Tag: Zero Waste Deodorant

You Never Know Until You Try

Before the end of the school year, I finished my first tube of zero waste deodorant that I got from FreeWheelinMarket on Etsy (way back in January) of this year. Since then, I purchased 2 tubes of zero waste from Hammond Herbs on Etsy and I’ve been using a combination of the 3 ever since….because I can. Usually whatever is closest I put on.

I was really happy with my first deodorant from FreeWheelin’ Market and only decided to explore my options and shop around to see if there was anything better out there.

You know, like dating. I’ve courted 2 different brands of zero waste deodorant at this point in my life – I feel like such a player!

You never know what you like, until you try it out!

Let me tell you….it was super satisfying throwing my empty cardboard tube of deodorant from FreeWheelin’ Market into our compost tumbler. Even more satisfying than landing an amazing “across the bedroom jump shot” of a plastic tube into my trash can when I would finish my old commercial deodorant.

I liked the smell of the FreeWheelin’ tube, LOVED the price (it’s down to $6.80!), and was happy to support someone in Ohio – my home state.

But let’s talk about an issue…

I tend to wear a lot of black clothing to match the darkness in my heart because when I used to travel, it was less likely to show dirt/stains etc. and I still like to pretend that I’m the 20-something adventurer that I once was.

I also tend to be on the pale side most of the year so the black makes me feel like a hipster vampire just works with my skin tone.

However….my school has t-shirts that are light grey and we would typically wear them like every other Friday or on special days (honestly I can’t remember the frequency now that school is out). And what I noticed about the FreeWheelin’ Market tube was it was more likely to stain my clothes:

Hmm…the staining doesn’t seem as noticeable in that picture as it felt in real life. And maybe I’m more cognizant of it because it makes me super self-conscious.

I remember once trying a Pinterest stain remover recipe using Dawn blue dish soap and some other ingredients that worked really well, so when I get some time this summer, I plan on whipping up a batch and pulling out an old plastic toothbrush and scrubbing the pits on this shirt to see if it makes a difference.

I don’t feel like the Hammond Herbs deodorant stains as much as the FreeWheelin’ stuff, so even though it’s more expensive (and I’m wicked cheap), I think I’ll keep with it for awhile.

Also – I REALLY like the Lemongrass & Peppermint scent that I got from Hammond Herbs. Surprisingly more than the Tea Tree and Lavender which are two of my favorite smells.

School, my job, tends to be a stressful situation for me and the biggest challenge in transitioning to zero waste deodorant this year was the fact that I was no longer wearing an antiperspirant….JUST a deodorant. So on really stressful days, I would be really moist….like Molly Shannon Super Star kinda wet…

Ugh.

I would just reapply and pray for the end of the school day. No biggie.

However…I would like to take the opportunity, on this – my 2nd post in over a month of internet silence – to once again MARVEL at the physiological change in my body after phasing out commercial deodorant.

I started wearing deodorant in 2nd grade.

I used to have to put on deodorant frequently to ensure I wouldn’t smell. I would always apply in the morning, but let’s say I showered after a run in the evening – I would apply before bed so I wouldn’t smell. And even if I applied before a run, I would probably stink afterwards. That’s not to mention all the other random applications if I changed clothes or was going out.

So, SO many applications (onto MY body) of something chock full of toxins.

But now…depending on what I do during the day…there have been multiple days this summer that I haven’t applied deodorant at all.

Actually right now, as I type this, I just got back from a 20-some minute run (I’m seriously out of shape…) and I don’t smell. It’s midday and the last time I applied was yesterday morning.

THIS WAS NEVER POSSIBLE BEFORE!!!

I think I’ve truly detoxed from my old Secret brand.

I wish I had a picture of it to post to you all, but I guess if you really want some proof, you’ll have to track me down and take a big ‘ol whiff of my pits.

Which I encourage…depending on the setting.

I thought phasing out regular deodorant would be impossible. And if that’s one thing I’ve learned on this zero waste journey – you never know what’s possible until you try. Zero waste deodorant has been such a positive change in my life (and for the environment) and I NEVER would have tried it if I hadn’t taken this on.

It makes me wonder….what other changes in my life do I think are impossible, but really – I just need to try?

Little Updates

Lately, buying zero waste items has become retail therapy for me.

One thing that I had planned on putting on my birthday list was a “holster” for my safety razor. Buuuuuut…..there was a 20% off coupon for it on Amazon…..so I bought it for myself.

The brand is Hide & Drink and it’s leather (so not vegan) and even though it came in this gorgeous cotton bag with no plastic on it, the entire thing came wrapped in plastic which I imagine Amazon did for their warehouse categorizing purposes.

