We I arrived back in Maine about two weeks ago and have been hard at work settling in. Doing what Russ calls the “spring cleanup.” Sticks, branches, whole trees down all over the place, grass already in need of cutting, and dead mice scattered around the barn. Cute. Looking for them is like an Adam’s Family version of an Easter egg hunt, without the jelly beans. But, before Micky and Minny keeled over, they managed to leave a trail of poop. Mostly in my food drawers. Then there’s the dust everywhere, spider webs, musty smells. Welcome home. Do you get the not so cozy picture?
So here’s the thing, as I work myself into a dewy state of lady-like perspiration, I notice I smell. At faint whiff at first – my imagination? But before long, there’s no mistaking it. I have B.O! Good old fashioned body odor. More man-like than lady-like. A man who forgot to use his deodorant. This won’t do.
But, here’s the thing, I’m trying to take care of myself. I’ve been aware for many years that the things in “real” deodorant that makes it work, are not good for you at all. Aluminum, and I don’t know what all else. Picture cancer causing poisons seeping into that tender, just shaved, vulnerable skin in your armpit – scary huh? So, in my ongoing efforts to avoid “toxic” stuff, I’ve really tried to use the kind of anti-BO products that you used to have to get in health food stores. The fact that I now see several of them lurking on the bottom shelf in the CVS, tells me that this “don’t poison yourself if you don’t have to” idea has got some serious traction. Now, with the dawning of the Green Age, “toxic” has become an everyday kind of word. Lord, once you start reading about everything that’s poisoning you, you just want throw up your hands and scream. What should we do, move to another fresh planet and start all over again? For instance, have you caught on to the fact that you can no longer, in good conscience, drink your store bought water in the nice little plastic bottles? You must buy metal ones to carry around with you. They don’t leach toxins. Neither can you store your food in “Tupperware.” You have to buy glass! On and on it goes. Pandora’s Green box. No end of monsters emerge once you take the lid off.
But, back to B.O. There’s another factor in my stinky story. I have a theory. I suspect another underlying culprit. Though I haven’t read it anywhere, or heard it from anyone else, I think the bio-identical hormones I’ve been taking for about two years, may have something to do with it. I know, it’s a real bummer. Just when you thought you’d found a great solution to a host of other pesky problems, you find there may be a small, but smelly, price to pay. An unanticipated, unintended consequence. There’s testosterone in the hormonal medley I ingest every day. Just a smidgin, but could it be enough to make me smell like a teenage boy? My mother tells me, that with normal aging (i.e. fading hormones), body odor pretty much stops. In which case, the healthy stuff would work just fine I’m sure. But healthy teenager that I am, it’s not cutting it.
I’m trying to do the right thing – endure, suck it up, smell bad if I have to, rather than willfully poison myself. But it’s sort of bumming me out. Here are the choices:
#1 Cancer, Alzheimer’s
#2 Hot flashes, brain freezes, and dried up lower regions
#3 B.O.
And the winner is………..(drum roll)
B.O.
What the hell. Nothing more than a little whiff of reality. Guess you can’t have it all. After all, there’s no reason to be ashamed of being human. But I think I’ll keep a some of the good stuff around for special occasions. Compromise can be good for the soul.
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If I remember correctly, 30 years ago, when I was in my Mother Earth phase, I used a big chunk of rock salt as a natural deodorant. Now the 60′s were good to me, so that memory may be a bit skewed. I did a quick search and here’s a link that perhaps you might want to check.http://www.herbalremedies.com/aluminum free-deodorant.html. I’m just slogging on through all this au naturel I wish I could take any kind of hormones. I miss my brain and libido.Good luck and just remember to stand downwind when with a group.
Michelle – I’ve tried that hunk of rock thing – zilch. Might as well have rubbed my underarms with a doorknob! I think it’s ok if you’re doing the Mother Earth thing – all part of the “earthy” mystique. (I dated an old hippie guy once who thought a tinge of BO was sexy! Goes to show, it’s all about association.) Anyway, I’ll get serious about some research instead of wasting more money buying random ones because they smell good, or because I like the looks of the label. (Once a designer, always a designer.) Thanks for the web site -looks like a good place to start. Meanwhile, I’ll be sure to check which way the wind is blowing.
