Merknad: Dette innlegget ble postet da jeg skrev på engelsk. Planen er å få oversatt alle innleggene jeg skrev på engelsk til norsk, men det tar litt tid.
For several years I've been trying to find more natural and environmental friendly products – both to put on my body and to clean my house and clothes. I'm not very strict when it comes to this and I don't always follow "the rules", but I try to find alternatives that's friendly both to body and the environment.
One of the products I've been struggling the most with, is deodorants. I just can't seem to find any deodorant that works and is without any no-no ingredients. Or, so it used to be until this fall. Back in September or so, I discovered the Soapwalla deodorant. I ordered it and was hopeful. I was over the moon when it seemed like the deodorant was working! I didn't particularly care for the scent, but as long as the deodorant worked, I could live with it. But then everything changed. I started getting rashes under my arms and it quickly dawned on me that this was an allergic reaction. Finally I had found a deodorant that worked and was natural, and I had an allergic reaction to it! Talk about luck ... But that's the way things work. Just because products are natural or labeled natural, it doesn't mean they are completely harmless. You can still get allergic reactions to anything that's natural. I quit using the deodorant and the rash slowly faded. Just to make sure it was the deodorant that caused my reaction, I tried it again and then there was no doubt. I haven't used the deodorant since.
But I didn't give up. Then I decided to try a deodorant from Eco by Sonya. It seemed like a product with good reviews and without all the nasty things you're supposed to avoid. I had my doubts, but tried to be in high spirits. Maybe it only was the Soapwalla deodorant that I was allergic to. Alas, no. The same thing happened with the new deodorant too. This time it happened at once, so there was no doubt about it. I had to stop using that one too.
In the middle of all this, I made my own deodorant by mixing coconut oil and bicarbonate together. That deodorant also worked for a while, but with the allergic reaction I decided to quit using that one too. It seemed to irritate my skin and I was done having sore armpits (sorry about that image). Since then I've used the normal ones you find in the store. They may contain one bad ingredient after the other, but at least they don't hurt my skin like the natural ones I've tried.
I've also tried a natural deodorant from Home Health that I bought on iHerb, one from Dr. Organic (lavender deo) and two from Sante (the roll-on and the crystal stick). The one from Home Health I didn't like at all and it didn't work for me, if I remember correctly. The roll-on from Sante I believe contains silver, which is not good, but the deodorant worked (probably because of the silver). The crystal stick was OK, but not great. The one from Dr. Organic was Ok too, but I wasn't that fond of the scent. None of these were great and I like that the deodorants I use have a scent, so unscented kind of doesn't work for me in the beginning – even though I try to like them.
I've always tried to use the deodorants for a longer period of time. At least over two months. Your body needs time to adjust to the new deodorant, so it may not work properly from day one. This is a process that needs time, but you may be rewarded in the end ;) For me, I've given up the natural deodorant search for now.
Have you tried any natural or friendly deodorants?
