Fancy Life Secrets: aluminum free

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Dr. Dre Called It The Detox

Here in America, our culture does not naturally embrace our "natural smell" like others. We label it as "body odor", something to be ashamed of. Some people's natural body odor is pleasant to us. They're called pheromones. We are attracted to them. When we smells someone's odor and we do not like it, it just means that they are not for us. LOL! So I get it when some people are hesitant to try a "natural" deodorant cuz no one really wants to smell "natural". Truth is, most people don't even know what their natural smell is. However, if you're sick of pumping your body with chemicals that have been banned in most other countries but somehow are still legal in the U.S., you've been eating organic and started using Fancy Free for Hair & Skin to moisturize, the next step is switching to a natural deodorant (I've already put in my shameless plug so I'm gonna let y'all live on what deodorant to choose but we have Aluminum Free deodorant too.)

You've Made The Choice

Somethings work best when you drop them cold turkey, some don't. Making the switch to aluminum regular use of conventional deodorants and antiperspirants can change the bacterial microbiome in your armpits, causing an overproduction of bad bacteria which contribute to a worse odor when you stop using them.
Aluminum free deodorant may be one of those things that require preparation. If you've tried to "Just switch" and you smelled terrible at the end of the day. It may be because there is a build up of the odor causing bacteria in your armpits.

The Answer

Try detoxing your underarms before you switch to the natural deodorant. When I was making the switch, I was home on maternity leave, so there were days when I didn't use anything, days when I only applied a little bit of milk of magnesia, days when I wiped with apple cider vinegar, etc. I did not do an official "detox" but I did abstain from traditional antiperspirant for an extended period of time, which is kind of a detox if we're considering the definition of the word.

How To

The Baking Soda Method

Baking soda is one of the best ingredients on the earth for pH balancing the body. To detox your armpits with baking soda make sure you clean your armpits and while wet apply ALUMINUM FREE baking soda and leave on for 15 minutes or longer then wipe clean. Repeat this procedure each day for a week or longer.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Lemon, or Witch Hazel Method

After a bath or shower to apply either lemon or apple cider vinegar to your armpits. Allow the armpits to dry before going to apply deodorant which is optional. Some of the quickest detoxifications come with removing both deodorant and antiperspirants all together. Witch hazel can also be used in place of ACV or lemon with this protocol.

Clay Detox Recipe

You’ll need:

1 tablespoon bentonite clay
1 teaspoon of raw apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Mix the clay and vinegar with a spoon or two of water to achieve a paste-like consistency.
Spread a thin layer of this mixture on each armpit, allowing it to work its magic for about 15 minutes*.
Rinse off the mask in the shower using a soft washcloth and dry the armpits thoroughly after your shower. You can then apply a natural deodorant if you wish, or go au natural.
Repeat this process daily until your body odor has settled down and you can apply a natural deodorantwithout unwelcome side effects.
Finally, vow never to go back to your conventional, chemical-laden antiperspirant or deodorant!

*If you feel pain after application, you should rinse off the mask immediately, although it’s more likely you will experience a tingling or warm sensation as blood flow to the area increases – this is normal.

After the Detox

You will notice less odor - sometimes even when you're not wearing deodorant, less irritation and perspiration after using natural deodorant, no more product build up in your armpits, improved lymphatic function, and reduction in illness.

The motto Fancy Free, LLC. is keeping you free from chemicals. As a retired health care professional, I have seen my fair share of medical complications caused by drug treatments. I started digging deeper when I realized that Jehovah made us in His image. Our body is a perfect ecosystem. When we start adding things that don't belong, we upset the perfect balance put in place. I get it, sometimes it's hard to avoid all of the chemicals and fillers manufacturers are allowed to put in products we consume. Your body will tell you when it's time to take a break and detox.

Shameless Plug Alert:

Fancy Free, LLC. is the manufacturer of quality products for hair and skin. Our motto is "Keeping you chemical free." Visit our website, www.fancyfreellc.com, to see a full range of our products and services. Sign up for our mailing list to receive natural hair tips and stay up to date on sales and the latest happenings with Fancy Free.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Becoming Aluminum Free

So, I'm going to touch on a subject that most women do not discuss. I'm writing about it because when I talk about it in a "safe environment", I find that it's a common issue that a lot of women face.....underarm sweat. My super close friends and I refer to it as an "Underarm Problem." My husband used to call me "pheromoney". I say "used to" because we have fixed the Underarm Problem.

