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arguchikthis is a small, silly thing to post about, but it's making me happy this week...
i finally found a good deodorant! note: that's *deodorant*, not antiperspirant. i've been wearing antiperspirant (again) for a couple of years--secret's invisible solid, in case you're curious. i *had* been using tom's of maine deodorant for a few years, and it just didn't work. i tried other natural brands, and they didn't work either--*and* all the mass market brands have stopped making deodorants, they only make antiperspirants now. a friend and i compared notes about the natural deodorants, and we agreed: not only don't they keep you from smelling bad, they actually make you smell *worse* than you would have smelled if you had just worn nothing. yeah, that's what i call an undesirable result. defeating the purpose, even. my solution was to keep an extra container in my desk or backpack, and to reapply a couple of times throughout the day. kind of a pain, but better than scaring people away with my funk!
so like i said, i've been using antiperspirant for a couple of years or so, and i HATE it!!! let me enumerate the reasons: a) it feels sticky all the time. b) it puts white marks on dark shirts if they drag through your armpits when you put them on--even the so-called "invisible" and "clear" formulas. c) it's hard to wash off in the shower. and d) it leaves permanent stains on all of my clothes. did you know those yellow armpit stains on your t-shirts come from the aluminum compounds that are in all mass market antiperspirants, mixed with your sweat, and then cooked on by the dryer? it's a bitch to get out! i've heard that soaking clothing in a strong vinegar solution works, and apparently nordstrom's makes a lingerie wash that's designed to get it out of bras, so that probably works too. however, it's a pain in the ass to soak a bunch of t-shirts before washing them...thus far i haven't bothered with it. but it doesn't take very long for the stains on a white or light-colored t-shirt to get seriously bad! antiperspirant leaves stains on darker colored shirts too--like big oil spots in the pits. now, stains on clothing are really just a minor nuisance as far as i'm concerned...but if this aluminum stuff is so tenaciously sticky that even laundry detergent doesn't get it out, how good can it be for your skin and your body? i've read that there are tenuous but suggestive links between the aluminum in antiperspirants, and both breast and lymphatic cancers--also alzheimer's (though i think that link has been discredited recently). scary! and besides...e) that nasty, sticky, staining antiperspirant aluminum compound doesn't work anyway!!! it keeps me from smelling bad (because it has antimicrobial properties, evidently), but it doesn't stop me from sweating.
as luck would have it, last week when i flew to SF i forgot to pack my antiperspirant. we went to the rainbow grocery, which is a worker owned vegetarian co-op (not sure if it's the same as the rainbow grocery here, over on 15th...), to shop for thanksgiving dinner ingredients, and i decided to check out their selection of natural deodorants. lo and behold: kiss my face has a new deodorant formula that contains a vegetable enzyme, and supposedly works all day. i was skeptical (tom's of maine says it works all day too--feh!), but decided to give it a try. why not? i was on vacation, who was i going to offend with my b.o.?
i've been using it for a week now, and so far it's working great. no sticky crap under my arms, but i don't smell bad, either.
gah!!! i have no life...
i finally found a good deodorant! note: that's *deodorant*, not antiperspirant. i've been wearing antiperspirant (again) for a couple of years--secret's invisible solid, in case you're curious. i *had* been using tom's of maine deodorant for a few years, and it just didn't work. i tried other natural brands, and they didn't work either--*and* all the mass market brands have stopped making deodorants, they only make antiperspirants now. a friend and i compared notes about the natural deodorants, and we agreed: not only don't they keep you from smelling bad, they actually make you smell *worse* than you would have smelled if you had just worn nothing. yeah, that's what i call an undesirable result. defeating the purpose, even. my solution was to keep an extra container in my desk or backpack, and to reapply a couple of times throughout the day. kind of a pain, but better than scaring people away with my funk!