Ugh. I need to go leave some packaging feedback for Amazon.

But as you can tell, it holds my Merkur safety razor beautifully and I’m excited to have this for travel purposes so that I don’t just have a double-edged blade hanging around in my travel kit.

Along with my Wyatt Earp-style holster, I also ordered some Bumkin reusable snack bags. Which of course, came wrapped in plastic.

Does Amazon do this on purpose? Wrapping zero waste items in plastic? Do they just not know? Or are workers in an Amazon Warehouse somewhere just giggling at my assumed (and correct!) irritation?

Anyhow, I got the Outdoors and Wildlife bags (raise your hand if you saw THAT one coming!). They’re adorable and look better NOT in plastic. I’ve washed them but I have NO idea how this happened, but I’m out of Cheddar Puffs. So I haven’t been able to experiment with them yet. But if I still like ’em, I may request that the Easter Bunny bring the ocean ones or the bird & bikes ones to my kids.

While I haven’t confirmed the Bumkin bags or experimented with them on the stale scale, I have a feeling they’re going to be the best option.

Awhile back, I purchased a new brand of zero waste, super good for me deodorant from Etsy Shop Hammond Herb. I got a two pack of their deodorant – Lemongrass & Peppermint and Tea Tree & Lavender.

The first few times I wore it, I was not a fan. This brand has baking soda in it and it felt so scratchy and irritable….blech….not for me. I spent so much on it though, that I was determined to power through it. After the first few applications, I really liked it!

I liked it enough to start wearing it again at work! I’m feeling like it’s lasting a little longer than my first zero waste deodorant. And one day at work, I was in my little broom-closet sized office testing some kids and they were like, “Mrs. Marks – your office smells like Jolly Ranchers!” I’m convinced it was my deodorant.

Etee just came out with vegan wraps today that don’t include beeswax. You know, I wasn’t concerned about beeswax in products or being “vegan” (hello, I eat meat), but I read the email from Etee about why they created “beeswax-less” wraps and they posted comments from vegans requesting Etee finding an alternative to beeswax, and I may try to start avoiding beeswax.

I’ll eat meat, but man, I hate to mess with those little honeybees. They do so much for us and there is a scary bee shortage going on. My husband and I toy all the time with the idea of getting our own bees.

Oh, and it’s my Spring Break and we’ve been making plans to make a compost tumbler!

Woot Woot!

That’s all for some little updates, but yesterday, my sister and I went on a MASSIVE bulk store scouting trip/thrifting adventure/Lush visit and we found some good stuff that I can’t wait to share.

Anyone else have any good zero waste updates? And if anyone still wants to be included in the Love Your Mother (Earth) Facebook group to hear from others, just let me know and I’ll make sure you get invited!

Zero Smells

You have no idea how nervous zero waste deodorant has made me.

Trying to looking on the positive side of my anxiety, I have now typed ‘deodorant’ so many times that I can now spell it correctly. 🙂 Apparently, I didn’t know before…

A little background. I am a sweaty beast. I started wearing deodorant in 2nd grade. SECOND GRADE! I was super sweaty, and therefore super smelly. I have tried just about every deodorant out there – both female and male deodorants, natural to heavy-duty and most in between. I’m very picky about deodorant.

Everyone has their “thing” – deodorant is mine. Recently I was telling a friend about my Lush shampoo bar and she was like, “ooooh….I’m super picky about my shampoo…yeah….I don’t mess with my hair…..yeah….couldn’t do that”

That’s how I feel about deodorant.

But, when I think about all the bad things in deodorant, (aluminum – linked to Alzheimer’s among many others) AND the fact that I’ve been wearing it since the 2nd grade, I can recognize it’s past time to change to something better-for-me (and the environment).

As long as I don’t become the smelly kid.

I knew I just needed to dive in and try something because there is serious potential for this to be a loooooooong search. When I started looking at things, I read a blog post from a zero waste someone that said it takes three weeks to “detox” from the toxins in commercial deodorants. That’s why most people don’t make the switch…..because you shouldn’t wear ANYTHING during those three weeks and if you switch right away, the natural stuff doesn’t work.

Three. Weeks. THREE. weeks. three weeks???

Who has that kind of time to detox from something that is kind of a social requirement??? I started to worry that I wouldn’t be able to try this until the summer! When I am off of school for the summer, I would totally allow myself to be smelly for 3 weeks. For the sake of Science and zero waste.

