Going Natural

I’m a fan of nature. I don’t necessarily care to be out IN nature with the animals and bugs, but I love it.

Over the years I've become a fan of taking care of my hair and body naturally. I love a nice hot ginger tea when I feel a cold coming on (and adding bourbon to said tea). I make my own hair serum, oils and lotions I research how to naturally cure/contain/heal rashes and pain and make oils for those issues. 

Before I became a fan of natural healing/living I bought products over the counters to help with/cure some of the situations we humans sometimes gett and can naturally have. These products often contain chemicals I can’t pronounce and unfortunately, some of those chemicals have been proven to cause cancer.  I understand the chemicals are used to prolong the shelf life of some products and to keep certain symptoms at bay and controlled.  Some chemicals help heal/cure ailments quicker than nature does and we all like a quick fix don't we? Let’s face it, healing and taking care of our body naturally can take a LONG time.

One natural occurrence I’d like to discuss is body odor. We all have it. It’s something our bodies produce naturally. However, musty oniony smells emanating from our armpits are frowned upon in some cultures and societies. I know lots of cultures don’t find those smells offensive, but my culture does. So many of us do what we can to maintain and/or suppress those smells. We use over the counter deodorants to help with those offensive smells. Those smells that silently move from our armpits to spaces that are occupied by people with keen senses of smell. Those smells that can result in embarrassment, deadly stares, whispers, nose holding and can basically clear out an entire room. 

Not wanting to experience any of these reactions from stinky armpits but also tired of spending money on expensive deodorants, I decided, in a moment of clarity (or not) to make my own deodorant!!!

It seemed like the next step to take in this natural journey/path I’m on. I found what sounded like a wonderful recipe (cornstarch, coconut oil, peppermint, and baking soda). It took me a while to find the cornstarch but eventually, I found it, After gathering all the ingredients to get this party started I knew it was going to be “THE THING” for me to do. 

I knew I would brag to people about how I make my own deodorant. I was going to say things like “see, you can’t even tell I’m not wearing chemical deodorant" and "yes, I added some nice scent to my homemade deodorant, do you like it?” That is exactly the way I saw myself conversing about my homemade deodorant a few weeks after making and wearing it.

Anyway, I gathered the ingredients, followed the instructions and put the concoction in glass jars. I shared the wonderful deodorant with my Bestie!!! We were both psyched!!!

I wore that homemade deodorant with pride!!! I didn’t smell at all, even when it was hot. I was impressed with my decision to make my own deodorant and wear it with no embarrassing results.

Until…..

One week after I started using my own deodorant, I went to bed with an itch in my armpits. It wasn’t a BAD itch; it was just annoying like most itches. I woke up that Friday with my armpits on fire!!! It felt like hot coals had sprouted overnight in my armpits. I rewashed my armpits with soap which caused the armpit fire to burn hotter. In addition to the fire pit burning in my armpits, the itching started again. I was having (apparently) an allergic reaction to my homemade deodorant.

The pits were pissed!!!

My armpits were an active fire pit. Yep,  my pits were pits of molten, hot, lava-like fire. And that fire was burning in my armpits. Add to that molten mess some insistent, irritating itching and you have the recipe for a display of burning, scratching and cussing. It was bad. Really, really bad.

I realized that holding your arms up over your head (no matter how long) when your armpits are burning and itching at the same time is NOT a solution to this particular problem. You itch, you scratch, it burns more. It’s a vicious cycle that seems like it will never end. Nothing, and I mean nothing stops the pain or the itching except time. And time can be slow when your armpits are on fire and itching.

Long story short, it took a few days for the soreness to wear off. I discovered something else, I’m not really that smart. After a few days, I decided to add MORE baking soda to the homemade deodorant and apply it to my armpits again.  Read the previous paragraph for the results.

I quit. When the path of righteousness with nature calmed down in my armpits, I went back to chemically filled, store-bought underarm deodorants.

I'm still a fan of taking care of and healing myself naturally. I just realize nature, like my life, will have ups and downs, failures and successes, highs and lows. 

P.S. I'm not a quitter, so I'll probably find another recipe for homemade deodorant. Stay tuned.....

Ingredients for armpit fires.