"I'm experiencing some irritation to my skin after using the Coconut Deodorant. What should I do?"
One possible explanation for this irritation is that you may be part of a small segment of the population who have a sensitivity to deodorant containing baking soda. We only use aluminum-free baking soda in our deodorant, but there will be a small number of people for whom the baking soda will cause irritation to the skin. In this case, it would be best to discontinue use. We are working on a baking soda light version of our Coconut Deodorant, so make sure you are signed up for our newsletter to be notified when it's available.
If the irritation is not due to a baking-soda sensitivity, I have a few suggestions you could try if you like. Hopefully one of the following will help to clear up the irritation:
1. Ensure you only apply the deodorant at least a half hour after shaving. Some of our customers have reported that as long as they shave the night before, they don’t experience any irritation the next morning.
2. Check to see if you’ve been using any other different soaps or detergents recently. Some people experience irritation with certain combinations of products.
3. Make the switch gradually: Try applying a mix of your previous conventional deodorant and a small amount of Coconut Deodorant, and gradually moving over to ours full strength.
4. You could try applying a small amount apple cider vinegar to your armpit. I realize this may sound like an unlikely solution, but some research has found that apple cider vinegar can help to neutralize the pH of your armpit.
5. Detox your armpits! It sounds strange, but after years of using conventional deodorant, there can be an adjustment time as you switch to an all natural deodorant, and you may notice increased odor, sweat or irritation during this time. Before switching to our natural deodorant, you could try this "armpit detox" method to ease the transition. I haven’t done it myself because I don’t experience any irritation, but here's the full tutorial if you'd like to give it a try at Wellness Mama.
I do realize that some or all of these suggestions may not appeal to you, and I understand that. Hopefully one of them works, but of course we are all different, with different body chemistry and not everything will work on every body.