Natural Deodorants

Like many people trying to move to more natural products the one product I'm having difficulty with is natural deodorants.  My reasons for wanting the move to natural deodorants is probably very similar to most people.  Firstly, as what I wash off my body (including my deodorant) ends up going back into natural world I would rather it was as natural as is possibly to reduce any possible impact that this could have.  When it comes to this I would rather be safe than sorry.  Secondly, mainstream deodorants contain a number of products, such as alcohol and sodium benzoate, that appears to be drying out my skin quite badly.  This is particularly obvious during winter and I'm finding that I'm having moisturise my underarms every night after I shower saving the deodorants for the next morning.  Thirdly, while the evidence coming from the scientific community have shown that parabens to do actually cause breast cancer and that aluminium does actually cause cancer and alzheimer (for more information go to the cancer controversies page on www.cancerresearchuk.org).  I've decided that I would still rather reduce the amount of chemicals not actually needed by my body that I put into it.  This is purely to see if remove these from my cosmetics will hopefully reduce the issues I have with allergies and my dry skin.  Lastly, I want to move away from products that are designed to block pores as part of their process.  While I am aware that my body is more than capable of sweating in other places and at removing toxins in processes that are far more effective than sweating, I would still rather just allow my skin in that area to do what it's meant to.

I first tried to use natural deodorants many years ago, but didn't have any luck with it and just ended up feeling dirty and smelly and so just gave it up.  However, recently I decided to give it another go and this time I was more determined to give it a go.  (At this point I should probably point out that I sweat a lot and I do mean actually sweat.  If women glow, men perspire, and horses sweat I am a sweaty horse.)

I started using products that I could get easily here in the UK.  

First was Jason's Calming Lavender Pure Natural Deodorant Stick.  I'm not sure if I was just using this completely wrong or didn't try using it for long but after 1 week of using it you would think that I hadn't used any deodorant at all.  I may try Jason deodorants again but I think I need to research that a bit better.  Next I moved onto dr.organic Organic Tea Tree deodorant.  I tried a tea tree deodorant as tea tree is meant to be such a good anti-bacteria and I use it regularly in my beauty and cleaning products.  However, what I didn't count on was the fact that tree tea smells very like how I smell when my deodorant stops working.  While I may have been clean and bacteria free I found the smell quite disconcerting  and stopped using it.
As these products hadn't worked for me I asked a friend of mine who lives in Canada to send me over some North American natural deodorants as there seems to be a better selection.  This was just to cover me at the beginning of moving onto more natural products as the start is apparently when you smell the most while your skin settles after the change of deodorants.  I also read a bit more about the transition to natural deodorants and while before I had read that you had to give it a week before you skin settles, most of the information now states that you really need a month before your skin begins to settle back down.  With all that in mind and my new Canadian deodorants I gave it another go.

Next on the list was Green beaver Tea Tree Natural Deodorant.  When I first started using this I was a little worried about the tea tree scent due to my previous issue, but the grapefruit in this did help reduce this (though I did still find myself wondering now and then).  With this product I definitely needed to re-apply this throughout the day but I liked the fact that it was vegan and cruelty free.  The main problem I had with this was the fact that I did have a bit of an allergic reaction to it.  To begin with it wasn't a huge reaction, but my armpit skin was a little red.  However, this worsened throughout the month and the area became quite tender meaning that I couldn't make it to the end of the month.  It is likely that it is the sodium bicarbonate in this product that I reacted to.  Unfortunately this product is in many natural deodorants and is a product that others have also had a reaction to.  I did also feel more damp then I'm used to, but it wasn't too bad and I got used to it after a couple of weeks.

Unfortunately I didn't have much luck with my other Canadian present, the Desert Essence Tropical Breeze Deodorant.  Once I had realised that I was definitely reacting to the Green beaver natural deodorant I moved to this.  The smell is definitely better with not a whiff of tea tree in site, but despite the claim of long-lasting protection I did need to reapply this again during the day (though much less that the others mentioned).  The big issue I had with this is that I had an allergic reaction to this too, even more severe than with the Green Beaver deodorant.  What I'm not sure about is did I react to this deodorant the way I did because my skin was already irritated and am I also allergic to corn starch (an ingredient that is also regularly used in natural deodorants and that some people have had problems with).  As I'm not entirely sure what it was I was reacting to I'm going to give this deodorant another go once my skin has completely healed again.  The other issue was that this deodorant felt particularly damp when I put it on and didn't seem to dry at any point.  It then remained damp throughout the day, which I was very aware of and made me feel very uncomfortable.

