natural
organic
less chemical laden
products.
and originally i wasn't really going to blog about it, because, really, who cares - right?
buy whatever you want; we're mass marketed to - and pretty much mainstream media has made us believe that natural organic is the solution and everything else is the devil
and that's kind of true. kinda.
so, this isn't like breaking news that i'm saying switch your sunscreen to one that doesn't contain oxybenzone!
but seriously - do that.
there are several "studies" i would argue their claims - but when the Centers for Disease Control makes a claim, i usually consider that the WORD.
ok, so why am i going here
well because we are sheep that are lead to believe the claims on packages
and sometimes we're (i'm) too lazy to do my research - at least i WAS- on products
and i ended up with a rash in my armpits.
let me backtrack. that is, if you're willing to read about my armpits.
i had switched sometime ago to a "crystal" deodorant, but for whatever reason i went back to my "secret" brand. probably because it made my pits smell like roses. and the crystal deodorant left me smelling neutral.
how was i ever going to snag a husband with neutral smelling armpits?
anyways, i was pretty aware of the products out there
and i decided to purchase a stick of TOMS long lasting lavender scented deodorant
i liked that it was scented and that it was a stick - easy to apply
after about a week of use i realized i had incredibly smooth armpits!
awesome!
seriously - i've always suffered from dry peppered armpits. i swear i could never get a close shave or maintain one
leading me to keep my arms down at all times.
but now?
now i was going to raise my hands at any opportunity.
i was amazed and so happy that i switched to something "natural"
until about 3 days ago
i had got out of the shower and was admiring my armpits and putting on deodorant before bed.
when i realized my whole armpit area was red
i'll spare you any pictures - but like my whole pit area- an oval shaped red splotch was taking over
i kind of let it slide - i mean if that was the price i had to pay for smooth pits
until last night - i got out of the shower and was putting my deodorant on and i swear the red splotchiness was expanding - and looking more irritated.
it didn't hurt or itch, but my skin was inflamed.
i took to google.
i'll let you peruse those reviews - those are the one star reviews - there were several 4 and 5 star reviews too - but just as many 1 and 2 star reviews which is always a red flag to me when i DO check out products before purchasing.
so long story short - i wasn't the only one suffering from angry armpits! i'm just glad mine aren't in the itchy phase.
and then i took to looking at the ingredients - namely
propylene glycol (anti freeze)
it's an irritant and allergic contact dermatitis - and at a low concentration...
ugh.
this product labeled "natural" is total bullshit.
i realize there's not any sort of regulation on products labeled "natural"
but i thought toms was a product i could trust
so i'm not wearing any deodorant right now
i ditched it cold turkey
not forever, just until i can get to the store on lunch and find something else
am i going back to my "secret"?
the short answer - no.
even though i never suffered from angry pits using their product
i can't feel the long term affects of highly refined chemicals being absorbed by my body
and i'm still determined to use something ACTUALLY natural.
one resource i would encourage anyone to use who is interested in finding out what's actually in their beauty cabinet is EWG's cosmetic database
you can look up practically any beauty product - hair, skin, nails, etc
or, you can click on sub categories and browse products by rating
you're aiming for products in the 0-2 "green" range which are low hazard
you can see my toms deodorant score here
to my surprise it actually scores a 1 on the scale- which i guess skin irritant isn't on the same level as cancerous skin eating disease.
and my secret deodorant is here which scores a 4 (moderate hazard)
natural to me are products that don't have chemically sounding names.
and that's what i'm aiming for
when i look at the EWG's site at "top" antiperspirants/deodorants
it's pages of the crystal style deodorant
what i used to use
and since i already snagged me a husband
i'm going back to smelling neutral
(i've switched out a few other products recently - i may or may not explore my happiness/sadness with those as well...i mean - if you made it this far maybe you like reading about my armpits and other crevices)
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