Natural Products I Love: Part 1

Taking a moment to veer from my typical family happenings report, I'd like to share with you one of my newest favorite natural products.

In recent years, antiperspirants have started coming under scrutiny for their potential health risks. The bare bones of the idea is that every antiperspirant has one thing in common: Aluminum. The aluminum clogs your pores, thereby eliminating or greatly reducing the ability to sweat. However, aluminum is linked to Alzheimer's disease, and when used so closely to the breast (right on top of lymph nodes!) may also be a factor in breast cancer. Now- there is a big ol' debate out there whether the relationship between aluminum and Alzheimer's/breast cancer means that antiperspirant use is actually risky or not, but for this sort of thing, I'd rather be safe than sorry. For a more detailed look, I'd recommend the four part article, full of research, science, etc., found at controlyourimpact.com:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Again, my basic thought process is better safe than sorry - I don't know if antipersperant use is risky, but it sounds plausable to me. The body sweats for a reason, and anything that inhibits the body from performing the way God designed it to perform seems risky to me. So, a bit over a year ago, I made the switch from antipersperants to plain ol' deodorant. But it hasn't been a fun journey, all the time. At first, I was generally happy with the brands I picked - they smelled nice and performed to my expectations. Unfortunately, it seemed like my body would adapt to them after a while, and they would just stop working, no matter what brand I tried. I would have to reapply the stuff several times a day if I had any hope of not being stinky. I was getting downright frustrated and sorely tempted to switch back to antiperspirant.

Then, I found the Thai Crystal Deodorant Stone. I read the reviews - they seemed pretty good. But I didn't order it right away, thinking it perhaps cost too much money for a deodorant I wasn't sure would work. My other options still weren't working well, though, and so a couple weeks later, I hopped back online and ordered it. It came a few days later, and I used it for the first time the next morning. It was a little awkward to figure out - you have to get the stone wet and rub it all over your armpits, and then let it dry. So I ended up wetting it at my bathroom sink after my shower, applying it, and then standing in front of a fan for a couple minutes. I've since figured out that it doesn't need to be dripping wet when you apply it, and I've gotten used to having my armpits wet for a few mintues while I get dressed, so it's not quite so strange. But the deodorant stone uses mineral salts to stop odor. This is not an antiperspirant - you will still sweat. That might not make some people happy. But *I* like it. Okay, no, I don't like to have sweaty armpits, but I think it's normal and I don't like the idea of stopping it artificially. What I do like is that I'm stopping the stinky smell from developing, and doing it essentially risk-free. According to the Cosmetic Safety Database, deodorant stones are about as low-risk for anything as you can get.

Let me give you a run-down of how well the Thai Crystal Deodorant Stone works, by giving you an example from this past weekend. When we went out to play at the playground on Saturday, I hadn't showered yet. Now, I normally wouldn't love to admit that, but I think it's important to show you how well this works. I didn't feel like wasting part of my beautiful, unusually warm Saturday by showering. The last time I had showered, then, was Friday at about 8am. I re-applied the deodorant stone, though I probably didn't really have to, and we went out to play. I was quite sweaty when we got home - it was a sticky, humid day, and I had carried around Alex, run around chasing balls, etc. And it was still warm when we got home, and mild activities, like folding laundry and playing Guitar Hero, were making me sweat more. But at the end of the day, I still smelled fine. Not perfect, but just like a "hey, that's my smell" sort of thing. Not stinky. Just me... after all that sweating, and going on 2 days after a shower! And Jesse's tried it, with the exact same results - if I get right up into his armpit at the end of the day, I can smell something, just barely, but it's not something I can call stinky. It's just Jesse.

And this stuff is going to last a long time, I can tell. I've been using it for about a month, and I can't really tell that it's gotten significantly smaller. It's a really dense stone. And when it's wet, it goes on smoothly, with it's nice curved edges. There are other brands of deodorant stones out there, and I have to assume, with their common mineral salts ingredient, that they would work about the same. I was worried that the cost of the deodorant stone was too much, but I'm definitely getting my money's worth out of it. I can't imagine that I'll need to replace it within the next year. And I'm avoiding any potential health risks in the process. Yay! As far as I'm concerned, this product is what I'll be using the rest of my life.

Plastics 101

If you're new to the issue of good plastics vs. bad plastics, or would simply like an easy read about which types of plastics you should avoid and why, take a couple minutes and go read Plastics 101 with Dr. Alan Greene at The Soft Landing Blog.

In the same down-to-earth style of his must-have book Raising Baby Green, Dr. Greene takes the often confusing subject of plastic and exposes its bare-bones foundation in a way we can all understand.

Know Your Plastics

by Dr. Alan Greene
Plastics are everywhere. Some are eco-friendly and appear to be very safe for kids. Most are made from non-renewable petroleum, much of which needs to be imported. Some plastics cause dangerous pollution during manufacturing, and some contain chemicals suspected of causing harm – especially to kids.

 Go read the full article for more!  

And don't forget to come back later today for a report and pictures of Melinda's 5th birthday.  :)