All people sweat. This is
nature. Sweat cools our
body and keeps its
temperature in balance. The
embarrassment and need to
mask the odor, however,
are so strong that we rarely
pay any attention on how
and what ingredients stop
the unpleasant smell. Have
you wondered what's the
difference between a
deodorant and an
antiperspirant? How each
one functions? What is their
effect on our body? Why
natural deodorants are the
best choice?
Here's what - first things
first.
Why do we sweat?
We have two kinds of
underarm glands that
produce sweat - eccrine
and apocrine glands.
The eccrine glands are most
numerous and are
responsible for producing
most of the sweat in our
body. Their sweat contains
water and sodium chloride.
The latter gives the salty
taste of sweat. The eccrine
glands are activated by hot
weather, fever, emotional
stress and exercise.
The apocrine glands starts
secreting at puberty. Once
the sweat reaches the
surface of the body, it is
broken down by the
bacteria that abounds in the
underarm area and..... here
is how the perspiration smell
is produced.
How to get rid of sweat?
Actually, we don't have to
get rid of sweat. It is the
main cooling system of our
bodies. When we sweat, our
bodies and clothes are
covered with water. When it
is hot or we exercise, our
bodies are heated. This heat
helps the water to
evaporate, which cools our
bodies. For the same
reason, when we are hot
and splash water on
ourselves, it feels good. So,
we need to sweat in order
to stay healthy. We just can
get rid of the perspiration
smell.
How to get rid of sweat
odor?
This can be done with
deodorants and
antiperspirants. Deodorants
neutralize the smell of sweat
by fighting the bacteria in
the armpits. On the other,
antiperspirants block the
pores in the underarm area
by its active ingredient -
aluminum salts. Thus,
antiperspirants interfere with
sweating - our body's
natural cooling system.
Aluminum salts penetrate
the skin and is accumulated
in our bodies. This process
is eased by the regular
shaving of underarms. Once
there, aluminum in
antiperspirants can cause
the formation of cancerous
tumors. It is also associated
with Alzheimer's disease.
Other ingredients to avoid
are parabens, formaldehyde,
propylnene golycol,
tricolsan.
What to do in the heat
then? Use natural
deodorants
Here are some ideas:
- before purchase, always
check the product's safety
in the EWG's Skin Deep
cosmetics database - a
directory with reviews about
more than 65 000 products;
- to stay on the safe side
use natural deodorants;
Tip: You may have heard
that natural deodorants
don't work. Or you may
know this from your own
experience. Actually, I was
almost convinced about this
too, but then I started to
apply mine more than once
during the day. The result
was odorless!
- if you still don't like natural
deodorants, you can
experiment and make your
own. Here is one tested
home-made deodorant
recipe:
Baking soda (anti-odor),
cornstarch (for dryness),
coconut oil (antibacterial), a
few drops of essential oil
(for additional fragrance).
Mix the baking soda with
equal amount of cornstarch.
Add the coconut oil and
mash it with fork in the
baking soda - cornstarch
mixture. Note that coconut
oil becomes liquid during
summer and is better to be
kept in the fridge. You can
add a few drops of an
essential oil. You may store
your natural deodorant in an
empty deodorant container.
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