I have a working theory about how to determine the exhaustion level of a mom of young ones. Three things that I’ve determined are giveaways, but only when used together. Here’s my tells:
1. Length of leg hair.
2. Length of text response time, or for texts requiring a quick response: # of errors, abbr. and autocorrects.
3. Give her a hug and sneak a whiff. Smelliness level.
These must all be used together because, say, she went to a wedding, so she just shaved her legs, after 5 weeks of not. Or her phone was just stolen by a midget and hidden in a couch cushion for 3 hours. Or maybe she doesn’t wear deodorant?
My tells, if tried on me, would equal high exhaustion. This is me admitting to my long leg hair (I’m blonde, so that’s nice) and smelliness. Let me be the first to say that sometimes, more often than not, I get smelly. I’m not afraid to say this, but I won’t say I don’t have moments of insecurity due to my "natural" scent. Do I enjoy smelling sexy or delicious or fresh? Of course. But my daily activities prohibit this, often, for a few reasons. I chase, weight lift, comfort, wear & play with two mini-heaters while cleaning, cooking & working in between 10-minute naps. “Yeah, yeah, welcome to the club” you say, except that I live on a (beautiful, and it’s totally worth it) very hot and humid tropical island, and unless you’re rich and fabulous, we don’t do central AC over here. I can’t take off anymore clothes to cool off unless naked-in-public becomes legal. Especially this past summer (record setting heat…and being 8-9 months pregnant didn’t help), it was treacherous. Not just the heat, but the sweatiness & the stinky-ness.
…And it probably doesn’t help that I gave up conventional deodorants (years ago). I did this because I no longer wanted to expose my pits to a daily dose of aluminum and other unnecessary (dangerous) chemicals, not to mention this location is right next to my hard-working & frequented boobies (sorry for the smell, baby!).
Thus began my quest for natural deodorant options. There’s some pretty terrible natural deodorants out there. And they’re expensive! WTH? The best one I’ve used so far is Weleda deodorant spray, but even that one has it’s downsides.
I also have concocted my fair share of DIY deodorants. They have mostly been failures. A lot of recipes have baking soda (BS) which many people (myself included) are sensitive to. As if smelling under your pits isn’t enough, lets add a nasty looking rash from baking soda. No thanks. However I came upon a recipe, and with a few little twerks, and some essential oil scents (along with my trusty spray side-kick) I have managed to create one that works for my bod - that is, when I remember to put it on.
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Shalohamama DIY Deodorant
Ingredients:
-5 Tbsp Arrowroot Powder*-1 Tbsp Bentonite Clay* (don't use metal to mix while using bentonite! wood/plastic/ceramic ONLY)
-1 tsp Bees Wax (pellets melt fast!)
-2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
-2 tsp Shea Butter
-8-10 drops Essential Oils (I use 5 Purification blend, 2 Tea Tree, 3 Stress Away blend)
Directions:
-Put coconut oil, bees wax & shea butter in glass bowl and heat over boiling water
-Stir until melted
-Mix arrowroot powder and clay in a separate bowl.
-Pour oil mix into powder mix and stir until smooth.
-Drop in and stir EOs
-Pour into empty deodorant container and let cool.
(It's gray due to the bentonite, but it rubs right in, no color rub off that I've noticed).
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So the sidekick…You know how you have that travel size deodorant in your glove compartment for emergencies? The spray is not a deodorant replacement. It’s meant to work in collaboration with your already applied, slightly fading deodes. It’s your all-natural travel size. After you just dragged your tantrum-ing toddler out of Safeway while trying not to drop your infant, as your diaper bag is sliding down your arm and a sippy cup is spilling smoothie on your dress and infant and shoes... once the kids are finally trapped in their car seats and you have a moment to fix your hair (haha! just kidding, no time for that), or at least smell yourself and see if you need to “freshen-up”, that’s what the spray is for.
Aim, spray, be fresh. I also use it as a spray for around the house if it seems a little "stuffy" (aka just changed a stinky diaper).
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Sidekick “Freshen-Up” Spray
Ingredients:
- 2 oz colored glass spray bottle (EO’s need protection from sun & they break down certain plastics)
- 1 part Witch Hazel
- 2 part Vodka (I only had Stoli Vanilla Vodka on hand…so mine has a hint of vanilla)
- 7-10 drops of Essential Oil (I used Purification and Lavender but you can use any mix you enjoy smelling!)
Directions:
-Mix in bottle
-Shake before use
Now I at least smell fresh with my hairy legs and terrible return texts.
Shaloha!
*Notes:
Bentonite Clay is great for facials, acne, clay baths, foot soaks, body wraps and insect bites too if you’re into that. I also use it in my toothpaste recipe, blog on that coming…eventually.
Arrowroot powder is a great starch alternative, and here’s some other uses:
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