How Can I Detox My Armpits? 6 Steps To Get Rid Of Built-Up Chemicals

Hey guys,

so you’ve been thinking of living cleaner by ditching products that are chemically loaded? Are you sick and tired of all the chemicals that are seemingly in every product that you buy? Have you asked, “How Can I detox my armpits?”

The natural and organic living styles have been promoted very much in the past decade because of so many toxins that have made ways into our bodies and clearly impacted our health negatively.

If you’re wondering how I can write on topics related to sweating, it’s mainly because I’ve had it for more than 2 decades since I was in my teens. To know more, read my story here.

Some products that we use on a daily basis are deodorants/antiperspirants. You know that the conventional synthetic versions are the ones that you find in every single store and they are by all means the cheapest options as well.

However, you have thought about changing things in your household and that has included getting rid of conventional deodorants/antiperspirants.

But since that is a process and you might encounter some problems along the way, I will give you a few tips on how to do this effectively.

Why Do We Sweat?

The first thing is to understand why we sweat and why we use deodorants and antiperspirants at all.

Sweating is a very important body function that regulates not only our body temperature but also serves as a means of transportation for toxins.

Yes, your body is triggered to sweat when your body temperature goes up, be it through fitness routine, working, being outside in the sun, living in humid and warm climates, among others. By sweating, your body can cool down again and prevent severe health problems like heat strokes.

Even if the first and utmost function of sweating is to regulate body temperature, our skin was designed to protect all our inner organs from outside dangers that are awaiting the correct moment to attack. Therefore, your skin has fighting properties, which help it to keep dangers out.

Sweating is just one of the ways that your skin keeps dangers away. It washes bacteria trying to enter away through sweating. Also, there are certain toxins that build up inside the body that can only be gotten rid of through sweating.

When sweat is pushed out of the pores, lots of salts, proteins, toxins, and others come along. Hence, sweating is an important body function and should not be underestimated.

Why Use Deodorants and Antiperspirants?

The whole idea behind deodorants is to smell good from your armpits. If you are “old-school”, you will recall how deodorants were never used, how they were not even available.

But then somebody along the way found that smelling bad from your armpits is just not cool.

The truth of the matter is that bacteria live in your armpits and feast on the contents of your sweat. The gasses these bacteria release is what makes you smell bad.

Deodorants reduce and kill bacteria living in your armpits and carry scents that give you a fresh smell all day long. Deodorants do not reduce or stop sweating, as many people believe.

And antiperspirants do not make you smell better, they reduce or stop your sweating.

More: What is the difference between deodorants and antiperspirants?

So, why would we use these products? The answer is very simple: We use deodorants to smell fresh and antiperspirants to sweat less.

Individuals suffering from hyperhidrosis (say excessive sweating) often wish to stop their problem and they opt for a clinical strength antiperspirants that stop their sweating completely. That is the cheapest and easiest way to solve an every-day problem.

Because these individuals sweat excessively, putting on a deodorant will not last for longer than a few hours because one application cannot keep up with the excess sweating.

Are Conventional Deodorants And Antiperspirants The Only Option?

Yes, I get it, if you want to smell fresh, you do need something to reduce the bacteria that live in your armpits. Also, if you sweat excessively every day, you want to look for something that will stop your problem. But is that the only option?

As for antiperspirants, natural ways have not been discovered that stops your sweating completely as clinical strength antiperspirants do. Although there are claims that certain herbs and foods do the trick, I have tried multiple things myself and none was effective.

You must know that I have suffered from hyperhidrosis ever since I became a teenager. I have not found a natural remedy that would stop my problem.

If you sweat mildly to moderately, natural options to reduce your sweating are available, but if you suffer from hyperhidrosis, you will not find a natural product to stop your sweating.

As for deodorants, there are many natural products that will do the same trick as conventional deodorants. You want to look for something that will make you smell good and reduce the bacteria living in your armpits, but also for something that is natural and organic at the same time.

In recent years, different pastes and creams have been tested and they have proven to be effective. Check out my lists of the best deodorants for women and men, which feature many 100% natural and organic options.

So, there is more than just conventional deodorants.

Why You Want to Switch To Natural Deodorants

There have been doubts about the safety of deodorants and antiperspirants. Studies conducted 60 years ago claimed that chemicals enter the body and alter cells which can cause diseases, including Alzheimer’s, cancers, and others.

Studies were done on animals. However, these studies were not conclusive because they were only theories that did not provide a strong foundation. They found that chemicals used in deodorants and antiperspirants could potentially cause diseases.

However, in recent years, these theories have been debunked with studies on cancer and dementia patients. With over 4,000 patients studied, not enough evidence could be found that the use of these products was a cause for these diseases.

In fact, the American Cancer Association and the Alzheimers Association, leading institutions in research, have stated that links antiperspirants/deodorants and these diseases lack evidence to claim these products unsafe.

More: Is aluminum chloride safe?​

However, even if these products might not be unsafe, why would you want to fill your body with toxins that in some alter the microbiome of your body and change your sweating?

Ditching conventional deodorants is a great way to start living cleaner and healthier. Therefore, I am an advocate of makes small changes like these, and if it were only to save our planet by using natural products. And ultimately, it will make a positive impact on your health in different ways.