I’m doing the “rock salt thing” ever since I had to do the “6 weeks of radiation thing” last fall (breast cancer for the 3rd time) and actually, it controls any smell for me 99.99999% of the time.
I think the difference is I’m not doing anything at all hormone-wise, which means it probably IS the testosterone. (Long, long ago I tried testosterone in cream form trying to help my libido – I ended up with a damn mustache! But hey, at least I didn’t stink since I was using the full-out bad kind of anti-perspirant deo back then.)
I have never had to wear deodorant (lucky me) that is, until I started taking bio-identical hormones. Estrogen and Testosterone. I remember one particular day I was blow drying my hair and I kept turning around thinking someone had come into the room. Someone who was rather stinky in the BO area. Unfortunately I was alone. After weeks on the testosterone with no big sexual surge I cut it out and am now back to no deodorant. Much more preferable for me.
So it’s not just me! Even the doctor was interested (as in “never heard this one before”) when I told him about my testosterone/BO theory. I’m experimenting now with the idea of going off the hormones all together, so cutting back slowly. But have already noticed an improvement in the odor department. So far the health food store one seems now to be enough. Maybe I can even get off of that. My new naturopath says that even the “healthy” one has stuff in it she doesn’t like.
well, good information from all you ladies. Just when i was going to give the bio=identical drugs another try. But i do use deodorant. OMG i don’t think i can live w/o it. I live in So Florida where sweating is the thing. I try to use it every other day and it works. But let’s try to find one that is not so harmful.
PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE wear some kind of deodorant during the summer. Today i went grocery shopping and a woman was looking at the jello selections, so many good ones now that are not so fattening, and within seconds of inhaling air the most awful, sour smell came out of this woman. OMG, in So Florida a no deodorant rule is not a good thing, at least not for anybody near you. It is about 96 degrees today, feels like 130. I still smell that woman, it turned my stomach. Trust her husband tells her.
Okay. I’m forwarned! Thankfully, I live in Maine, so massive heat is not usually a problem,but I hear you. I’ll ask Russ to monitor – odor alerts!
I would agree that the testosterone may be part of the culprit. I had my hormones checked years and years ago and found that I “contained” a high normal amount of testosterone. It still explains a lot about me, including that after working hard for a day, I smelled worse than most men I knew.
The “rock” deodorant is really, really good. I wonder if the people who don’t think it works realize that it needs to be wet before rubbing it on? The only problem I ever had with it would be that I would itch under my arms after a couple of weeks of use and need to take a couple of days off before using it again. Might have had something to do with shaving, although I could use it right after shaving with no problem. Maybe the salt aggrevated the regrowth? Anyway, it’s really worth a try.
I just read a string of postings on another site about alternatives to standard, commercial deoderants. MANY responders agree with you about the hard crystal ones – all natrual and very effective. And here I’d finally found a “natural’ one that seems to work (miracle!) I’ve been using it for about 6 weeks, but now see that the first ingredient is propelyne glyclol – one of the major no nos. Sheesh. (So why, you might ask, didn’t I read the label carefully in the first place? Good question.) So “rock” it is. It’s been so long ago that I tried it – maybe I didn’t wet if before rubbing in? Will try again – thanks!
The rocks are aluminum salts, BTW. Either Potassium Alum or Ammonium Alum. If you’re trying to avoid aluminum altogether, I think you might have to go smelly. At least it’s Maine and not Florida.
About your hormone=BO theory I have to tell you about my friend. Many years ago she was put on Premarin. She first noticed the smell in her car, and blamed the dog. But when her whole house started to smell like a HORSE she had to admit it was her, or rather the mare’s piss hormones she was taking.
Mighy have to go smelly is right. BUT, by way of confirmation of my testosterone=BO theory, the smell factor much better since my new doctor straightened out (as in lowered) the testone levels in the bio-identical mix. I was most definitely in overdose mode – was even sprouting ramdom whiskers, for God’s sake.
Thanks for the tip re aluminum in the rock things – someone told me one kind was better than the other, but sounds like both are alum (ie aluminum) I’ve been using a stick type hippy one made by Earth Science. Dr Joyce didn’t like it – something about the tea tree oil – but I’m going to use it up before I try something else. (as in I’d rather poison myself than waste $5?) Last resort is one of the do it yourself recipes I keep reading. Baking soda and whatever.
Brave new world.