Welcome back! I took off last week because honestly, I ran out of time to write, plain and simple. I’m the type of person who is excellent at planning and not-so-great at plan execution. But I’m here now and you’re here too, so thank you for showing up. It means a lot to me.
A Quick Update
As you might know, I’ve been working on a poetry collection. I’m about 3/4 of the way through the initial editing and revision process. When I’m satisfied with my final draft, I’ll start the publication process and let you know more about the collection. After that, I have my sights set on a few non-fiction projects in the vein of Messy Bun Mantras and will most likely spend NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month, i.e., November) working on my fiction novel, as per usual. Autumn and Winter bring out the cozied, librarian-writer soul in me, so I expect to spend most of those seasons half-crazed as only writers can get when working on new projects. If you picture me in leggings, oversized sweaters, fuzzy socks, a messy bun and glasses, you’d be spot on. Add a cup of joe or tea and either rain or snow and BAM – instant writer vibes.
In Other News
I have a confession. Last week I ended a 4-week deodorant detox. Don’t ask me why I chose the hottest month of the year to stop wearing deodorant/antiperspirant, but I couldn’t wait until cooler weather.
I’ve read articles that list the ingredients in traditional antiperspirant as cancer-causing and link them to a myriad of other health issues, and I’ve read articles that state that there actually is no link. I’m not a doctor, so I can’t speak for the medical community and I advise you to do your own research. However, I drew my own conclusions and decided to make the switch to natural deodorant, one that didn’t have any questionable (however likely or unlikely) ingredients.
I first heard about the armpit detox on the radio. The claim was that it could take 30 days for the toxins to be removed from your pits. I’ve since read that the skin is not something you “detox”, but hey, it sounds nice, doesn’t it? I looked into the (for lack of a better word) detox process and cold-turkey quit wearing my antiperspirant/deodorant. I didn’t even tell my husband. (Actually, I’m not sure he even knows I stopped wearing deodorant. So either I was smelly all the time anyway or I smell of roses and rainbows all the time…not sure.) Then I researched the best natural deodorants without the antiperspirant and without fragrance. I cross-referenced the lists I found and one brand popped up on every list: Schmidt’s. I also read that many people who try to make the switch from traditional deodorant to natural end up with a rash or with worse BO because the chemistry in your pits is changing and unbalanced during the transition. For example, I tried a natural deodorant awhile back without the detox process and ended up with a rash. It was not fun. While researching how to prevent that from happening this time around, I read that a common ingredient in natural deodorant is baking soda, which is known to cause reactions. Schmidt’s fragrance-free, sensitive skin deodorant was one of the only brands that had zero baking soda as well as zero fragrance. So I added it to my shopping cart on Amazon. I also ended up purchasing calcium bentonite clay to mix with apple cider vinegar for an armpit “mask,” if you will. I’ll further confess now, this is by far the most granola thing I’ve ever done.
And I liked it.
So there I was, in 90 degree weather, detoxing my armpits and trying hard not to raise my arms in church or around people in general for ANY reason, lest they be hit with any BO my pits might be exhibiting, all while spreading some pretty foul smelling clay-vinegar mask mixture on my pits in the evenings, wondering to myself what in the HECK was I doing? Why can’t I just wear antiperspirant deodorant like any normal person? Why do I have to suddenly care about what I put on and in my body?
Because I do care. I find myself caring more and more. I care about the environment, I care about what I eat or don’t eat, and I care about the products that I use on a daily basis and how they might affect my health, either beneficially or adversely. I care, and it bothers me that more people don’t. I’m not asking you to join me on this specific detox journey, but I am asking that you care, or start caring. We have one life and one body. We can’t control everything, but we do have some measure of control over the choices we make about our bodies. At the end of the day, we’ve either made the best choices we can with the resources that are available to us, or we’ve thrown everything to the wind and treated our bodies like crap. I’ve treated my body like crap for years. I’m ready to do something different. I’m ready to feel different.*
So here I am. Week five. No allergic reactions to Schmidt’s natural deodorant, no increase in BO, and no other noticeable signs that I’ve even made the change other than my conscience is a tiny bit lighter.
By the Way…
I also completed a 22-day metabolic reset, and I am doing it again for the second time. I started with my armpits and now I’m working on the rest of my body. My metabolic reset is a bit more exciting and is yielding more visible results than my armpit detox. More about that next week!
Thanks for reading my blog and loving me even though I am very strange.
love, meg
*I have struggled with body insecurities my entire life. I’ve worked on them here and there over the years, but for the first time in my adult life, I am tackling them head-on. I will be writing more openly about these issues in my poetry collection as well as in this space.*