Baking Soda Sensitivity:
3 Signs You Have It and What You Can Do
If you’ve diligently used natural deodorant powered by baking soda for a while, but suddenly found yourself with red bumps, itchy rashes, or unusual darkening in your pits, don’t write off natural deodorant completely. While you should always talk to your doctor if there is a medical concern, it might actually be a much more common--and easily resolved--issue: there’s a chance that you’ve developed a baking soda sensitivity.
It’s true – and it happens more often than you might think! It’s not uncommon for your body chemistry to change based on a number of different normal, everyday factors. Just like your body may require specific foods (you might need gluten free foods, for example, or have certain allergies/sensitivities), so does your skin. Each skin chemistry is the result of genetics, hormones, diet, environment, stress, immune response, and more… and because of this, you may need to change up your once tried-and-true formula.
We know. It might sound strange, especially if you’ve never had any topical sensitivities before. But the fact of the matter is, some skin chemistries have a hard time with the alkaline nature of baking soda on their skin.
Signs you’ve developed a baking soda sensitivity:
- Darkening of the underarm skin
- Irritated or enflamed underarm skin
- Ingrown hairs/painful red bumps
If that sounds painfully familiar, there’s a good chance you’re one of approximately 10% - 15% of our customers that have - or develop - a baking soda sensitivity. It simply means your individual skin chemistry needs something other than a baking soda based formula for your deodorant..
There’s a common misconception that natural deodorant without baking soda won’t work. But natural deodorant is more than just masking body odor--the goal of a powerful natural deodorant is to neutralize the bacteria. In many instances, baking soda is the main ingredient in most natural deodorants--mainly because sodium bicarbonate is so good at keeping bacteria at bay. But in addition to baking soda, there are other natural ingredients such as magnesium, activated charcoal, or zinc oxide that can also be effective at creating an environment where the odor-causing bacteria cannot thrive. Finally, natural deodorant can utilize natural powders, waxes, and butters to help to wick away wetness while still allowing the body to sweat in a healthy way.
So if you happen to be baking soda sensitive, we have one more option before you write off natural deodorant completely. SmartyPits Sensitive Skin formula is powered by magnesium instead of baking soda--perfect for our baking soda sensitive customers! Our Sensitive Skin formula offers powerful pit protection, while maintaining its complementary partnership with your own natural microbiome. Magnesium is a super effective yet gentle way to keep stinky bacteria in check when baking soda doesn’t mix with your skin chemistry.
And bonus, many customers even say it’s a little smoother to apply!
Once you make the switch to a formula that’s better suited for your body chemistry, that painful rash should go away fairly quickly. If you want to help move that process along, here are a couple of things you can try to help ease your irritated skin:
- Exfoliate your pits – a simple sugar scrub is a good way to get rid of any buildup of old deodorant but don’t scrub too hard, your skin is already irritated.
- Try a pit mask treatment – Sometimes your skin just needs a little reset. Using a rebalancing mask can help draw out impurities and restore your ph levels.
Some people have skin that just doesn’t jive with baking soda—but once you know that’s part of your skin chemistry, all you have to do is look for a natural deodorant without it. Your SmartyPits should support your skin type and keep you smelling fresh all day no matter the formula. It’s important that you find the best formula for YOU!
If you’re experiencing a natural deodorant rash, and you think it may be the formula you have purchased, please contact us (hello@smartypits.com). We want you to be happy with your purchase – after all, you've entrusted us with your money and your skin! If for any reason you're not completely happy with the efficacy of your deodorant within 30 days of purchase, we'll work with you towards a solution that we guarantee will leave you happy with your SmartyPits experience or we'll refund your purchase.
**Please Note: While our happiness guarantee applies to how well SmartyPits works for you, we aren't able to refund or exchange due to scent preference.