Hey Beevians! I was mixing up some homemade body care today and I thought I would share my breakthrough solution to something a lot of us deal with but probably don't like discussing much: body odor. And I don't mean mild, you've-been-working-out-and-are-a-little-stinky-in-a-totally-understandable-way, I mean "did a skunk just go off in here or is it me?"
Sometime in the past several years, along with a myriad of health problems that I still don't have completely figured out yet, my body odor changed. Significantly. I tried All The Things and nothing would touch it save washing with soap several times a day (and sometimes not even that. Yes, really). Every store brand deodorant (that doesn't have allergens, which a lot of them do), even a mail-order deodorant, straight baking soda, straight rubbing alcohol (yes really), Dial soap just for my pits because it's antibacterial, shaved, unshaved ...the problem persisted. I couldn't stand my own smell. It was bad.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I tried a new idea. And WOW it totally works!!
the body care I made today, from left to right: hand sanitizer, deodorant, leave in hair conditioner. Yes the deodorant is in an old Avon perfume bottle from the 80s. I REUSE EVERYTHING, lol
The secret? Activated charcoal. I mix it half-and-half with baking soda and dust it on. Voilà! I no longer smell like a Danger Cat!
My thinking was, if activated charcoal works by absorbing toxins and lots of them, maybe it will absorb whatever rancid death bacteria apparently live in my underarms, or the toxins my skin is releasing in my sweat, or both. And it works!
Like even when I depression-didn't-shower, I dusted on a little more and did not smell that day. That's unheard of.
Now, it is black, and will get black on your clothes. Don't wear a white short sleeve tee and this and expect for it not to show or whatever. But I always wear an undershirt, so I don't mind (and even if I did mind, it would still be worth it, lol).
It's such a simple and natural fix, I just thought I would share with this community. I know a lot of us try to avoid the aluminum in antiperspirants, and natural deodorants are really hit-or-miss (I've had a couple that make things worse, somehow, rather than better). So if you're struggling like I was, maybe see if this works for you!
Have a good day, Natural Medicine community! :)
Amazing art made for me that I got from a trade on Simbi! Simbi is a bartering website that I love. If you'd like to try it out, please use my referral link: https://simbi.com/wren-paasch/welcome
***EDIT! Ohhh, because @riverflows mentioned it, I looked more closely at my clothes as I just did a load of laundry. I hadn't noticed any staining before because my undershirts were dark - black, brown, navy blue - so I just assumed it had washed out. But now that I've worn and washed a white thermal shirt with this on, yeah, it definitely stained it and did not wash out. I'll have to experiment with hydrogen peroxide or something, but for me, I'm still ok with it, as the alternative is a lot worse than a stained undershirt. LOL But do be aware! Thanks @riverflows for making me look.