Why I Started Making Natural Probiotic Deodorant
One summer day, I got fed up with having to reapply my deodorant half way through the day. Have you had this problem? Using clinical strength Secret and thinking: really? Am I this stinky that CLINICAL STRENGTH Secret doesn’t work for me? Well I had already been reading stories of why drug store deodorant wasn’t great for you. I wondered how we could be putting all those harmful chemicals right on the most sensitive lymph area of our armpits and not have adverse reactions. I decided to make a change.
I went to the store and bought “natural” deodorant. It somehow made me smell much worse and I felt totally swampy under there.
So listen, I am a hippy at heart. I was raised in the mountains of Northern California by two actual hippies. I love the mountains, growing a garden, eating organic and feeling sick to my stomach when I’d see trash on the side of the road (seriously the worse crime ever). But I also like being clean and smelling fresh. So to use a term my friend Tracy coined: I’m a fancy hippy.
I threw myself into researching ingredients that are good for you but also work to kill stink and wetness. After a lot of tossed batches, I finally came up with something that worked like crazy (I’m talking 3 days in the Tucson heat without reapplying...all for the cause of science, of course), didn’t stain my clothes and didn’t smell like chocolate or coconut. I love chocolate but not in my armpits. I sent samples out to all my friends all over the country and the feedback was spectacular: “when are you going to make this!” “I can’t live without it!”. I knew from my own experience that it was something amazing so I decided to package it and sell it on Etsy.
Our first Deodorant!
First Lip Conditioner!
Ok so what is the problem with store bought deodorant? I hate fear mongers and I don’t want to say “buy my product or you’ll die of cancer”. I try not to focus on the negative but when it comes to deodorant, there are some obvious bad actors that you want to avoid:
Aluminum - this is what makes the deodorant an antiperspirant. It is linked to alzheimers disease and dementia. No thanks. That runs in my family already so that’s a no brainer for me.
Parabens - known as hormone disrupters which have been linked to early puberty and hormonal cancers like estrogen receptor positive breast cancer.
Phthalates - another hormone disrupter and causes cell damage.
Triclosan - FDA classifies as a probable carcinogen
So again, not trying to fear monger but just informative to help you make better decisions. It also turns out that there was a study that showed that although store bought deodorant killed odor causing bacteria, it also encouraged other bacteria to grow that should never be there. It causes a high diversity of bad bacteria and jacks up (scientific term) your microbiome.
What is in Okologi Botanik Deodorant?
Coconut Oil - naturally kills bacteria, fungus and yeast
Shea butter - soften and soothes skin.
Cocoa Butter - heals and soothes skin
Arrowroot powder - Absorbs moisture
Baking soda - odor destroyer, absorbs moisture
Essential oils - help neutralize bacteria and odor
Probiotics - restore skins natural biome.
You may think: “I’m too stinky to use natural deodorant.” No. If you have worse body odor, you definitely need to switch to a natural, probiotic deodorant. You’ll be shocked at how much BETTER it works. Take my word for it!