I remember when I was on a week-long kick of eating eggs -- I'd hard-boil three or four after school and eat them instead of tortilla chips in front of the TV. After a couple days, I realized that I smelled like egg. My skin smelled eggy.

So, yeah, you begin to smell like what you eat. Eat a lot of Korean food and you begin to smell a little kimchi-y (like my Korean fiancée).

And, FWIW, I stopped using deodorant on the advice of my younger, then-vega-hippie sister. After a while, and after realizing that I wasn't ruining my shirts any more, I started asking friends if I smelled bad. "No, you just smell kinda soapy, if anything," was one answer. I figure the daily shower really helps.

oops! I kinda forgot to add that I'm kind of a vegan-hippy! ;) hihi :D

Since posting this, I've left my stick at home. I normally either shower (again) or get a sink wash at work. I don't particularly smell anything, but I sometimes feel a little moist in the afternoon.

chronic use of isopropyl on the skin can cause hardening and eczema.

Thanks for the comments but it’s worked for me for years without any problems, and in fact I would use nothing else, but would not feel comfortable using nothing. The skin of the axilla and perineum is populated by apocrine glands with “oily” secretions especially particular to those regions and perhaps such secretions are protective, though YMMV.

OY, don't be tellin' me about no secretin' apocrine glands o ya lousy perineum! I might take offense.

This has proven to work best for me too.
I get wintergreen from the 1.00 store.
Smells great, makes you feel clean
afterwards. :)

Yep :thumb:

Not too many people agree, but I agree with the the diet stuff. Eating meat products, drinking alcohol,
medications, etc comes out as odor. The less chemical stuff in, the less aroma out :)

Hey man, chill. Talk Like a Pirate Day was almost two weeks ago (September 19). :rolleyes:

Walgreens also carries the Crsytal. Trader Joe's used to. I have been using it for years, it is great. Regular deodorant used to cause a rash. :(

I use coconut oil as a natural deodorant, but it doesn't travel well as it turns liquid in warm weather and leaks out of the container. So it works better at home. You can buy it deodorized if you don't want to smell all tropical.

So how exactly do you carry this crystal? I saw one at the grocery store about the size of a golf ball.

Can you just wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in your pannier? Does it come in more compact size? Just run it under some way and apply?

They sell travel-size ones, about half the size of a c-cell battery, in a plastic case with a screw-on top.

This is really true! I smell like Kimchi all the time since moving to Seoul... It is served as a side dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I also like to carry some in myt handlebar bar while on tour now. It gives me super Kimchi powers!

speed stick. light, small, toss it in the pannier.

+1 on isopropyl alcohol.

Every commercial deodorant I've tried gives me a nasty rash. The crystal stuff didn't cause the rash but I didn't like it either. A small splash of isopropyl alcohol after a shower works great for me.

I've been using the Thai stone for about a week now, and so far it still seems to be working great. It's difficult for me to trust it, so I keep smelling my armpits and shirts. I'm very impressed.

I never use deodorant. I'm lucky in that my commute in is with a tailwind. But as long as I shower and change shirts often enough I don't have any trouble in the opposite direction either. In the worst case, if I totally overdress I can simply wash the sweat off as soon as possible at the washroom at my destination (rather than having to take a shower). I don't see how deodorant would help in that case anyways, if I was soaked in sweat I don't think I could stand not washing up and putting on deodorant instead...

Then there is George Carlin's solution. " Stick a bay leaf under each armpit . It won't stop you from perspiring but you smell like SOUP."

I know I'm resurrecting a bit, but I just happened upon this thread.

I'm not crazy, but milk of magnesia is the greatest deodorant ever. I don't remember how I found out you could use it for that, but you can, I believe because it changes the skin's pH. I can go 48 hours without showering and no stink; 24 hours with exercise is no problem. I had already started using Crystal deodorant, which takes about a week for your body to adjust to, so I didn't have to get used to it. Not sure how it works cold turkey, and it didn't work for my wife as well. It must depend on your body's pH. Just put it on right after a shower or you clean your pits.

