Benefits of a Clay Mask- Armpit Detox
When I start noticing more body odor than usual, I know its time for an armpit detox.
Ideally I would like this to be a monthly occurance. Maybe I will start scheduling it in on my calender. This bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar mask makes such a difference.
This detox mask is great for reducing armpit odor and getting rid of buildup from years of hormone disrupting anti-perspirants, making the transition to natural deodorants a lot easier. This may also help in preventing the rash a lot of people get when they transition to a natural deodorant.
Some of our lymph nodes are located in our armpits, their job is to carry oxygen to the cells AND transport waste away from them. So they are constantly filtering out toxins, viruses, and damaged cells via sweat. The lymph also contains white blood cells, which help fight infections.
Have you ever felt a tender lump in your armpit at some point in time? That may of been a swollen lymph node. When the lymph needs to work even harder to remove waste, they can enlarge. Doing an armpit detox mask frequently can help the lymph on that burden rather than supress.
The billions of dollar antiperspirant industry is telling you sweat is a problem that needs to be supressed. So they fill their products with endocrine (hormones) disrupting ingredients such as aluminum, formaldehyde, phthalates, and countless other chemicals.
Antiperspirant vs. deodorant:
Anriperspirant and deodorant are two different things.
Antiperspirants are designed to reduce sweating. The products contain aluminum which blocks the eccrine glands, which make sweat. The aluminum in antipersprants have been linked to breast cancer (1).
Deodorants prevent smell by targeting odor-causing bacteria and/or masking the BO with fragrance. They do not address sweat.
Why Sweating is important
Sweat may be unpleasent at times, I get it. No one wants sweat marks under their armpits on a first date. But, what if I told you that our body needs to sweat in order to eliminate toxins? We have four pathways of elimination and sweating is one of them. A study conducted in China found that the people who exercised (sweat) regularly had lower levels of heavy metals in their body (2). They found a higher concentration of heavy metals in sweat than in urine.
Sweat also clears your body up of bacteria, BPA (found in water bottles), and other chemicals. There have been studies done on the benefits of sweating regularly for those with skin conditions.
If this doesnt make you want to jump in a sauna or ditch the antiperspirant than I dont know what will.
To prevent a strong odor and give your lymph nodes an extra boost, try a clay and ACV mask.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp bentonite clay (such as Indian Healing Clay)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Splash of water
Directions:
Mix the clay and vinegar with a WOODEN spoon to achieve a paste-like consistency. (do not use metal to mix this)
Spread a thin layer on each armpit, leave it on for about 10-15 mins.
Rinse in the shower, dry thoroughly.
If needed lightly oil your armpits. Apply a natural deodorant
Repeat weekly, then monthly as needed.
They work together to draw out chemicals and boost lymph detox so that you can either switch to a natural deodorant or smell better or even to give your lymph nodes that extra detox love.
If you tried to this mask, please leave a comment or send me a DM on Instagram. I love hearing from you.
References
Philippa D. Darbre, Ferdinando Mannello, Christopher Exley, Aluminium and breast cancer: Sources of exposure, tissue measurements and mechanisms of toxicological actions on breast biology, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, Volume 128, 2013, Pages 257-261, ISSN 0162-0134, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2013.07.005.
Sheng J, Qiu W, Xu B, Xu H, Tang C. Monitoring of heavy metal levels in the major rivers and in residents' blood in Zhenjiang City, China, and assessment of heavy metal elimination via urine and sweat in humans. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2016 Jun;23(11):11034-11045. doi: 10.1007/s11356-016-6287-z. Epub 2016 Feb 23. PMID: 26903134.