DIY Deodorant (no baking soda!!)
Channel: Happy Holistics
Date: 2017-07-13

Hey everyone!  My name is Judy and I am from Happy Holistics.  A little known fact about me is that I haven’t used conventional antiperspirants or deodorants for over 7 years.  But before you pass judgment and consider that ‘maybe I just got used to my stench’, I really haven’t, I do know when I’m sort-of stinky, when I’m full blown stinky and when I’m not.  

For example, if I skip deodorant and skip a week’s worth of workouts and then build up a heavy sweat, I can usually smell BO.  Having said that, I do honestly believe that a daily sweat session can reduce odours over time, because you are sweating out toxins on a more regular basis.  Just remember to shower daily, so the sweat doesn’t remain on your body because that will likely lead to stinky smells.

During the winter, I don’t use anything on my pits.  But for these hot summer days I don’t want to risk being a social pariah because I’m kind of weird enough as it is, without having to smell bad, so this is what I do.

You’re going to need:

* white vinegar
* empty atomizer, mine is repurposed from a 50 ml amber glass bottle that used to contain essential oil and a mister top from some body fragrance 
* optional: essential oil (I used sweet orange)

Directions:  Fill your spritzer bottle with vinegar.  Add a few drops of essential oil.  Close up the bottle, shake and it’s ready to go.

Please note, this is not a anti-perspirant, so you’ll still sweat.  It’s also not a leave-in deodorant!  I use it, I guess as more of an underarm wash but it still works as a deodorant.  So before or during a shower, I’ll spritz some of this into my armpits and rub it in.  Leave it in for about 5 minutes to marinate, then rinse with water.  You do want to rinse everything off thoroughly to avoid smelling like an off salad when you're out in the world.  Do this daily and it’ll eliminate odours over time.  

For me, the first few days of using vinegar, I worked up a couple of big sweats and I could still smell my armpits.  After that though, it’s been working very effectively to the point where I’m actually sticking my nose into my armpit and trying to detect any BO and there isn’t.  So I’m guessing I just had to go through a transition period or that my body was still getting rid of lingering toxins.

If you hate the smell of vinegar altogether, I’ve heard of people using lemon juice or just rubbing slices of lemon into their underarms.  I haven’t tried it myself because I’ve seen lemons being sold for about $1 per lemon, but it’s pretty much the same principles at play.  

So, I’ve heard two plausible explanations for how this works.  The first one is that vinegar actually kills off the odour-causing bacteria.  The second explanation is that smells usually have a pH greater than 7, so they’re considered bases.  Since vinegar has a pH lower than 7 it is considered an acid and when mixed together, they are neutralized and the odours are also neutralized. 

I’m not sure how legit these reasons are, since scientists say that vinegar is only effective at killing some pathogens but not all.  It’s possible that vinegar is strong enough to kill armpit bacteria.

With the second explanation, I understand the principles of acid and bases, but baking soda is basic and it’s also used effectively to deodorize things.  So, who really knows?

Alls I know is that it works for me, so try it out if you’re curious and let me know in the comments below.  Please subscribe to my channel if you haven’t done so already and like up this video.  I’ll see you next Thursday!