Diary of a 7-Day Armpit Detox
Pop on a peg people, we’re going straight to the stinky zone!
You might be asking, what is an armpit detox? If you’ve been using conventional deodorants, or you feel like your ‘pits are more smelly than usual, then you’ll definitely want to find out the answer, just like I did.
I switched from conventional deodorant to a natural one about 10 years ago. Everything was fine, until I got a super painful rash on both armpits in 2018. It itched, hurt and felt like it was on fire. It was not pretty.
I treated it as a staph infection with no results. Doctors told me to take antibiotics (I didn’t). It wasn’t until I stopped using anything at all on my underarms that the rash quickly disappeared.
I was devastated, because it had taken years of trial and error to find a good anti-odorant. Not only that, but – excuse the TMI – my underarm smell was really bad. Like, it was acrid and really strong. I literally stuck tissues under there some days because the smell was so bad!
I contacted the company to find out if they had ever heard of a similar reaction to mine, and what they said turned my world upside down.
Try an armpit detox.
Like the Googler I am, I went straight to the internet. Totally mind-blown! I knew conventional deodorants were bad, but I didn’t realise the extent of the damage they are doing.
We’ve been taught our whole lives that pit-stink is gross and perspiration is embarrassing, when in fact, the whole sweat system is pretty darn cool for detoxing your body and dealing with stress.
Slathering that cool system with chemicals is doing bucketloads of harm:
- We have 20 lymph nodes in our armpits. The skin on our armpits absorb 100% of anything topical you apply – which means the chemical bomb called deodorant that you’ve been popping on every day for years is going right into your lymphatic system, which transports it right through your whole body.
- Those deodorant and antiperspirant chemicals include endocrine disruptors that mess up our hormone system. That can lead to issues with endometriosis, early puberty, infertility, immune function, respiratory problems, and a whole host of other life-destroying issues.
- Sometimes, when we switch from these chemical bombs to a natural anti-odorant, the results can be less than stellar, and rashes (as well as more sweating and inefficacy of the product) are common complaints.
The problem is not the product – the problem is that our skin, bacterial balance and perspiration system is totally out of whack. We need to wipe the slate clean.
Enter, the 7 Day Armpit Detox!
The recipe is really simple, and you only need to apply it once a day for up to an hour:
Ingredients
- 4 Tbs bentonite clay
- 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
- Enough water to make it a thick paste (it needs to be able to stick to your skin
Notes
If you have colloidal silver, you can use it in place of the water
You can also replace a tablespoon of the bentonite clay with diatomaceous earth if you have it on hand.
Never use anything metal with bentonite clay. Use plastic, wood or glass containers and utensils.
Ready to see what my seven days looked like? Okay, you got it!
My 7-day Detox diary
DAY 1
Made up the recipe in a small glass jar. I pasted it onto my unshaven underarms and was pretty surprised that it stuck as well as it did. I went about my day at home, but after about 10 minutes, I could feel it starting to burn a little. I decided to listen to my body and wiped it off with warm water and a cloth. There was a red circle around my armpit, but it didn’t hurt. What I did notice, however, was that I didn’t smell for the rest of the day, even though it was the hottest week on record for the year!
DAY 2
I lasted 45 minutes on day two before wiping it off, when it started to feel a little uncomfortable. It had started to dry and fall off a bit, so if you do try it, stay away from carpet once it gets flaky! Again, I had a red circle around my underarm, and again, no smell for the rest of the day. I was pretty stoked about that!
DAY 3:
Today, I completely forgot I had the paste on, and ended up removing it at the one hour mark. Less red around the armpit this time, and no itching or burning while I had it on at all. Again, no smell for the rest of the day, even though it was 36 degrees and I was sweating A LOT.
DAY 4
I forgot to put the paste on today, but I think that kind of made the test interesting. I wondered if I would be smelly again – and yes, I was. So, I guess three days is not long enough to create effective change.
DAY 5
Back to lathering on the paste, and again left it on for an hour. No itching or redness, and no smell for the rest of the day. If nothing else, this makes a pretty good natural daily anti-odorant.
DAY 6 & 7:
Yes, I’m putting these days together because the results were the same. I left the paste on for an hour. I had no reaction, no irritation, no redness, and no smell for the rest of the day.
It’s been three months since I did the armpit detox. I’ve been using my anti-odorant again and it’s all been fine. In fact, there are lots of days that I don’t use anything on my underarms and I’ve noticed a huge reduction in smell. The rash hasn’t returned, and I plan on doing the detox at least once a year, just to reset the skin.
What I won’t ever do is go back to conventional deodorants. The risks are too high, especially for our young people. This is another area that we can so easily change for better health and longevity.
So, are you going to join the ‘pit crew’ and try a 7 day detox too?
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