Simple Suggestion #118... Ditch your antiperspirant

"What?! You want me to ditch my antiperspirant? You've got to be kidding!! I don't want to smell like a locker room!"

Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's just a suggestion... and -- probably a wise one. Why? Because the stuff we put in our armpits so that we can smell... well, unsmelly, can have some pretty questionable ingredients, health-wise. I mean, rubbing something called aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex glycine into your sweat glands day after day seems a bit iffy when you do a little research into the toxins contained in its ingredients. Especially when there are other, simpler solutions to body odor.

Here's mine: a potassium alum rock. It doesn't prevent sweating by plugging armpit pores with chemical goo. Instead, the salts in the rock kill the bacteria that thrive in human perspiration and create that locker room odor. Your skin keeps its ability to sweat and cool your body, but without the sweaty smell. Alum is easy to use -- just wet the crystal with water and apply it to the underarm daily. You won't be smelling like a rose -- you won't smell like anything, actually. After using mine for several years, I don't like applying tacky, gooey, perfumey stuff any more. Alum crystal doesn't tend to cause allergic reactions, and has yet to be linked to any serious health issues.

So if you want to avoid the "Dirty Dozen" chemicals found in personal care products including many antiperspirants, alum rocks can be purchased at most health food stores, and they last a long time. They don't create yellow stains on white t-shirts, and they're a simple way to eradicate a common problem -- with a lot fewer potential health risks.

So now, will you consider ditching your antiperspirant? Just a suggestion...

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Try here.