I have always been a sweaty person. At piano lessons and recitals growing up, I despaired playing pianos with glossy finishes because I knew my fingers would slip and hit loads of wrong notes as soon as I got warmed up. During high school marching band season, I obsessively kept my arms glued to my side for at least 30 minutes into the next class after band so no one would see the dark stains. When going shopping, I would imagine what the armpit region of a potential shirt would look like if I sweat into it. Note: Gray is the worst. (Is that too much? Okay I’ll stop now.)
It’s funny to think that our natural scents used to be a kind of sign of attraction to the opposite sex, and now it’s like an instant person repeller. Thank goodness for deodorants, which are marketed to keep you smelling fresh and/or dry up the dreaded wetness. Seems good and fine until you step back and wonder, why do we sweat?
Sweating is the body getting rid of toxins. We engage in sweaty-making activity, we get hot and our circulation gets going, pores “open,” out comes toxins. When we use antiperspirants, we are using things like aluminum to block the sweat from coming out. We’re keeping the toxins in. Why would we want to do that? Dark armpit stains we can avoid by just wearing more strategic clothing, but toxins in our bodies? Possible breast cancer? (this one is still being debated but still)
As much as I loathe sweating, it’s a natural body function and I think we should let it do its own thing. Not to say we shouldn’t wear deodorant, goodness please, please if you know the bacteria in your pits likes to get busy, please wear a good, natural deodorant that will keep you fresh while still allowing toxins to come out.
