Pardon my over-use of caps in the title, but I am utterly speechless with this absolute wonder of a deodorant, Whispering Windz Farms: Deodorant Cream! For as along as I can remember, I've been plagued with misbehaving arm pits and have tried nearly everything to control their wrath. I've tried almost every brand of deodorant/antiperspirant both loaded with nasty chemicals and those that are "aluminum free", I've tried my own "natural" attempts at controlling my over-active armpits (including witch hazel, lemon juice, and baking soda). To no avail, nothing worked. I'd finally settled with clinical strength deodorant/antiperspirants swapping between Secret and Suave.
As a very active individual and someone who's work is in the fitness industry, I strive to maintain a level of professionalism even while sweat soaked...this includes attempts at smelling (relatively) fresh. This, in many ways, conflicts with my "keep things simple and natural" lifestyle as "Barefoot Mama" because though I knew that my chemically loaded deodorants/antiperspirants were keeping me somewhat fresh, I cringed at the idea of swipping any part of my body down with something that could ultimately do more harm than good.
I've had the absolute pleasure of doing business with Bonnie from
Whispering Windz Farms on etsy.com. I originally had been pointed Bonnie's direction by the lovely ladies from
NaturallyCurly.com in attempts to find a good sulfate free, paraben free, safe and delicious smelling shampoo and body wash. Over the past few years, I've ordered various scents from Bonnie's plethora of delicious mouth-watering foaming jar soaps to use for both myself and my children and for gifts...these are amazing for bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays or any other holiday, thank you gifts etc...
Bonnie and I had done some chatting about coming up with a yogurt based face wash...see this in post to come...She'd allowed me to test out her new mix and I was highly pleased with the yogurt face wash, so the asked if I'd try out her deodorant. With the lack of success I'd had with deodorants, I was skeptical though absolutely willing to give it a try being the mother of an almost 8 year old who is already needing to use deodorant. I figured I could at least get something for my babies that is more gentle than what's on the casual market. Two days ago, my goodies arrived and couldn't have come at a more opportune time---we were in the midst of a MN heat wave with heat indexes into the low 100's; Olivia and I were extremely anxious to try them out. I tried the deodorant right away, smoothing on a thin layer on my pits.
Smell...earthy and yummy with it's skin loving ingredients: clays, coconut oil, bergamont, sweet orange and peppermint to name a few. The scent of the oils fades from a more feminine scent to earthy and clean.
Smell test, I've had my husband, kiddos and friends (gawd I love them) smelling my armpits from the moment I put it on to right after teaching a 90 minute Zumba class! Yes, you heard that right, I had VERY little trace of normal strong armpit perspiration after 90 minutes of heavy duty sweating!! Success!
Texture...smoothy, a little bit gritty from the baking soda. The cream goes on very smoothly and feels great on the skin. It absorbs beautifully and leaves very little residue on the skin and clothing. I do find that I reapply 2-3 times a day in order to keep it working, though I've barely even put a dent in my sample jar, because so little is needed. Bonus...it's "little black dress" worthy with it's lack of nasty residue. Eat your heart out Degree!
Cost...while this is still being worked out, I can tell you that the 2oz sample that I have will last a good amount of time as very little is needed in order to be effective. So while the price may be a little steeper than what you'd find from Suave or Degree, it's more than well worth the price. To be using something that is natural, organic and good for your body that works much more effectively than the casual market brands gets two thumbs up from me!
Thank you Bonnie for your amazing products and impeccable customer service, you've been an absolute wonder to work with every single order I've made. AND I can't thank you enough for finding the miracle deodorant, I'm over the moon about this product!!
For a bit of detail regarding Barefoot Mama's first marathon, visit Caity McCardell's "Yeah for Me" post on RunBarefootGirl. I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with Caity a few weeks post race and put out her 5th podcast episode for RunBarefootGirl, a blog and podcast series aimed at empowering women barefoot runners and those curious about barefoot running.
