub the baking soda under your arm and - voila! - you're done.

A couple of user tips: If you sweat a lot you may need to reapply the baking soda a couple of times throughout the day, but it is amazing how much sweat and odor the baking soda can take. Use enough to get a light dusting of the soda under your arm but not so much that if you're wearing a dark shirt, the baking soda will leak through with sweat (this happened to me once) - no worries if this does happen, as baking soda also is a natural cleaning agent and may even help get your clothes cleaner!

It seems really silly to be writing about all this, but I had to share it because 1) it's cheaper than store bought deodorants and it works better 2) it's environmentally friendly and 3) it's another example of the beauty and simplicity of God's creation - he fitted our bodies to work the best with the things He created for us.

If you do try this experiment, consider sharing your thoughts here under the comments section.