so like i said, i've been using antiperspirant for a couple of years or so, and i HATE it!!! let me enumerate the reasons: a) it feels sticky all the time. b) it puts white marks on dark shirts if they drag through your armpits when you put them on--even the so-called "invisible" and "clear" formulas. c) it's hard to wash off in the shower. and d) it leaves permanent stains on all of my clothes. did you know those yellow armpit stains on your t-shirts come from the aluminum compounds that are in all mass market antiperspirants, mixed with your sweat, and then cooked on by the dryer? it's a bitch to get out! i've heard that soaking clothing in a strong vinegar solution works, and apparently nordstrom's makes a lingerie wash that's designed to get it out of bras, so that probably works too. however, it's a pain in the ass to soak a bunch of t-shirts before washing them...thus far i haven't bothered with it. but it doesn't take very long for the stains on a white or light-colored t-shirt to get seriously bad! antiperspirant leaves stains on darker colored shirts too--like big oil spots in the pits. now, stains on clothing are really just a minor nuisance as far as i'm concerned...but if this aluminum stuff is so tenaciously sticky that even laundry detergent doesn't get it out, how good can it be for your skin and your body? i've read that there are tenuous but suggestive links between the aluminum in antiperspirants, and both breast and lymphatic cancers--also alzheimer's (though i think that link has been discredited recently). scary! and besides...e) that nasty, sticky, staining antiperspirant aluminum compound doesn't work anyway!!! it keeps me from smelling bad (because it has antimicrobial properties, evidently), but it doesn't stop me from sweating.
as luck would have it, last week when i flew to SF i forgot to pack my antiperspirant. we went to the rainbow grocery, which is a worker owned vegetarian co-op (not sure if it's the same as the rainbow grocery here, over on 15th...), to shop for thanksgiving dinner ingredients, and i decided to check out their selection of natural deodorants. lo and behold: kiss my face has a new deodorant formula that contains a vegetable enzyme, and supposedly works all day. i was skeptical (tom's of maine says it works all day too--feh!), but decided to give it a try. why not? i was on vacation, who was i going to offend with my b.o.?
i've been using it for a week now, and so far it's working great. no sticky crap under my arms, but i don't smell bad, either.
gah!!! i have no life...
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 06:51 pm (UTC):-)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 06:56 pm (UTC)the thing about the aluminum compounds in antiperspirants i hate the most is that sticky feeling--when you wash your pits in the shower, even, it leaves a film on your hands. well, if this kiss my face stuff stops working, maybe i'll try the lady speedstick stuff you're recommending.
so you smell like summer too, apparently. :-
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 09:23 pm (UTC)no armpit stink (uh, really?)
no chest/back/ass hair to shave
hot white women throw themselves at us
the myth of the "inscrutable oriental"
now if only I could get past that androgynous male thing...
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 09:41 pm (UTC)also, saying "asian" is a huge oversimplification, and covers up a lot of diversity (um...includes chinese, japanese, korean, cambodean, vietnamese, indian, pakistani, etc.--and all of those names *also* cover up a lot of diversity!), giving the illusion of a unified group. i'm sure you know that, though.
the myth of the "inscrutable oriental," however, has done more harm than good, historically, hot white women throwing themselves at you notwithstanding. have you read "orientalism" by edward said? that myth (more like a stereotype) is racist, and served as part of the ideological framework of colonialism.....
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 07:00 am (UTC)And the "hot white women"? Interestingly, during the time period (late 1800s to early to mid 1900's) while the "ideal" partner for "acceptance" into American society for an asian male was a caucasian woman (think Bruce and Linda Lee), this combination was quite rare. Still in our society today, it is much more common to find an asian female and caucasian male couple than the other way around. Its those "androgynous" asian males again ... really, when was the last time you saw a typically masculine / muscle bound leading asian male actor (who didn't do martial arts)? Interestingly, most of the "cute" boys depicted in Taiwanese (and Thai) media have long hair, no muscle tone and look like waifs...
Luckily, the stereotypes about mixed race couples have lessened significantly... however, I still wonder about the reaction that C will get from other people when her last name changes to an asian one.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 12:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 09:59 pm (UTC):-)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 07:01 am (UTC)