Posts Tagged ‘tea tree oil’
I’ve been on vacation, but now I’m back. What fun, returning to a stack of bills and a very messy house. Ugh! But I got up this morning at 5:30 and tackled my desk, getting it into order. No small feat.
I did some guest posting while I was away, which was fun. One of my more popular posts from the past was about my journey trying to find an alternative to antiperspirant/deodorant, to which I had developed an allergy. My pits were red, itchy, and uncomfortable, but hey – at least they didn’t smell funny. I found an all natural, non-toxic, chemical-free recipe that works like a charm for me, even after a 10 day vacation on the beach. Green Blossoms asked me for the recipe, so here’s an updated post about my pits. I’d love to hear from other readers who have tried this!
OK. Where did I leave off?
Oh, yes. I was stinking up the place.
Off I headed to Whole Foods once again, the nearest store with the most natural, chemical-free options. There is a whole slew of natural deodorant options. The Crystal natural mineral salt deo. The Crystal helps to neutralize the bacteria that feeds off of your sweat, thus cutting down odor. (That’s how most all of the natural deodorants work, by trying to neutralize bacteria.) Tom’s of Maine’s line also works the same way, by using natural ingredients to reduce bacteria. I went with Tom’s of Maine Lavender scented Long Lasting care stick. It claims to work for 12 hours.
Try two hours. Maybe three, tops. I’m sorry, Tom, but I have to tell it like it is. My pits were ripe and nowhere near a field of lavender after a couple of hours. I was using this product in September & October, not too hot and not too cold here in New England, under normal circumstances. Cleaning house or raking the yard, it didn’t matter. I was disappointed. I love the Tom’s of Maine line and what that company stands for – and I know that it must work for somebody.
So I went back for another try. I was standing there staring at all these natural deodorants. They offered a plethora of organic natural ingredients: hemp, tea tree oil, organic essence oils like lavender. Pure plant and seed oils. Name it. There was a very crunchy granola looking employee working in that section. You know how Whole Foods has their employees who are trained and knowledgeable about their supplements, beauty products, etc. She approached me and asked if she could help. *Sniff sniff* She didn’t stink. Maybe she could clue me in.
“Have you tried any of these deodorants? I’m allergic to the regular stuff. I tried Tom’s but, you know…I was having to clean my pits and re-apply several times a day.”
She nodded her head and looked sympathetic. And very quietly said:
“They are all kinda that way. I’ve tried most of them myself. You just have to get used to cleaning and reapplying a few times a day.”
WHAT?! No way. I must have looked taken aback, she pulled a Nature’s Gate deo off the shelf and said “This one isn’t bad” I don’t want to start a collection of half-ass deodorants in my house. She tells me that Whole Foods, bless their hearts, would take it back even if I used it. My used deo? Yup. They take back most everything. Folks have returned dead floral arrangements and have gotten their money back. Nice policy. Because within 2 weeks I returned the Nature’s gate.
I still had the stick of Tom’s, not having kept my receipt. so I started to swipe tea tree oil on it then putting it on. That helped extend the protection a bit, but not too much. Tea tree oil has anti-bacterial properties. But it still wasn’t enough for me.
Then one day while cleaning my bathroom with vinegar and baking soda, it occurred to me to dip the Tom’s stick into the baking soda.
The heavens sang. Angels wept. Glory be, it worked. And it worked well. No kidding. The baking soda really knocked out odor. I did NOT stink all day. Nope. I put this one to the test over and over with great success. Yes, it leaves some white stuff on the inside of 
your shirt but who cares? It even helped with some of the wetness.
After getting online and checking it out, many people have figured this one out. There seems to be a question of aluminum in baking soda, so I bought Bob’s Red Mill organic baking soda. never hurts to be safe.
Then I started to poke around some more online. And I found Simple Mom. One of my new favorite places to land when sussing out advice on a whole host of topics. I clicked on the Green & Frugal living link to find just the article I was looking for on homemade deodorant and the reasons behind why we should avoid deos with parabens. Parabens are linked to cancer. See the FDA page on this here.
So I decided to try the recipe she provided. A mixture of Barlean’s virgin coconut oil, which is solid (a favorite of mine that you will see in 
many future posts) that I already had on hand, baking soda, and cornstarch. Virgin coconut oil anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and antiseptic properties. Mashed all together, and smooshed it onto an old deodorant container. Let it set. Next time I went to use it, bingo. That was the ticket. Easy to use.