How Can I Detox My Underarms?

Now that you have the bigger picture of sweating, deodorants and antiperspirants and their safety, the burning question is: If I want to ditch conventional deodorants and use natural products, how can I detox my underarms?

The detoxing process is something that will not happen overnight. It takes time and patience. And there is more than one thing that you can do. Here are 6 things that you can and should do.

1) Stop The Use Of Conventional Deodorants. You can stop using conventional deodorants immediately without taking any precautions. And you should stop to use them right now if you want to go in the natural and organic direction with this.

To completely detox your armpits, you do not want to apply conventional deodorants for at least 2 months, since this process can take longer.

2) Watch your food. Did you know that food plays an important role in your sweat? The composition of your sweat depends much on what you eat.

If you want to detox your armpits, stop drinking coffee and alcohol. These influence the odor coming from your armpits greatly. Also, foods like meats and foods fried in unhealthy oils change the composition of your sweat.

Leafy greens counteract the bad odors in your sweat. In fact, all fruits and vegetables (except for onions and garlic) are great to aid the detoxing process. The more you eat of these and less food from the other groups of foods, the quicker the process.

3) Drink generous amounts of water. Drinking enough water does not only detox your armpits but your whole body. In fact, water is among the top ways to detox quickly.

If you drink more water for a few days, you will notice how your sweat will start to smell less offensive, therefore, drink between 8-12 cups of water a day.

4) Keep your armpits dry. After taking a shower, we often tend to forget to dry our armpits thoroughly. However, this is very important, because bacteria thrive in moisture.

You want to avoid bacteria being able to reproduce more than necessary by not drying off. Even during the day, when you are sweaty, just grab a paper towel and dry your armpits. That will naturally increase healthy bacteria.

Your microbiome has likely changed because of the use of conventional deodorants, which have an impact on bacteria living in your armpits because of chemicals.

There will be bacteria that was never in your armpits before, and beneficial bacteria will not be found due to the process which our armpits go through with conventional deodorants.

5) Exfoliate your skin. When taking a shower, it is beneficial that exfoliate your skin gently, which unclogs the pores that have been clogged for a long time due to a build-up of chemicals in your pits.

Gently scrub your armpits with a towel or similar cloth. Be careful as your armpits skin is sensitive and you do not want to irritate it. Also, don’t do that for too many days in a row, as you will cause irritation. Do it once in a while.

6) Use your new all-natural and organic deodorant. You do not have to stop using deodorants while detoxing your armpits. You can and should use your new natural deodorant while detoxing.

Pick only products that contain top-grade natural and organic products, like Underarmed, Schmidt’s Deodorant, or Green Tidings, among others to make sure you get the result that you were looking for. I made a list of 10 deodorants (not) just for women of all-natural great deodorants that have been proven to be effective.

What Happens When You Detox

Since you have used antiperspirants and deodorants for many years, there are chemicals built up over time that will be coming out of your pores.

This process can do a few things that have freaked many people out.

1) You will see your armpits starting to darken. People that have started to detox their armpits have noticed how the skin in their armpits rapidly become very dark and they are unsure what it is about.

Be advised that this is normal because of chemical elements built up are slowly finding their ways out. You might ask: If our skin was designed to get rid of toxins, why does it build up? The answer is very straightforward: We put on deodorants once or twice a day. Our body cannot cope with that much all the time. Our skin cannot get rid of that much and it builds up.

Built-up does not mean that it is absorbed, it is clogging our pores and sits there. Over time, this will happen even if you use natural deodorants.

So, if you see dark colors showing up, exfoliate, wait, repeat, change your diet, repeat, etc until your body has finally detoxed your armpits.

2) Terrible odors are common. When detoxing, many individuals report awful odors as never smelt before. This is true. Since your microbiome has changed completely over the years, it is natural to expect a change.

However, this problem does not persist. If you are persistent with changing conventional deodorants for natural ones, the bad odors should cease after a few weeks. By that time, the natural deodorant starts to take effect and better days are ahead.

Some people give up too easily in this detoxing process because they cannot stand the bad odors. However, if you stick to it, you will enjoy the natural deodorants later on.

3) In the end, after you have detoxed your armpits, you will be happy to have chosen the natural and clean way instead of the cheap and conventional way.

Conclusion

The question was: How can I detox my underarms? Let’s make a quick review.

First of all, consider the importance of sweating in your life. Why your body sweats and what that is good for.

Secondly, be informed about the difference between deodorants and antiperspirants, why we use them, and also what your options are if you plan to go the natural way.

And lastly, if you choose to go the natural, organic way, be informed what you will experience during the process and what benefits detoxing will bring you. Also, follow the advice given on how to detox effectively and efficiently.

Have you already changed your conventional deodorant for a natural one? How did that go? Did you have a positive experience or was it rather negative? Did you do it differently? Also, what natural deodorants do you use and how do you like them?

Please leave me a comment if you have any questions, or if you are willing to comment on your experiences. By providing insights, you help others!

Also, share with family and friends by clicking the social media buttons below.

As always, I hope this article was informative and helpful to you. My goal is to help you by answering your questions around sweating.

Regards,

Oscar