Despite the problems I've had with these two deodorant I would recommend both of these as long as you're not allergic to sodium bicarbonate and corn starch and don't mind having to re-apply them during the day.

The last deodorant I tried (and which I'm still using) is the dr.organic Manuka Honey.  I got this deodorant initially as I knew that the Manuka Honey would help with the healing of my irritated underarms.  I do really like the smell of this item and it actually lasts all day without me having to re-apply.  It is apparently made with a non pore clogging formula as well as being aluminium, SLS, paraben, and alcohol free.  Cruelty free and vegetarian (obviously not vegan because of the honey), it basically covers almost everything I'm looking for.  They do also claim that it is natural but a quick read of the ingredients list indicates that this is not completely true.  On the plus side I did notice sodium bicarbonate at the bottom of the list and yet, instead of having a reaction to it, my skin has actually healed quite well.  This hopefully means that I can still use deodorants containing sodium bicarbonate, as long as they contain other products that counteract its effects.   I would actually recommend this to others as an effective more natural deodorant which is easy to find at Holland and Barretts.

I do still have other deodorants to try and will write about those once I do.  If you have any recommendations about what other deodorants I should try then please let me know and I will give them a go. 

App of the moment: Skeptical Science

Apologies for the delay in this post - have been ill this week :-(

Whenever someone finds out that I do actually believe in human induced climate change and am trying to live a more sustainable lifestyle I'm always asked a lot of questions.  The weird thing is that even now people who don't believe that it's important don't seem to have to give any reason or facts as to why they believe that to be the case, but if you do you have to be able to give a well rounded argument full of figures and scientific evidence for your opinion to be valid.  While the decisions I make and the route I've decided to take is based on facts and figures I've read and researched, when it comes to discussing this with other people I find that all the information I've accumulated over the years just leaves my head and flies away.  

So I've been glad to find Skeptical Science, an app I've downloaded onto my phone.  

The pages are pretty easy to navigate through and I specifically like the News one which allows me to remain up to date easily.

The most useful page, which conveniently is also on the front page, is the Browse page which lets you search through all the arguements uploaded onto the app.  

For each arguement against climate change you'll find a factual response, filled with information from scientific research and diagrams, which can be used when talking to others. 

You can even add an argument on the Report page in case you come across one which hasn't already been added.

I especially like that it's very non emotional and fact based, which fits my personality perfectly. 
You can get it for iPhones and Androids (I got mine from Google Play) and it's completely free. Definitely worth a nosey.

Project Pan: Update 1

This month I've done pretty well in using up products, managing to finish 6 items so far.  Unfortunately I don't think this is going to be a regular thing, but it's a good start.  So, what have I finished?

The eye shadow is the mid-brown eye shadow from the Sephora eye neutral eyeshadow palette.  Though I liked the colour I didn't like the texture which was quite dry and almost chalky, not too easy to blend.  As far as I'm aware Sephora isn't cruelty free either.

The lip sample was the Vapour lipstick in Saucy.  This was a lovely colour and colour texture, and it smelt ok as well.  I will definitely look more at this company once I've used up all the lip products I have now and am looking to get more.

I've also used up one of the Nature coconut lip butters I have (still one to go).  I got this in a gift set a couple of Christmas' ago, but, despite it's name, it's not natural at all.  It;s also quite a gloppy, thick texture so I only use this when I go to bed.  It does take a long time to use up so I'm not expecting to finish the second until nearer the end of the year.

Next along is the Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream.  I loved this product.  The texture was lovely and despite its thinness it did a very good job at correcting any colour imperfections I have.  It was also very moisturising and contained an SPF of 15.  The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't last throughout the day, even with powdering, but it did wear off pretty evenly.  I would recommend it though, especially if you want a more natural look.  I didn't repurchase it as I'm now using my Jane Iredale mineral foundation and will probably carry on using that from now on - mainly due to ease of use.

