In this episode of PCOS Unfiltered, we’re talking about a sneaky source of hormone disruption that lives in your bathroom drawer: your deodorant. If you’re navigating PCOS, you’ve probably focused on food, exercise, and maybe even sleep—but what about the chemicals you put on your skin every single day? Traditional antiperspirants, especially those with aluminum, parabens, and synthetic fragrances, could be quietly adding to your hormonal chaos.
I’ll walk you through:
An armpit detox using clay, like bentonite clay, is a popular method to help with the transition from antiperspirant to natural deodorant. You can mix 1 tablespoon of the clay with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar along with 1-2 tablespoons of water or coconut oil to make a paste using a glass or wooden spoon and bowl. Do not use metal as it can interfere with the beneficial properties of the clay. Spread over the armpits and wait for 5-20 minutes. Wash with warm water, preferably in the shower. A few things to note, while some may find this mask soothing and helpful in pulling out impurities and reducing odor and sweating during the transition, others may not find any benefit at all. Also be sure to test a small area first as the apple cider vinegar can cause skin irritation in some people. Remember that ultimately the liver, gut, and kidneys are what truly need to be supported during the detox process, not just the skin.
My favorite clean deodorant is Beautycounter, now counter.com
Or go to ewg.org and search deodorant for even more options for clean deodorants.
(0:02 - 0:25) Welcome to PCOS Unfiltered, Nourish, Heal, Thrive, the place where real talk meets real healing. I'm Lindsie, health coach, nurse, mindful eating advocate, and fellow health warrior. Each week we're diving deep into the truth about PCOS, from nutrition and mindful habits to emotional healing and everything in between, all without the filters, the fads, or the shame.
(0:25 - 1:52) If you're ready to nourish your body, heal from the inside out, and finally thrive, you're in the right place. Let's get started. Hi friend, welcome back. So today we are talking about something you probably use every single day without giving it a second thought, and that is deodorant. Yes, that little stick or spray in your bathroom drawer, it might be doing more harm than good, especially if you're someone navigating PCOS. So in this episode, we're going to unpack what traditional antiperspirants do, why you might want to go deodorant free, and how it can actually support your hormone health, your skin, and your body's natural detox system. So get comfy, grab a pen and paper, because you might want to take some notes and let's dive in. First, let's start with a quick anatomy lesson. Your underarms aren't just sweaty pits, they are part of your body's detox system, and sweat glands help regulate temperature, release toxins through the skin, and when we use antiperspirants, especially those containing aluminum, which a lot of conventional products do, we are literally blocking our sweat glands from doing their job.
(1:53 - 6:17) A side note, I know I've mentioned this before, but what is the largest organ of the body? The skin, yes, and it needs to be able to do what it's there to do. So these aluminum salts in antiperspirants form plugs in sweat ducts that keeps you dry, but it also traps those toxins and that waste in your skin, and over time, it can lead to additional things like irritation, imbalances in the microbiome of the skin, and possibly even more breakouts or clogged pores, especially if you're dealing with PCOS-related skin issues. One thing I've said before is that, yes, the skin is the largest organ, and so it's telling you something. If it is irritated, if there is a smell, something like that, your body's trying to talk to you. So with many commercial deodorants and antiperspirants, they contain ingredients like parabens, which are the chemical preservatives that a lot of beauty products have, and that helps keep them shelf-stable, basically. There's synthetic fragrances, and then there's also those phthalates, which are known as the plasticizers, and basically they make the deodorant more flexible and durable. But all of these things are known or suspected endocrine disruptors, meaning that they can interfere with your hormones. So if you've got PCOS, you already know that your hormones don't need any extra stress and extra chaos. So another layer to this is inflammation. With PCOS, inflammation tends to be a chronic underlying issue, and many of these ingredients that I just discussed that are found in the conventional over-the-counter products can trigger low-level inflammation, and while it may not be something you feel immediately, it adds up. It might just take that one additional thing to kind of tip you over the edge. So reducing your exposure can be a small but powerful way to support your body's natural healing process. Now let's really talk about PCOS here. So hormonal balance is already a delicate dance, and in PCOS, things like elevated testosterone, insulin resistance, which I've covered in the first few episodes of my podcast, and inflammation, those all throw that dance into chaos. So anything we put on our skin that mimics estrogen or interferes in any way with the hormone signaling can tip things even further out of balance. Here is something to think about as well. Your armpits are home to lymph nodes. These lymph nodes are part of your immune and detox systems. So your armpits hold a lot of the nodes in that area, as well as your groin is another big spot. So when you're slathering synthetic chemicals onto this area every day, your body is absorbing them, and then they're being circulated through the same system that is trying to support your immunity. So some research suggests that long-term use of aluminum-based antiperspirants could be linked to breast tissue changes. When I had somebody in my family a few years ago that was diagnosed with a cancer, and I just kind of dove deep into everything cancer. And one thing that also stuck out for me at that time, which I was already deodorant-free by that time, but was the link of deodorant to breast cancer. And it's found in a lot of the outer upper quadrants of the breast, which is right near the armpit. Now, this does not mean that deodorant causes cancer. I want to be clear there. But it does mean that we just need to be mindful of what we are putting on our bodies.
(6:18 - 7:42) It just could be one more thing. It could be the accumulation of things that adds up over time. So especially when you are trying to manage something as complex as PCOS, this is definitely something to think about. One more important angle here is when your body is already working overtime to balance blood sugar, regulate insulin, and process hormone fluctuations, why add more to its plate? So switching to a cleaner body care is one way of giving your system a break. And it's an act of kindness for your hormones when you really think about it. So what if you ditch the deodorant? What happens? So I made this switch. It's probably been about four years ago or so, I guess, four, four and a half. And trust me, I was nervous. I think I was maybe six to eight months into my own health journey. And that was like the start of my health journey is when I discovered that I had a high intolerance to gluten. I was on the brink of autoimmune condition. My gut was a mess. My energy was in the toilet. And I found a wonderful group of friends, health minded friends that were discussing natural deodorant. Now, I was the one that was wearing the prescription strength deodorant.
(7:42 - 7:59) I'm still smelling on most days, by the way. But as I did a little research, I decided, okay, I think the benefits well, outweigh the risks. And so yeah, so I decided to make the switch.
(7:59 - 8:16) So for most people, there is a transition period. When I was discussing this with my friends, somebody said, Oh, yeah, it's only be a couple weeks, you have to go deodorant free. But I think it was probably closer to six weeks for me, maybe even a little bit longer.
(8:17 - 10:33) But you have to remember that everyone is different. And your body just has to relearn how to sweat and detox naturally. So you might notice an odor or even more odor at first. And that is normal, your pores are opening back up, your microbiome is shifting. But after a few weeks, many people find that their sweat smells less intense because the natural bacteria balance is restored. And that was definitely me. There were definitely times where it was worse. I will say too, I was, I was also changing some things internally, which you don't necessarily have to do during this process. A lot of times, if you just let your armpits breathe during that time, and don't put anything on, then that may be all you need to just kind of get to that point. But I was also doing some internal things. And I definitely noticed that sometimes my the smell during this, this period, this transition period was worse, depending on what I was eating or not eating during that time. So you may choose to switch to a more natural deodorant. You can do things like baking soda, charcoal or clay based products. These don't block sweat, they just help neutralize the odor. And you may also want to just think about going completely deodorant free, which is what I do most days, there's an occasional day where I do have a natural deodorant that I can put on. But most most of the time, I am deodorant free. And that just means you wash regularly, you wear breathable clothing, and then you just give your body space to do its thing. So here's the big PCOS win by reducing your exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals, you give your body one less battle to fight. You may also notice improved skin clarity, reduced irritation and a better sense of body connection, which I think is huge, super powerful. When you're not masking your body's natural signals, you learn to listen to it again, I've talked about this, even in my social media posts. I think it's a recurring theme on this podcast as well, it's really starting to listen to your body.
(10:34 - 15:49) So let's be honest, PCOS already makes it feel like your body is unpredictable. But when you start removing the layers of chemical interference, you start to tune into your body's real rhythms. And that's the self trust piece, right? And that matters. So some tips. If you are even just thinking about making a switch, here are some tips. Start either on a weekend or during a slower week. So you're not so self conscious while your body adjusts. I will say I was running a gym at the time. So I was taking classes, teaching classes, just running around. And so there was no good time for me, I just had to do it. I carry his here's tip number two, I carried a washcloth with me, just basically all the time. So you can use a wet washcloth either in the shower or as needed throughout the day to just unclog any blocked pores in your underarms just by kind of gently massaging in that area. You can also try something like a clay mask or apple cider vinegar rinse to help detox the area. You can do you'd have to buy the clay but you can make a mask you can also actually I can put this in the show notes for you as to the details on that. And the other important thing is staying hydrated, lots and lots of water that's also going to help flush the system help with that detox process and move things along even faster. Also eating a fiber rich diet, lots of fruits, vegetables, nutrient rich food, nutrient rich foods, to also support the internal detox process is definitely a plus. And I say that also without removing anything. So don't think because you're eating more fruits and vegetables that day or whatever it is that you have to remove something else. Try just adding those in without even thinking about removing. You also want to think about choosing natural fabrics like cotton to let your skin breathe. Of course, depending on the time of the year, you might want to do tank tops and let your body breathe that way as well. You can also keep the some which hazel or rosewater spray. Check the ingredients on those because those might have chemical ingredients as well. So always check the ingredients, but you can keep that on hand to freshen up as needed throughout this process as well. And then the last thing is be kind to yourself. Your body is learning a natural rhythm and that takes time. Bonus tip over the course of this time, even if it only takes you a couple of weeks, maybe extended a month, but track how you feel over the course of a month. I've talked about the food timeline tracker, which again, you can get that in the show notes. You could use that throughout this process and really just not around food, but around, um, just to kind of prompting you, you know, around how you're feeling as well. And, uh, are your breakouts improving even just generally on your face, on your back, whatever that might be. Is your skin feeling less irritated? Is your sweat changing? Um, this can all help you connect the dots. And also once you've made that switch to either natural deodorant or just going deodorant free, you may want to reconsider the soaps or shaving creams that you're using on your underarms as well. Um, or even in general, but again, think about it. If you're putting something even more toxic, uh, soap wise, or if you're shaving your armpits and using a shaving cream that contains some heavy chemicals in your underarms that could also be affecting this process. So keep that in mind throughout the transition period. And then even once you've transitioned. So going deodorant free might seem like a small change, but it is part of a much bigger mindset shift. And that is trusting your body, working with it instead of against it and just choosing habits that support long-term health over short-term masking. And I think that's really what managing PCOS is all about, right? Listening to your body, reducing your toxic load, balancing your hormones and building a lifestyle that just allows you to thrive. So whether you go totally deodorant free or just make a more conscious swap, know that you're doing something powerful. You're tuning in, listening to your body and you're choosing health on your terms. But that is all I have for today. Thank you for spending this time with me. And if you're curious about more habit swaps that support your PCOS journey, then definitely stay tuned because I will have more coming your way. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of PCOS Unfiltered. If today's episode spoke to you, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss a thing. And if you loved it, a quick review would mean the world to me. Remember, healing is a journey, not a destination. And you deserve to feel empowered every step of the way. Until next time, nourish your body, heal your heart and thrive like the boss you are.