So let's start at puberty, I noticed it. I used regular deodorant and sometimes I would feel sweat rolling down my underarms. I couldn't really repeat tops after one wear because the underarms would smell sour at the end of the day. Sometimes they would still have a smell after I washed them. I tried Febreeze and other laundry solutions. Nothing worked. So, I just dealt with it. I wasn't insecure about it. I didn't like it but whatever. I'm still cute.

When I went to college, all of the big time deodorant companies started coming out with "Prescription Strength" deodorant. Same issues. Except for now I'd have this film on my armpits. I'd have to scrub them separately to get the film off. SMH. By the time I turned 25 years old, I had tried the under crystals, which broke me out, so I figured out that alternating my deodorants helped. That seemed to work unless I was having a long day. I considered botox under my arms for my wedding but $1200 wasn't in the budget on top of the wedding expenses, so I put botox on the back burner.

I tried Certain Dri and some other underarm gels that claimed to help with sweating. They weren't a good fit for one reason or another. At 32 years old, someone told me about Donna Karan Cashmere Mist deodorant. FINALLY!!! I found something that worked. It was $16 a pop but worth it. I didn't smell sour at the end of the day anymore. I smelled like perfume. It had sooooo much aluminum in it though, 17%. But my clothes would still smell sour in the armpit part. When I got laser hair removal in my underarms, that helped but only temporarily. I also tried a few brands I found in Europe and Sephora. Nope. Right back to Donna Karan. I did figure out that spraying apple cider vinegar on the armpits of my clothes would get rid of that sour smell.

So, here I am, a 35 year old woman who can't get control over her Underarm Problem without spending $25 on deodorant....cuz that Donna Karan price went up every year. SMH. Then one day I had lunch with my cousin and she was telling me that had to have surgery. She was explaining how she knew something was wrong because her underarms had suddenly started stinking and she never had to use deodorant before that. I was jealous about that no deodorant thing but I started thinking. MAYBE, juuuuuuuusssst maybe, my underarm problem could be triggered by all of the crap they put in the deodorants I had been using. I was also pregnant. And you know how crazy pregnant women are about what they put in and on their bodies.

So, I started trying natural deodorants again. First, I tried a direct sales deodorant, it irritated my underarms. Then a fellow Underarm Problem friend recommended Piper Wei, another natural deodorant. AND IT WORKED!!! I was so excited! FINALLY! I had started to notice my underarms getting dark though. I thought it was related to being pregnant, until I stopped using it for a couple days and the darkness cleared up. *sigh* Breaking me out again. Then I realized that most aluminum free deodorant have baking soda as one of the main ingredient. Baking soda was triggering an eczema like reaction on my underarm skin. I knew I couldn't be the only one dealing with this. So the mission began.

I started researching and found that milk of magnesia works well as deodorant. I tried it. It worked. But it was inconvenient. Like, pour it in my hand and spread it. Naw. I ain't 'bout to commit to that. Let me put it in a roll on container. The rest is history. The end result is Fancy Free Deodorant, a roll on, natural deodorant that is aluminum free. My son is 1 year old now, I've been using Fancy Free deodorant over the course of the year. Here is what I noticed a few things:

My clothes no longer smell sour at the end of the day
I no longer smelled sour at the end of the day
I no longer had a deodorant film on my underarm skin that required an extra scrub in the shower
No yellow stains in the armpits of my white shirts (only the occasional grey smear when I didn't let it dry before I put my clothes on)

So, it WAS the crap in the deodorant making me funky and having me think I needed more deodorant. LOL! Anyway, it took me long enough to get it right but I was able to solve a problem that most women have.

Visit the Fancy Free Shop to see the full description of all of the ingredients and what roll they play in our deodorant to keep your underarms dry and smelling great.

Shameless Plug Alert: