Aloe and Baking Soda

Although it seems clear that baking soda works at defending off body odor, one reason we don’t just powder our pits with pure Baking Soda is that many people’s skin will react negatively to straight baking soda.  Skin likes to be at its natural pH of 4 to 4.5. Baking Soda is pH of 8.5, (Sea Water is at pH 8.0 and Ammonia is at 11.5.)

While Baking Soda does a good job of killing some acid loving bacteria on the skin, it can also kill the good bacteria that protects our dermal layer. It also disrupts the pH balance andsometimes disrupting the protective acid mantle can cause causing dermatitis,eczema and rosacea. That’s why we want to use Baking Soda judiciously and accompanied by other products.

For instance I use Alow Vera in my deodrant.  At first I was using what was labeled 100% Aloe Vera Gel. When I began to make deodorant for sale I chose to discontinue using this for a variety of reasons. One being that I read the ingredients on the bottle which included: l, Triethanolamine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Carbomer, Tetrasodium EDTA, DMDM Hydrantoin, Diazolidinyl Urea. Now how this can be called 100% Aloe Vera Gel, I’m not sure since my math  teacher taught me that you can’t add more to 100% and still get 100%.

I also learned that even though the inner fillet of Aloe in gel-like when first cut open, it quickly loses its gel-like consistency. They need to add the chemicals to make it into a gel (and to preserve it). After some research, I found that Aloe juice has the same properties and the juice was organically grown, cold processed and came from the inner gel fillet of the leaf extracted on the same day as harvest. The Aloe I get does use food grade preservatives including Citric Acid and Sodium Benzoate, (A Food Preservative at 1/10 Of 1%).

On further research, I found less scientific information on why Aloe works and I will need to sort through the claims with the evidence. However, when I was in Africa, I had the privilege of spending time with the Samburu people. One Samburu warrior pointed to what looked like an Aloe plant to me and told me it was there healing plant. The anthropologist Michael Rainy told us they use wildly growing aloe for eye-infections and many other
things.

Dr Oz suggests using Aloe and tea tree under arms for sweating http://watchingdroz.blogspot.com/2012/03/ watching-dr-oz-31212-fast-health-fixes.html

Because aloe vera is hypoallergenic, has anti-itching agents and has the same pH level as human skin, aloe vera
is particularly useful on sensitive areas and for people who have reactions to chemicals used in other lotions and
cleansers.

http://www.ageless.co.za/aloe-vera.htm

Usfarmsinc.com http://www.usfarmsinc.com/home-frontpage/page-2 claims that Aloe vera gel can reduce
sweating and body odor