My weekly effort at reducing toxins: Deodorant

I have to apologize for the neglect!  Between being the very amateur (but free) photographer for my sister who is getting married, planning and executing half a dozen essential oil classes this month, being a full time mom, and trying to keep my house clean, and being a scout leader in my church, I have been a bit busy lately.  I happened to not be able to go back to sleep after my husband went to work this morning at 5 am, so I decided (after laying in bed for 45 minutes) to get my lazy butt out of bed and communicate with the outside world!  So, I mostly wanted to share my weekly effort at eliminating toxins from my home and life (plus my lame endo visit...read the previous post).  Anyway, I've learned that deodorant is one of those things that we should do without.  I know most of you think I am a complete granola as it is, so I will tell you that I CANNOT live without deodorant.  So, let me explain what I have done and why I am doing it.  I made my own deodorant.  Ha ha!  I laughed too when I read about it, but let me explain.  When you shave your armpits (yes I do shave my armpits in case you were wondering...ha ha!)  we get micro cuts and abrasions every single time.  When you apply deodorant, the harmful ingredients go straight to your blood stream and into your body.  Most deodorant contains aluminum,  fragrance, triclosan and various glycols.  Anyway, that is why.

Here is my recipe:

5 TBSP of virgin coconut oil (I melted it a little as it is a solid at room temperature)
1/4 cup of baking soda
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1 TBSP of Beeswax

Essential oils – 10 drops
Mix until creamy. Apply a pea size drop to each underarm. Keep in closed container. You can also put this mixture into a cleaned out old deodorant container.

I put mine into an old deodorant container and then put it in the fridge so it could set.  I used it and VOILA!  Worked perfectly!  Granted, I don't sweat much, but I think it will do the trick.  I used Ylang ylang essential oil and it smells delightful!  There are other oils that will work better at preventing odor, such as melauluca, but I wanted mine to smell good and melauluca does NOT smell good to me :)  Anyway, there ya go!  Enjoy.

The Scoop on Toxins

So, I am finally coming up for breathe after a fun filled week in Texas!  We fully enjoyed the Vitamin D as we spent all 7 days outdoors!  So nice to be outside for a change.  Then we came back to our 3 feet of snow and I have been trying to get everything in order since then.

So, one of my online tumor friends reminded me of a great website.  It is called Skin Deep.  Personally I think it is a little extreme (as does my tumor friend that reminded me of it) but it has great information that can help you reduce personal care products in your home that may negatively affect your hormones!  I have been aware of this website for quite sometime and have been phasing out most of my cosmetics/shampoos/lotions that contain lots of stuff that can affect your hormones.  Another great website she shared with me is Natural Cleaning Recipes.  I also have a really great e-book that a friend put together.  It contains recipes for lots of natural cleaning supplies, deodorant, bath salts, body scrub and many more things.  If you are interested in this e-book please email me at hyperprolactinoma@gmail.com .  It's in pdf format so i cannot post it via blog :)

You all know that I am a big doTERRA fan.  They have some amazing products that are free of sulphates, parabens and the like.  You can find them at my online store at doTERRA.  They are under shop, and doTERRA Spa.  If you already have an account you can sign in at mydoterra.com and put in your ID number and password.  That way you can get the sweet 17-25% discount on them!  If you don't get the sweet discount and want to, you can let me know (via email) and I will explain more about it :)  I use the shampoo, conditioner and the skin care kit.  I am not a hair guru, but my sister a beautician so she is my resident expert on that kind of stuff  :)  I asked her what she thinks of the sanobello stuff and she claims it is just as good if not better than Pureology.  Means little to me, but maybe means something to someone out there.  I got the skin care kit for Christmas and I LOVE it.  I've been using it for a month and I have noticed that the bags under my eyes are almost gone and my pores are shrinking.  Plus the eye serum contains Frankincense!  We all know why I love that stuff :)  Anyway, Those are my doTERRA recommendations.  There is also a really great website where I get all of my lotion base in bulk (to which I use my oils to make it smell good and benefit me in different ways on different days!)  It is Posergy.  I also get my aloe vera gel, and bar soap there.  I avoid the stuff with their essential oils just because they don't test theirs as rigorously as doTERRA.  If I have dry skin, I add sandlewood to the lotion and rub it in.  I add lavender to it for my babies nighttime bath to help his sleep better.  Those are just a couple of examples!  Some other favorites for me are Balance, Whisper, and Ylang Ylang (all three help hormones and all three smell so good!) If you are interested in making your own lotion, chap stick and stuff, you can purchase some ingredients at aromatools.com.  I also get alot of my oil books, roll on bottles, spray tops, and glass spray bottles (which you need if you make your own cleaners containing essential oils.  Oils breakdown plastic.)