Okay, I'm late to the party, but I'll throw my 2c worth in too.

My wife was out of town for a few months (2 weeks would be enough), so I used that time to adjust my body to no shampoo and no soap. I do wash my hands with soap, but that's all.

You'll feel greasy for a few days, but it passes. It is supposedly better for your body, and you skin adjusts to not having the protective oils stripped every time you shower. So, I shower twice a day most days (once on days without a workout).

I'm clean and don't stink. My wife comes home tomorrow. I don't think she'll notice a difference.

I haven't used antiperspirant in over a decade, but I still used deodorant until recently. No more. :)

I've used precisely 2 kinds of deodorant my entire life. I used the spray on Right Guard until I was 18, and then switched to Speed Stick. I've been using that for the last 32 years. For the commuting duty I keep one at work. Wouldn't use anything else.

I had a friend try the 'no shampoo and deodorant' thing that's been so seemingly popular recently. She swore up and down that after a week she had 'normalized' and had never felt fresher. Of course, her hair was a good bit greasier than usual, and her smell had changed, not bad, but different.

I'm pretty sure the 'normalization period' is all about getting used to how your body feels without soap, shampoo or deodorant.

Women usually take longer than a week to normalize for shampoo because they do do much stuff to their hair with chemicals and stuff. Normalization is a real thing that does happen, and has nothing to do with getting used to stuff you normally find objectionable. It's all about the natural oils in your hair. Standard shampoo strips it with industrial cleaners. Your body works extra to replace it.

Many find that scalp and hair issues go down considerably without shampoo. Although I'm a guy with short hair, I am among those. I do use a Thai deodorant stone, which seems like it will last forever. it doesn't cake up or steak or anything. I might try going without some day. I think one's diet has something to do with how easy this is to do. I don't think I would be as successful if I ate like I used to.

Here's a blog about another guy who do it and received a lot of attention:
http://freetheanimal.com/2010/12/a-m...mpoo-free.html

Everyone says that, but nobody ever provides any evidence aside from anecdotes about how many compliments they get.

I'm analytically minded, and tend to favour a high standard of evidence. You can experiment for yourself pretty easily though, at least with deodorant. You do have two armpits that tend to sweat the same amount. Try two deodorants side by side and see what happens.

My own personal observations have led me to favour Mitchum; I've found it stops odor, keeps me reasonably dry and doesn't leave much in the way of residue. The deodorant stone was no better than the control, even after a week of 'normalization'.

I don't know how to do a comparable test for shampoo, but trust me, I'm working on it.

What kind of evidence are you looking for? Anecdotal is all your going to get obviously. I'm married, and my wife can't tell the difference in smell except there is no shampoo smell. People putting their nose in your head and taking a big whiff and comparing that to before is about all you can do. Same with skin. You are better able to smell your skin, but the same thing applies. Last time I took the shears to my hair I kept some to smell, and it is just no smelly smell at all. Likewise many, if not most, do encounter noticeable hair problems when first going shampooless, and it follows a pretty predictable problem of increased oil. The more product the one has been using, the more likely the problems will be extended.

There are other things like this as well. I used to use shaving cream when I shaved, but I always just shave dry now no problem. But when I first was doing it, it was a little more difficult/rough on my skin. (Like what is explained here: http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker65.html)

Mitchum is what I used for years also, until I tried the deodorant stone. The Mitchum worked really well for me. I've been using the deodorant stone for some time now, and it has worked great. I didn't test it against anything, or nothing, but I was paranoid for weeks and kept smelling my pits, as well as my shirts. I'm now a believer, and I can't imagine when it will need replaced.

i get the rash too. i have narrowed it down to the aluminum ingredient that is part of the antiperspirant in most deodorant/antiperspirants out there on the market. i can use just deodorant sticks/gels without much problem, and i currently use Toms. however, i notice this only lasts half of the day, and i do stink when i exercise and ride hard. i think i am going to switch over to isopropyl and see how that works. do you use it once in the morning, or do you apply throughout the day? thanks, this has been very interesting and informative!