Lastly were the Miss Cole body wash and moisturizer.  Neither of these were much to talk about.  The smell of the body wash was alright but I didn't feel particularly clean afterwards.  On the plus side it didn't feel like it was stripping my skin at all.  The moisturizer was just watery and didn't really feel like it was doing anything much.  The biggest issue I had was that both contained SLS and I think that this has set off my eczema again.  I'll be glad once I've finished the body scrub as well.

Next month I think I'll be very lucky if I've finished any products at all, so I'll probably just have to show the items I've hit pan on.  I did have to depot the Benefit highlighter which has dried a little (and by 'I' I mean I gave the product and some wire cutters to my boyfriend for him to open it up).  That way I should be able to use it up completely and a little more easily.

Beauty products I've used up so far.

I know I've said this before, many times, but what I was really surprised about when I first started to make a real effort to use up my beauty products was just how much I had. As a rule I'm not really all that beauty savvy,  regularly forgetting to apply moisturizer, not actually using that mask I brought, and forgetting to redo my nails.  Really, owning the amount I did was a little pointless and having to remind myself to actually use a product has required more effort than I first thought.. The only thing I can add in my defense is a lot of the lotions and positions were gifts from people who didn't know what else to get me.

While I am still working on it I now have a lot less products and have managed to replace a number of everyday beauty items with more natural products.  I've also learnt a fair amount since doing this.
Firstly, my skin has become a lot healthier since I've stopped using the commercial products and have started using more natural soaps, exfoliants, and moisturizers.  As someone who has always suffered from mild eczema I though there was a possibly that I would be allergic to Sodium Lauryl Sulphates.  Since using more natural, SLS free products in the last year my dryness has reduced greatly (even over winter) and the red, itchy patches I used to get disappeared completely.  If that wasn't enough to convince me then using the body products I have in this years project pan (a secret santa gift with SLSs as the top products in all) my skin has already gotten drier and small eczema patches on my inner elbows have returned.

Secondly, I had gotten used to using products I really didn't need.  This is mainly products like dry shampoo.  I used to feel that it was really obvious when it was day 3 of me not washing my hair, but then I decided to stop buying dry shampoo and just see what happened......and not surprisingly no one noticed.  Hair spray is another product that seems a bit pointless on my hair.  I have a lot of it but it's fine and soft and even the strongest hair spray doesn't seem to be able to hold a hair style in any way.  It also used to give me headache, so now I've stopped buying it.  I still have one can left, but am thinking I might use that to hold my eye brows in place.

Thirdly, many companies use words like 'natural' and 'nature' as selling gimmicks that do not actually have any real truth about what's inside them.  In many cases I couldn't find anything that I would classify as natural in the product list or if there was it would be very low down and therefore very low in concentration.  It's made me even keener than before to start looking into making my own products.

Fourthly, changing my toothpaste into more natural products has been a lot harder than I though it would be.  Firstly I hate the taste of liquorice and a lot of natural products seem to have that or something similar as a flavouring.  Secondly, I have sensitive teeth and needed to find a products that would work with that like a conventional toothpaste (still looking and will write more about that in a future post).  Thirdly, I had issues sensitivity last year on the left side of my mouth.  I was worried it might have been to do with me testing new toothpastes and my dentist has given me almost a years supply of fluoride toothpaste (something I wasn't too happy about and that I've been trying to use up).  The fluoride toothpaste has seemed to have much of an effect and I've realised that actually it was probably due to the fact that I have soft gums and have managed to wear the tissue down along the tooth line, leading to exposed tooth roots.  Despite using a soft toothbrush I clearly need to change the way I brush my teeth to protect the rest of my gums.  So back to testing different toothpastes.

Lastly, make up take a ridiculously long time to use up and so having a lot of it is completely pointless.  In fact most of the nail varnish has become unusable before I've had a chance to actually finish it.  So far I've been mainly working on those that are really old or that are companies that test on animals.  The amount I had has meant that the only thing I've really had to buy was mascara and concealer (recently).  This year's pan is mainly concentrating on make-up as I have basically used up other beauty products that are less natural.  
The photos taken above were all the products that I used up before August last year and I managed to use up more after I moved to my new flat.

