Au Naturel.

There is no way I can go back. I used to buy into all of it. I took my Dunkin Donuts coffee with 3 equal and 5 ice cubes. I spent millions (ok maybe not millions) of dollars on deodorants and shampoos and lotions and face washes (when I was younger I, no joke, remember using a minimum of three different face washes each morning, trying to get rid of the dreaded acne). I bought the latest running shoes every couple of months. I was all about the low-fat, no-fat. But then something changed. I don’t know when. And I don’t know how. It just started to gradually happen. I started reading more about vegan and raw diets/lifestyles.  One book lead to another book which lead to a blog or an article or back to a book. Talking to people. Which lead to more books or blogs or articles. Until the other day, on my run, wearing my Vibrams, I realized how far into I was and that I would never go back.

The change wasn’t instantaneous, but the further into this lifestyle I get, the more I know this is where I’m supposed to be. I now use baking soda to wash my hair. Coconut oil infused with essential oils for my deodorant. I will never wear another pair of conventional running shoes. I will never put Splenda or any other type of fake sweetener in anything I consume. Real, whole foods are better than processed crap any day. Slowly but surely I am phasing things out of my life. B thinks I’m crazy. I joke and call myself a hippie. But who doesn’t want to live a more sustainable life? When did we lose that? My next project is to learn how to garden. I can’t grow a thing and have killed many plants, but I just know that’s my next step in this journey. Maybe I’ll start with some herbs.

Until then, I will continue to shop for my organic produce. And we were at Whole Foods the other day. Early, before all the crazies came out. And they had just put out some raw asparagus salad. We tried it and it was delicious. So I picked up three bunches of asparagus spears (what else was I supposed to do?), and came home and made the salad. So, here it is.

Copycat Whole Foods Asparagus Salad

One bunch of asparagus

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut asparagus into two-inch long pieces. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Can be eaten right away, but if you let it marinate for two hours or so, it gives all the flavors a chance to sink in and it is delicious!

F

Irritated armpits.

I have never felt like the scents in conventional deodorants reacted with my body well. They smelled good at first, but then as soon as I started sweating, it left me with a weird smell. This began my journey into natural deodorants. I searched far and wide. I spent lots of money. I threw away a lot of products. I’m not trying to control my sweat, I just want to smell better when doing it. As I have mentioned before, I have a very active job. So I needed something to stand up to that. Many of the natural deodorants worked well on my “days off,” but by the end of a work day, I needed a shower.

I thought I had found one that I liked. It was my “work deodorant.” It was pretty intense, while still being natural. If my pits were too wet when I put it on, they burned. And it did not feel well. So I learned to completely dry them before putting it on, and not making much movement until it was absorbed. This worked well for me until the end of this summer. I didn’t have any days off for two months. None. I worked every. single. day. So, naturally, I wore my “work deodorant” every. single. day. My pits did not react very well to this. They became raw. And developed sort of a heat rash. I know, I know. I am sharing a lot. But it is a real problem. So, I started experimenting again with deodorants. I tried just coconut oil. I tried just cornstarch. I tried my “day off deodorant.” I ordered from different companies. I found one that I do like. It is from a great company called Bumble and Bee and this is the one I have been using. It is wonderful. It has a very subtle patchouli scent, is gentle on my pits, and for the most part, holds up to my work day test. But I’m lazy and busy and don’t always oder more before I need it. Or run out of money exactly when I run out of deodorant.

I have been “pinning” recipes for some DIY deodorants for a while. Haven’t really made any yet, but I knew I wanted to start experimenting some more with some DIY deodorants. Because that’s what I do. I did what any other person would do, and I searched it on the internet. I found this recipe from Wellness Mama and tried it out. I used Recipe Number 2, mainly because I already had everything. I added some lavender oil to the first batch. When I tried it out, my pits already being sensitive, it burned. Which means it probably would have passed the test, but my sensitive underarms needed something a bit more gentle.

I tried it a second time and tweaked the recipe a bit. Wanting it a little bit more solid, I started with less coconut oil. Guessing that the baking soda was the ingredient irritating my skin, I cut waaay back on that and added more cornstarch. I used tea tree oil for its bacteria eliminating properties. It ended up definitely more solid and I could use it almost like a bar. I have worn it through two full 12 hour days at work while still smelling fresh by the end of it. The redness in my pits has gone down and my skin is super soft. I still have some itching, but it has gone down A LOT. I’m gonna keep using it and see how it goes! It is easy to apply and there is a lot less mess than some of the natural deodorants I purchased. This is what I did:

About 3 TBSP of coconut oil

1  – 1 1/2 cups of cornstarch

1 tsp of baking soda

5-10 drops of tea tree oil

I kneaded all ingredients together and added some extra cornstarch to make it all stick together and become fairly solid.

I’ve been keeping mine in a pyrex container.

No pictures because really, it looks like a white ball. Nothing fancy.

I have also been contemplating a neutralizing underarm “tonic” to help reset the pits after a particularly active day. Some sort of water and tea tree oil mixture. I will try out some different combinations. Bumble and Bee has some for sale on their website, but, once again, I’m lazy. And I have tea tree oil. And water. So I may as well make some of my own.

 

On another note, in the spirit of DIY, I want to build a desk. And a book shelf. And a reading nook. Not sure how any of those will turn out. I mean, I like tools, but I am not sure how handy I am with building things.

F