Please note that coconut oil does start to melt at 76 degrees Fahrenheit. So in the warmer months in will be stored in the fridge. I also recommend putting it on and letting it absorb into the skin & drying a bit before putting on clothes. I noticed a tiny bit of oiliness on my shirts unless I let it dry first. Then, it was no problem. (I usually wear cotton shirts, nothing fancy. I don’t know if it would rub off and leave an oily mark on other fabrics. Let me know how it works for you.) I also have a container of baking soda and cornstarch in my bathroom cabinet with an old makeup brush. I dip the brush in and swipe a bit more on my pits, in addition to the coconut oil stick, if it’s going to be a particularly sweaty busy day. It even helps with wetness. I know this stuff works for me. I can be pee-yew free for a couple of days. How do I know?
Because I don’t bathe every day.
Helga, Live Green Mom, have you gone too far? You don’t cleanse yourself on a daily basis?
Until next time, folks, when I defend myself. Stay with me!
*SUMMER UPDATE* July 7th, 2010
I’ve been using my home made deodorant now since January. Now, I know it is easy to say it works well in cold weather, but how about in the hot summertime? I have no air conditioning and we have had a heat wave here on the east coast this past week. I am thrilled to report that this deodorant has stood up to my sweatiest & grimiest activities, from running around all day outside with the kids or mowing the lawn (with my Fiskars Momentum Push reel mower!) to cleaning the house, all while dripping with sweat. No stinky pits here, I even made my husband (bless his heart!) give me the sniffing over to make sure. You know how sometimes you can’t smell yourself. Maybe that’s only when you have bad breath. Whatever. To remind you, you do need to get used to having sweaty pits, this does not prevent sweating, but you don’t want to prevent sweaty pits. Your pits sweat for a reason, to help cool you down and move toxins out of your body. It took me a while but not too long to adjust to this. AND this deo does melt at 76 degrees, so do not make the mistake I made and forget about it in your medicine cabinet when it gets warm outside. What a mess! I keep it in the fridge, quite refreshing. Another note: if you think you are an extra smelly person and you might need some extra odor protection sometimes, you can dab on some tea tree oil first, then the home made deo. Tea tree oil is an anti-fungal, anti-microbial that will give you that extra layer of confidence should you need it. Now, I do not recommend this every day, since tea tree oil is strong and can be an irritant to skin. It can sting if you have just shaved, too. Health hazards that might come from using tea tree oil on your armpits for prolonged periods of time are still being studied. I have used it a few times and it works fabulously!
*Update* October 26, 2011 - I still use this, it still works, one of the best homemade products ever. I swear by it!
Anyone else tried this recipe? Would love to know how it worked for you!
On Monday I will be 40 years old. I know what the perceptions are of being a 40 year old woman. It’s over. Clearly youth and sparkle has faded and now instead of being enchanting & interesting, I will merely exist and make way for the 20-35 year old women. 35-40 are the ‘slide’ years. You can pass for younger. But once you hit 40, it is going to show. Everybody will know. We are conditioned to believe this as we grow up, and I believe the sit-com is a big perpetrator of this myth. (I also believe the sit-com is guilty of making us believe we should insult our spouses in front of family and friends, but that is a whole other post for a different blog altogether.)
Yes, MYTH! I have said it before, I have no problem turning 40! You know why? Because I truly enjoyed my 20′s and 30′s. I ran around the country, worked different jobs, met some very interesting and engaging people that I am still in contact with today. (Thanks, Face Book!) I met my husband through one of those jobs. In 1998 I rode my bicycle 300 miles in three days from Boston to New York City for the AIDS ride, for which I raised almost $5000. My new husband was waiting at the finish line for me, waving his arms wildly and cheering so loud. I had two children. I didn’t sleep for 3.5 years after having my two kids. Literally! I had suffered with back problems. I made friends with other families with children the same age. I became totally sub-urbanized. I love to get dirty taking care of my acre of yard. I know, weird!
You get the picture. We all have these memories. And I am not saying that if you didn’t have the best 20′s and 30′s, that 40 will surely suck. 40 could be the age when you start to turn it around. But 39 was a big turning point for me.
As I mentioned before, as I entered the ‘slide’ years (35-39, as noted above) I started to realize that I needed to more for the environment. I began recycling more and trying to teach my husband to do the same. I remember once in the beginning he threw away the package that muffins come in – you know, the cardboard tray inside the plastic baggie. I said, hey, that can be recycled! He pointed out that the cardboard was in the baggie, so it couldn’t be recycled. I pulled the cardboard out, tossed it into the proper bin, and put the plastic baggie in my t0-be-recycled-bag. There. Easy peachy. I say this not to make my hubs look dumb, he isn’t, but I just needed to show him, it’s no big deal. The same way we show our children (over and over as the case may be). After that, no problem.
But 39. It was a very good year.
And anyone who knows me, knows I enjoy eating healthy. Not all the time. I love the crap food too, but for the most part, give me healthy. The hardest part of eating healthy is trying to make your kids eat healthy too. Some of you moms have done an amazing job at this feat. Some of you moms are nodding your head in total agreement.
I, sadly, have not. No, even with my healthy eating habits. I don’t feed my kids endless junk. I make sure they get plenty of fresh fruit, always available in my house. But I didn’t get them eating vegetables at an early age. (No sleep for 3.5 years and 30 months total of breastfeeding will leave little room for a mom to want to cook meals. Promise.) I didn’t even cook that much when I didn’t have kids. I am fine with cereal for dinner, peanut butter toast, whatever. I am all about what is easy. But easy backfired on me. I will be writing about my children’s eating issues later. Right now this is about me.
So, as this past year marched on, I came to the conclusion that if my kids are not gonna eat full on meals with veggies on the side and all that blah-blah-blah, I would at least try and get the organics into them. I have always used organic milk. this past year I have been doing more research on chemicals, dyes, additives, high fructose corn syrup, the whole she-bang. I am horrified by what I have learned. I will get more into all that later in another post, too. So I started moving us over to more organic fruits, vegetables, crackers and cookies.
Oooh. Not cheap! (I watched my grocery bill rise almost 40% in some cases). But at least I feel like less of a half-ass mom.
I also became more aware of what I was using to clean. As a stay at home mom who likes a neat and clean home, I realized that I was cleaning the kitchen 3, 4, sometimes 5 times a day! Between feeding kids and their friends, that is a lot of Clorox spray. Too much. So I discovered VINEGAR! If you haven’t cleaned with vinegar, please, get over the smell. More about vinegar in many future posts.
I also discovered the benefits of raw organic apple cider vinegar. I warm 8 oz of distilled water for a minute in the microwave, mix in a tablespoon of the apple cider vinegar (Braggs or Edens is easy to come by and contains the very-good-for-you mother) and a tablespoon of raw organic honey about4- 5 times a week. I swish out my mouth 
with fresh water after drinking it, since vinegar is an acid, and therefore not good to leave on your teeth. Just like excess sugar isn’t good for your teeth. No it doesn’t taste great but it doesn’t taste that bad. I will get into the reasons why it is supposed to help in a later post, but it is supposed to keep you from getting sick easily. I want to tell you, this past November, my husband and Sophie both had the flu, and by his doctor’s estimate without a test, my son had the swine flu. I have not been sick since March 2009. not even with my yearly sinus infection. I have had no flu shot or H1Ni vaccine this year. And I have flown on planes filled with hacking snotty hoards three times this year. Placebo effect, you say? Who cares if that is what it is! I haven’t been sick. That’s what I care about.
I taught myself how to ride a unicycle this past summer. I have been working on it since the summer of 2008, but it wasn’t until this past summer I was able to actually make it down my long driveway without falling off. It is hard. But I always wanted to learn. I became an expert at falling off.
I discovered Tea Tree Oil. Wow. Anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral. Future posts on the benefits of this one!
I don’t want to give away a future post but I will give you moms a hint: it got rid of my daughter’s molluscum warts. Faster than the dermatologist prescription got rid of my son’s warts, too.
I went off the Pill two weeks ago. That is a huge leap for me. I figured it was time for me to go it sans synthetic hormones. I depend on the pill to manage the heavy-duty periods I have inherited and my skin break-outs. I will keep you posted how it goes. It could get ugly. TMI, you say? No such thing on this blog. Letting it all hang out.
There are some other things I figured out. It’s all coming down the blogging pike.
I think that is a pretty good year, for being 39 and all. I had a friend freak OUT when she turned 30, she couldn’t believe her 20′s were over. What we wouldn’t give for another go ’round at 30!
What about you? What have you figured out this past year? I’d love to know.
(Note: If you haven’t read my disclaimer, to sum it up: I am not a doctor. Do your own research. Everything I use is in moderation. Even the healthy stuff isn’t healthy in excess. And I do not get paid a cent to talk about these products. these do happen to be the products I use, though.)