Starting with face.  The eye primer on the top was Soap and Glory's It's About Prime.  Unfortunately it dried up before I could finish it completely (it was that old) reminding me to stop hoarding products.  I'm not sure if it was the age, but I didn't notice it do a particularly good job as an eye primer.  However, I do have very oily eyes and this has also been the case with many of the primers I've used in the last.  The eye shadow is Mink from the Natural Collection Mink/ Sable eye shadow duo which I used as a base eyeshadow.  The concealer on the left was the Witch Hazel spot concealer.  It did work as a spot concealer but was a little too orange for my skin and I don't think it actually helped treat the spots.  I mainly used it to conceal around my nose where I get some redness.  Next was the Garnier Roll-on Anti-dark circles concealer.  Despite its popularity in the beauty community I wouldn't recommend this at all.  Firstly Garnier is not cruelty free, but it's also very liquidly, not very pigmented, and the colour actually just makes your under eye circles look grey but still obvious.  The only way it would work is if you didn't really have any under eye circles at all.  The last item is the Collections Sheer Loose powder in Barely There.  Using this product made me realise that I don't like loose powder, way to fiddly and not good for a clumsy individual like me.  However, for the price this product was quite good and set my foundation/ cc cream well without looking powdery.  It also contains SPF which is always good and can be reapplied later on in the day.

These are the Boots No 7 eyeliners which came together as a Christmas set.   Unfortunately I can't see the name of them anymore but the colours were beautiful.  The only issue I had with them was that the quality was not consistent throughout. I'm not sure if it was the batch that I got but some were very smooth and soft, drying into a long lasting liner, while others were very dry and difficult to apply.  I would recommend them, but maybe test them in store first.

Lip products are always products that surprise me when it comes to how long it takes to use them up, despite re-applying them constantly.  The first product in this picture is a hard lip gloss in a little purse that my Mum had brought me as a stocking filler.  I'm not sure what the brand was, but it doesn't really matter as it wasn't a great product any way (sorry Mum). There was a lot of product in this and it took a very long time just to use one side, but then I dropped in on the floor, breaking it in 2 and getting grit into the side that still had product.  I decided to just leave it as that.  Next along was the Estee Lauder Long Lasting Pure Colour lipstick in Pinkberry.  I wouldn't buy this product again as Estee Lauder is not cruelty free and the smell wasn't pleasant, but I did like the colour of it and will look for a similar colour in the future.  Then is Revlon's Colorburst Lipstick in Coral.  Again the colour was beautiful, but Revlon is no longer a cruelty free company and I didn't like the formulae, which was too creamy and moved easily into my skin on days that I didn't powder heavily.  Lastly is the Natural Collections lip liner in Plum.  This is a great pencil, lovely colour and lasts really well on the lips for the price of it.  I was applying it under the two lipsticks when I wanted to vary the colour slightly and would definitely think about buying again in the future.

The last products are my nail varnishes.  I've spent my time working mainly on my Essie products as they are no longer cruelty free and I wanted to move them out of my 'collection'.  I also worked on some of the older base and top coats as well as a BarryM nail polish I've had for years.  I didn't get to finish them all up as they all got too gloppy before the end.

While the last 2 years has mainly been about using up products I no longer want to use I have also been testing more natural products as well and I'll be writing posts about these in the future.  I'm hoping to have all cruelty free, predominantly natural products by the end of this year.

Getting Rid of Stuff - the last two years.

I wish I'd taken pictures of all the items I'd gotten rid off over the last couple of years as I've actually managed to get rid of more than I initially thought I'd be able to.

The plan was to go through and remove from my home everything that I was no longer using and keeping onto for some reason.  In most cases there was an emotional attachment, but in others it was to do with me buying items to try and do/ achieve and then feeling guilty about not actually doing it.   But you can't move forward if you're holding onto the past so it was time to start getting rid of all those things. 

I started with the clothes and got rid of everything that either didn't fit me or that I no longer liked. Since then I've kept a bag beside my wardrobe and get rid of anything I have stopped loving or that I've realised that I've just stopped wearing. That way I get them out of my wardrobe before I have any second thoughts.  I've also done the same with my shoes,  coats, hats, scarves, and gloves.  The accessories were probably the most difficult to go through as most were made for me by my Mother and Nan. 

