I remember years ago when I thought that all those granola crunching hippies were getting hysterical over things that did not seem important to me at the time. Things like nuclear proliferation, global warming, and chemicals in everything we put in and on our bodies.
Well, I guess I am finally morphing into one of those granola crunching hippies (minus the granola) because I find myself more and more concerned with these sorts of things.
Ever since I started listening to approximately 475,047,022 podcasts since summer- almost all of them from the low-carb or paleo-sphere, I’ve slowly become more interested in cleaning up my act, both inside and out. It’s a very very slow process. Make no mistake, there are certain chemicals that I can’t seem to part with (I’m talking to you, Goldwell hair color, Japanese Hair Straightening and Evil Coke Zero). But I am doing my best and that’s something.
So, today’s fun find was found at Cave Girl Eats. Liz Wolfe has a whole section on body care, and is half of one of my very favorite podcasts, (Balanced Bites Podcast)
The concept is simple: to make your own deodorant from coconut oil and baking soda. So easy, so inexpensive! I suspect a box of baking soda and a large jar of coconut oil used for this purpose will last you until you become a granola crunching hippie yourself.
In the video, I discuss the supposed “invisibility” of the standard “Invisible solids” sold on the market (lies! lies!) and I pull out all the stops and do a quick experiment to see if the home-made deodorant is “invisible” (Hint: it is). I also cover the ‘grease’-on-the-clothes” concern (hint: there is none).
What about the ‘sweat factor’? Standard deodorants are also antiperspirants because they somehow plug your pores with multi-syllabic chemicals. The coconut oil/baking soda blend does not block your pores. Granola-crunching hippies like this, but ladies wearing silk do not. I have found that I do not sweat any more with the ‘natural’ deodorant than with the standard product. And I’ve put it through every test from the weight room to kickboxing classes to cardio sprints to hiking to plyometric circuits.
And odor? There is no odor, except for that from the coconut which gives me an odd Pavlovian response that makes me want to grab my frying pan and a mound of diced veggies.
DIY deodorant that smells good!
