How is this possible? The reason we are forced to use antiperspirants is because we can’t withstand the smell and sweat. We then forcefully curb it. ⠀
Did we ever realize that we are preventing the trash from being thrown out? This excess liquid which was supposed to go out mixes with our body fluids and leads to many problems out of which diabetes can be the leading one.⠀
What are the natural ways to help this problem?⠀
- Correcting your Bowel Movement pattern—most of the smell when exited through that route will not find its way through other pores⠀
- Eating less spicy foods –heat increases an element called “PITTA” in the body which has the tendency of having pungent smell⠀
- Using chickpea powder or Triphala powder scrubs before showering⠀
- Saying no to fermented drink like kombucha, kefir⠀
- Using essential oils or natural deodorants as an alternative
- Making a drink with rose water and pomegranate juice to beat the heat⠀
- Adding few drops of rose water to your bath water can do the trick⠀
An alternative to using anti-perspirants is making your own natural deodorant mix at home. One option I use every day has only two ingredients and is super powerful! That is…coconut oil and baking soda. I mix on my own hand about ½ teaspoon of coconut oil with about 1/8th of a teaspoon of baking soda. I mix them well until the baking soda doesn’t feel so grainy when I rub my hands. Still, when you apply it, rub it lightly on your skin and only a few times. Too much rubbing can irritate your skin if the baking soda hasn’t diluted properly.
The proportions of coconut oil and baking soda may differ slightly between one person and the other since some of us have a stronger scent. Nonetheless, make sure you always use more coconut oil than baking soda. Some of us with sensitive skin problems may feel the need to adjust the proportion is if the baking soda too irritating. See if you can use less baking soda or more oil; adjust according to your skin sensitivity and intensity of sweat smell.
In the beginning it took several tries to find the right proportion for me, and my skin does not irritate anymore. I can put it on in the morning and sweat a lot during the day and I still don’t smell bad. What I really like about this recipe is that the mixture does not clog your pores. You will sweat, but both the oil and the baking soda are anti-bacterial, and so they kill the bacteria that causes the smell without congesting your lymph nodes.
Another option there is, and this one is the most difficult one, though the most effective…is to allow yourself to not wear any type of deodorant for several days and just let all those toxins finally come out. Sure, you will smell, but you can wash your underarms in the sink several times a day to not bother the people around us. The smell will come out very strong at first (since the toxins have been accumulating for a while), but every day you try this the scent will be less and less.
You can also shower twice a day. The evening shower could be the most cleansing one since we were up doing things all day, releasing old toxins and accumulating new ones from your environment. Once you realize how pleasant it is to go to bed showered, fresh, relaxed, you will never want to stop doing it. Doing this will help keep your bedsheets cleaner, otherwise when you get into your sheets you will just re-absorb whatever toxins you left in them from the day before. Yikes…
The morning shower could be a quicker, less deep shower. Sure, you slept all night only, didn’t do any activities, but your body still released toxins throughout the night. You may not feel sweat, but small amount of sweat does happen during the night, and you need to rinse that off in the morning. It will help you wake up, and feel refreshed again, ready to start your day.
Since you are going to be doing this for several days, you might as well give your stomach a break from all those types of foods that are contributing to the smell (review chart above again). There is no point in detoxing if we are still putting into our bodies the types of foods that create the toxins in the first place. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
These are simple and very practical ways to do small detoxes at home. Try them and let me know how it was for you!
If you would like a personalized detox, make an appointment with me! 510.556.3738, manju@ayurhitam.com