Next was all my jewellery.  As a little magpie I have had a tendency to buy anything shiny that caught my eye and jewellery is an easy thing to buy some one if you don't know what else to get them (that person would be me).  But while I own a lot of jewellery I only really wear a few items on a regular basis and everything else just stays where it is, so the size of my collection seemed to be a little bit unnecessary. It was actually relatively easy to get rid of most of my collection, I still have way more than I actually wear and so this is definitely a work in progress. I'll be going through them again soon.

After the jewellery I moved to the kitchen.  This was actually relatively easy to get rid off as I never really had a large amount of kitchen stuff in the first place.  It actually only took me about an hour.  The one thing it did highlight is how much plastic I had in my kitchen and I have been slowly moving from plastic containers to the more sustainable and long lasting glass containers.

Books, DVDs, and CDs were next on the list and were actually a lot easier than I thought.  Now that everything is digital and online I no longer need to have hard versions.   My taste has also changed and I no longer watch or listen to what I used to.   I've also been very honest with myself about the fact that I will probably not read most of my books again.  Some of the books I have are my Father's and he would never let me get rid of these, but once I've read one of my books I'll get rid of it.  The bit that has been difficult has been my CDs.  For some reason I've formed emotional attachment to a number of my CDs despite the fact I don't really listen to them anymore.  But I think I'm getting to the stage now where I can go through them again and actually get rid of the ones I've been holding to.

The last group I went through were all the stuffed toys and nick nacks I have which have all been gifts from people.  I had thought that this was going to be difficult, but actually this was relatively easy.  The rule I had was if I couldn't remember who gave it to me I had to get rid of it.  I was also only allowed to keep enough that would fit on one shelf and nothing more.  It turns out I'm not very emotional when it comes to things that are pretty but don't really have any other use.

The main thing that this has allowed me to do is to get more use out of the things I actually love (such as the clothes pictured which are actually ethically sourced - more about that later).  And the more I get to ise them items the less attached I become to others, which should mean me being able to get rid of even more things.

The best thing of all is that it seems to have broken the attachment I've had to be constantly buying new things and that can only mean less stress and more money in the bank.

Project Pan

If you've gone anywhere near YouTube then you would have seen a number of videos called 'Project 10 Pan', 'Project 20 Pan', 'Pan that Palette', and 'Pan * by *'.  These are all projects which are designed to help people use up products (predominantly make-up where you can reach the pan, but do also include other products) which they either have had for too long or that they have too much of.  While I won't be following it exactly I will be taking inspiration from it to try and finish off the number of products I have that I no longer want.  I had thought of just throwing them away but that seemed so wasteful to me so I am going to try and use them up in 2016.  If they are not used up by the end of the year then I will feel better about getting rid of them.

So, these are the products that I am trying to pan.

1. Sephora mid-brown eye shadow (part of the Nude palette)
2. Sephora dark brown eye shadow (part of the Nude palette)
3. Sephora brown eye liner shadow (part of the Nude palette)
4. Maybelline white eye shadow (part of the Almond Truffle palette)
5. Maybelline silver eye shadow (part of Almond Truffle palette)
6. Maybelline dark grey eye shadow (part of Almond Truffle palette)
7. The Body Shop Coconut About You eye shadow
8. A pink eye shadow from a palette I got from H&M

   

   Top row - left to right: Maybelline white, Maybelline silver, and Maybelline dark grey
   Middle row - left to right: Sephora mid-brown, Sephora brown eye liner, Natural Collection Sable (not part of the project but a good base eye shadow - part of the duo Mink/Sable)
   Bottom row - left to right: Sephora dark brown, H&M pink, and Body Shop Coconut About You
   Not in palette - left to right: Natural Collection Sea Shell, H&M gold, and Max Factor Untamed Green

9. Bourjois CC cream in 31 Ivory
10. Benefit High Beam
11. Lily Lolo eye primer
12. Barbara Day eye primer in Vanilla (Tescos)
13. Elf Teal eye liner
14. Elf Electric Purple eye liner

    

    Top row - left to right: Benefit High Beam, Lily Lolo eye primer, Barbara Day eye primer, Bourjois CC cream
    Bottom row - left to right: Elf Electric purple eye liner, Elf Teal eye liner

15. Natural Collection Fig leaf lipstick
16. MAC Creme Cup lipstick
17. Max Factor Cherry Kiss lipstick
18. Vapour Saucy lipstick sample
19. Jane Iredale Forever Pink lip stain sample

    