However, when I found my zero waste lip balm I decided to go for it and ordered deodorant from the same shop, FreeWheelin’ Market on Etsy.

Goodies from the FreeWheelin’ Market. Burt’s Bees not included. You may remember that my order included a free (FREE!) beeswax wrap. It’s a nice touch.

I ordered the Tea Tree and Lavender Scent because I like both of those scents, and I know tea tree oil is known for its anti-bacterial properties, which I hoped would help with any funk.

Naturally, I waited for the weekend to try it. I wasn’t going to risk smelling bad at work.

So last weekend, when I went shopping with my sister, brother, and sister-in-law, it was the perfect opportunity to try it out. If there’s one thing I know, my siblings will be blunt honest with me. And, they’re pretty good about taking a big whiff not being bothered when I would continually stick my arm pit in their face and ask for an update:

Ah, siblings….that’s me wafting my smells towards my brother. He loves sister time.

Last weekend, no bad smells. At all. Just deodorant smells. So, I decided to take a chance and wear it to work on Monday, of course bringing along my usual commercial deodorant as a back-up.

This year, I teach 4th grade; a period of change and growth in so many ways. I teach 4th graders who have not yet had “the talk” about hygiene and “growing up stuff”. Therefore, there are some very potent kids in my classroom. We’re in that “transition” period of adolescence. It happens.

On Monday, I kept getting strong whiffs of B.O. and I would momentarily panic that it was me. I would then do that not-so-casual move where, when you turn to move in a different direction you not-so-discreetly drop your face low to your armpit and get a big sniff mid-turn. I did that A LOT on Monday. But every time, it wasn’t me! Huzzah!

My husband has also been very good about getting up in there and taking a sniff being honest about my smells at the end of the day. And all week long, there have been no negative reports! And I never reapplied during the day. Huzzah!

In fact, yesterday, as we were “snowed in” at home, I didn’t even put on deodorant in the morning and I feel like I didn’t smell as nearly as bad as I would have had I been wearing my commercial deodorant.

Am I mid-detox? Is this a legit thing? Or am I simply looking at things through rose-colored glasses smelling things through a rose-scented filter? Not sure.

One thing that is different for me, is this is just a deodorant, not an antiperspirant. My commercial deodorant was both.

It’s been awhile since I’ve actually sweated when not doing physical activity. This week, I would sweat when I was nervous, but other times I was completely dry. I had NO IDEA that I was having that kind of physiological reaction to stress.

I’m learning so much about myself!

It’s been one week with NO commercial, bad-for-me deodorant. I didn’t even take my commercial stuff with me to school by the end of the week.

Knowing me, I will probably save my commercial stuff for the summer just in case I have any issues, but if there are issues, I hope future Julie tries a different product first before running back to a commercial deodorant. But I have no idea what that girl will get up to; she has a mind of her own.

Another perk, is that in this one week, I have had no deodorant marks on my clothes. Previously, it was not uncommon for me to have white marks on my clothing, even though my mom has shown me time and again how to avoid that when I put on my shirt (Hi, mom!).

I do have some reservations.

First of all, I am nervous to rely on an Etsy shop for anything as important to me as deodorant. Lip balm, there’s plenty out there. Deodorant….super picky. I want consistency. What if the shop owner takes a break? Stops making deodorant altogether? Those are scary thoughts for me.

Second, it’ll be interesting to take this deodorant through a blazing hot, global warming Ohio summer. And running. Neither of those are happening right now, so we’re good.

Lastly, I’ve noticed it feels different when I shave my underarms since it’s more…I don’t know how to describe it….thick? Waxy? So I’m hoping there’s no build-up over time either on my clothes or my razor.

But I’ll post updates as time goes on. I also wrote the date on the bottom of both my lip balm and my deodorant to see how long they last me.

Updates: Since my travel plans were canceled this weekend, I naturally stayed home and ordered zero waste make-up. Like A LOT of zero waste make-up. Foundation samples, loose powder, eye shadows, and a liquid mascara to be exact. So stay tuned for some make-up updates. (I feel a little bad about rushing out and buying all this stuff right away, but I do have every intention of using up my previous products! But I really want to have a solid replacement before I run out so I don’t have to do all these experiments with no back-up.)

I’ve also been trying to look into freezer food storage without plastic and to start limiting my purchasing of over-processed foods pre-packaged in plastic. I’m trying to work up the nerve to call my local butcher this week to clarify their policies because, if you read my depressing post from last Thursday, I went to buy meat and I was denied using my containers. I’ve also been wanting to share some of my responses from companies and elected representatives about what they’re doing to reduce single-use plastics.