Natural Deoderant: GUEST POST from Jenn Daniel

Hello to all of Amy’s lovely readers! One of my favorite subjects to talk about while working at LUSH and a subject not many want to talk about is our armpits. Ok, maybe not armpits but rather what we slap on them. There has been an interesting misconception about us that deodorant brands and commercials would like us to believe: that we shouldn’t sweat. So they give us antiperspirant that will apparently give us the armpits of runners and nervous speakers that are dryer than the sands of a desert. I hate to break it to you all but we are meant to sweat!! Our bodies have an amazing ability to keep what we need to survive and get rid of all the bad we don’t need. One of these amazing ways is by sweating out through our pores, which include the pores in our armpits. One of the worst parts about antiperspirants is that when we stop our sweat the pores start to clog and when the pores are clogged our bodies think something is wrong. The reaction is our bodies begin to overproduce and then the very common body odor begins to also overproduce.

Bit of a side trail here but it is another misconception about us that I would love to see stop…call me a hippy but our natural body odor is not some sort of terrible stench that will cause everyone to run from us! Body odor (the untainted-by-perfumes body odor) has been linked to knowing each other, recognizing mothers and fathers as babies, and attracting the opposite sex! In our culture we get so obsessed with changing and covering our smell that we end up doing the very opposite. Granted diet and exercise has a lot to do with our body odor but starting with deodorant (or adding it on to a life style change) will add to making us more naturally healthy.

Switching from antiperspirant to a more natural alternative may seem tricky but it really is not hard at all. What I always suggest is first find the deodorant that best fits you and your lifestyle. Then give yourself around a week to allow your body to make the switch. I don’t mean take a week off work, lock yourself in a room where no one can smell you, and eventually you can merge as a good smelling person…I mean your body can take around a week to detoxify and get all those antiperspirants out of your armpits. The way I helped this smelly time was by keeping my deodorant with me and, half way through the day, threw some more on my armpits! Some of the days I went to the bathroom and straight up washed my armpits after washing my hands. (I also had the opportunity to tell people what I was doing. Interesting conversations can start by washing your armpits!) It took about 5 days when I noticed I didn’t smell but every person and situation is different so it can take more or less time. Oh! And yes you did read that last part correctly…I didn’t smell! Once again every person is different but you will notice a huge change in your armpits! Wearing deodorant once or twice a week is amazing so I really urge you to try this out!

Now that we have that part done the smelly part begins! The good smelling part! Picking your natural deodorant is also not hard (Sorry I’m about to name drop) and LUSH it a great option for figuring out which one is best. (I want to add a little disclaimer at this point. I have been using LUSH deodorant for a very long time, long before I worked there so no, this is not me selling hahahaha) Many people see LUSH as the soap shop, which we have, but among so much else there is an amazing selection of more natural deodorants. LUSH deodorants have no antiperspirants, no aluminum (which is linked to Alzheimer’s and brain disorders), a few are packaging free, all are either vegetarian or vegan, and all animal testing free!

There are five different types of deodorants:

“Aromaco” came from the idea of a roll on deodorant, which you can definitely feel with how soft and gentle it is! With witch hazel to naturally cleanse of bacteria and chamomile oil for soothing you won’t miss your old deodorant. They also threw in patchouli oil for a great smell and even more soothing properties!



“T’eo” is a strong working deodorant for any and all strong jobs. Full of antibacterial oil’s like tea tree and juniper berry and with a kick of lemongrass for a natural deodorizer you can see why it kicks butt!


“Coconut” gives away its greatness with the name alone. Coconut is in four different forms in here and lots of cornstarch to absorb sweaty moments. You wont be afraid to lift your arms and show off your music video armpits!


“The Greeench” (yes it does have three E’s in it) has every smell-busting herb in it! The use of thyme and rosemary to power through any bad smell and tea tree that will kill any bad bacteria lingering in your pits. Using baking soda to suck anything up this deodorant makes you smell like a forest Nymph in from the garden…. yes please!


“The Guv’ner” to combat any smelly guys worst, well, smell! LUSH filled it up with sweat absorbing charcoal, sage to clear out bad odor, and the earthiest scent to make freshness top priority! The idea behind The Guv’ner was for the gents but ladies if you love earthy scents (like myself) make sure you give this one a try!

Go out, ask questions, and find the deodorant that is awesome for you! Any LUSH shop employee will be happy to help you in your search and answer questions you have. Don’t be afraid to branch out from chain stores and see what can work for you. If you are anything like myself and other converts, you will be the better for it! Swing by the LUSH shop in London’s White Oaks Mall and tell me how your deodorant journey is going!   


Jenn Daniel is a sweet smelling natural beauty, guitar genius, and photographer extraordinaire.

All-Natural Kids Cold Medication AND Another 18w18d Update

Oliver has had a cold for a few days now. The typical runny nose and seeming 'off' turned into a hacking-man-cough and trouble sleeping. Couple this with the fact that we still practice co-sleeping, and I caught the same nasty cold around Saturday night = we have a problem. Our family typically wakes up at 7am or 8am every morning (we get ready for the day super-fast) but this morning I woke up bright and early at 6:30am because I was just fully rested - we hadn't woken up once the whole night. Why? An amazing all-natural kids cold medication.

Homeocan's Kids 0-9 is a line of children's medication that is homeopathic so it doesn't need any chemicals or traditional medicines in it, but it's still extremely effective. It also does not contain any sugar or dyes, two things that really have no place in kids medications but always seem to make their way in for the sake of appeal. The line, as the name suggests, is suitable for children 9 and under, and is even safe for babies. Oliver has used the Teething and Fever since he was tiny, and he now plays with the empty bottle because he has such fond memories of it.

So last night he took the Kids 0-9 Cough and Cold right before bed and we truly saw a whole new boy. We're just so relieved that there's something out there that works and that we are comfortable giving to him (because Tylenol we are not).

Also, an update on my challenge to use only Dr. Bronner's for 18 purposes - this stuff is great for classic armpit 'sweat smell'. I've been washing with the tea tree soap and I think it has to do with the antimicrobial function of it, because so often armpit odour is a problem with bacteria (hence crystal salt rock deodorant working). The tea tree deals with the problem from the root, not masking it but getting rid of it. I think if I washed with the tea tree soap every day I could give up deodorant forever.