    Left to right: MAC Creme Cup, Natural Collection Fig Leaf, Max Factor Cherry Kiss, Jane Iredale Forever Pink, Vapour Saucy

20. SP polish cream
21. Miss Cole Body Scrub
22. Miss Cole Body Wash
23. Miss Cole Body Cream
24. From Nature coconut lip butter
25. Dove Summer Glow moisturizer
26. Neutrogena hand cream

    

    Top row - left to right: Dove Summer Glow, Miss Cole Body Wash, Miss Cole Body Cream, Miss Cole Body Scrub, Nuetrogena hand cream, SP polish cream
    Bottom row: From Nature lip butter

27. Models Own Nude Beige nail polish
28. Barry M Bright Red nail polish
29. Barry M Cyan Blue nail polish
30. Barry M Black nail polish
31. Rimmel Mind the Gap nail polish
32. Sinful Colours Rich in Heat nail polish
33. Max Factor Ruby Tuesday nail polish
34. Max Factor Raspberry Blush nail polish

    

    Left to righ: Max Factor Ruby Tuesday, Max Factor Raspberry Blush, Barry M Bright Red, Barry M Black, Barry M Cyan Blue, Rimmel Mind the Gap, Models Own Nude Beige, Sinful Colours Rich in Heat

There are 34 items in total, mainly make-up, to get through this year and it does mean that I will probably be using products much more than I would normally, but it will be great to use these up.  If I do manage to use up all the eye shadows before the end of the year then I will also add Sea Shell eye shadow from Natural Collection, a gold from the H&M palette, and the Max Factor's Untamed Green eye shadow that was a gift (pictured above).

Goals for 2016.

This is just a quick post to set out what goals I have for becoming more sustainable in 2016.  They are:

• Reducing waste.  This is a very vague subject and is something that appears in all areas of life.  I've already been working with this already in a small way by using re-usable bags and bottles, but these are only small things and there is a lot more to do.  The plan is to not only buy less but to buy things with less packaging.  One of the main areas that I want to concentrate this on is food, buying fresh produce with much less packaging.  Which takes me neatly onto....
• Food.  I've been vegetarian for a few years now and I have to admit I've found it very easy to do.  However, looking at the use of dairy in my diet has made me realise that it has the same environmental impact as eating beef and I have been fazing it out.  I have easily swapped dairy milk with coconut milk, but living and cooking for others has meant changing out all dairy has been a little more difficult than I had hoped, and this is something I want to work on this year.  It's also had one very unexpected, but very pleasant result, the great reduction in colds, soar throats, and tonsillitis (which I still get despite having them removed).  I also want to use more fresh produce, greatly reduce the number of processed food being used in the household, and buy more local and/or organic produce.  I also want to greatly reduce (and if I can, completely remove) processed sugar from my diet.  I have realised that I am completely addicted to fizzy drinks and it's time that I dealt with that.  Going to be a busy year on the food front.
• Clothing.  I never was a big buyer of clothes and accessories, but I still own and buy more than I actually need.  I've reduced my clothes down to only the clothes I actually love and wear, and am now working on my jewelry (something that has been a lot harder than I thought it would be).  The plan for 2016 is to only replace items when they get damaged or fall apart and to only replace them with items that are either second hand or ethically sourced, being a mixture of either organic, fair trade, or locally made.  This should be one of the simplest things to do as I'm not going to be buying much this year.
• Beauty products.  I will continue to use up the stash that I have left, concentrating mainly on products produced by companies that test on animals and then by products which contain products I am trying to remove from my beauty stash, such as parabens. I also want to reduce my stash in general and really simplify my regime to the bare basics, as well as having all vegan products in the long run.
• Reduce, reduce, reduce.  I still want to work on reducing what I actually own down to just the items I actually use. This includes all my kitchen goods, stationary (another area where I seemed to buy unnecessarily), books, CDs and DVDs.  I also want to reduce my knickknacks down to the ones I actually love and which I actually have some attachment to.  This will be difficult as almost all were gifts from others.  I will start to pull out the items I have in storage at the moment and will hopefully be able to give that up by the end of the year.
• Employment.  I am employed at the moment, but I would like a job that is in the environmental sector.  This is something that I will work towards over 2016 and will hopefully be fully employed in this field by the end of the year.  Hopefully.