Crystal deodorant

Here’s a cheap, safe(r?) alternative to commercially available deodorants- Potash Alum (potassium double sulfate of aluminium), known in tamil as Padigaram.

Body odor is caused by bacteria growing in the humid folds of skin like the under arms. Commercially available deodorants invariably are scented coktails of questionable chemicals that typically act to block off pores in the area, suppressing sweating and consequently, odor.

I don’t care for the idea of pores being blocked, and prefer to shower regularly and go au naturel when possible. However, most of us, myself included, cannot do entirely without a deodorant either – especially those of us who live in humid climates and need to spend several hours outdoors, inflicting our vile vapours upon the innocent public.

Then, while pottering around in a raw food website (more about that in another post), I found that “crystal deodorants” were touted as safe alternatives to regular deodorants. Some research and roping in CK’s chemistry expertise tells me that these crystals are essentially Alum – ammonium alum in this product's case, but perfectly replaceable with the more commonly available (in India) potash alum.

Older men will remember this as the barber's stone, and gentlemen patrons received a post-shave face swabbing with it in the good old days.

Alum works as a bactericide, and has been used as a deodorant for over 1000 years now. After showering, rubbing alum to the moist underarm region drops the PH value of the skin in that area, rendering it acidic and inhospitable for bacterial growth.

The theory sounded fine, so I am trial running it, this is day 2. So far, I am bloody impressed. Last morning, I used it after shower, headed out and spent the day being my sweaty Sunday self. After about 6 – 8 hours of oily sweat and grime, no discernible odor! Today was also a long, sweaty day out, and Alum held up wonderfully.

My friend is trying it out on her feet that sweat inside shoes and consequently get smelly, and she tells me that she has had a very successful day 1.

Fragrances are important to me, though I hate literally every scented deodorant I’ve tried. Alum doesn’t have any smell of its own, so you can use your favorite fragrance along with it if you wish. Now that I use alum, I've been able to break out my stash of itr (attars). I’m wearing Khus right now, and I smell summer wherever I go.

Despite some half-hearted nay-saying that I saw on the internet about the safety of alum, my logic is simply that alum has been used in our wells to purify/clarify water for ages now, and potash alum is also a common ingredient in certain kinds of pickles.

Sure, over-application on the skin could create enough acid to give you a rash, but used normally, I am convinced you will find this an all-round winner.

You will find alum in old-style herb stores priced at roughly Rs. 20 – Rs.30 for a half kilo of large crystals. Remember that the skin has to be moist, or you must moisten the crystal with a drop of water before use. Don't wet it completely, store dry. No re-application necessary - each application lasts for 10 - 12 hours at least.

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NOTE: People with severe & chronic body odor (persistent despite good hygiene) should try cleaning out their intestines. A thorough 3-day cleanse cures even the worst body odors - tested with positive results by at least two people I know, whose twice a day shower routine wasn't helping with their odor problems.

See a doctor (ayurvedic/siddha) about taking a purgative, ask your mother how to take castor oil, or do a salt water flush for three days, eating only simple, raw vegetarian food on these days. The odor will go away. Caveat: I'm not a doc.

How does a minimalist eat?

Here's a sweeping statement that I'll stand by: Simple foods simplify life.

A minimalist eats uncomplicated food. And when you break that down, it turn out to be vegetarian. I am by no means an advocate of vegetarianism, and this is not the arena to discuss the ethical issues behind meat and animal products.

But when it comes to minimalism, vegetarian food wins, here's why. (I would throw half of these reasons out of the window, but the other half is good enough.)

But before you vegetarians start gloating, vegetarian food does not automatically amount to minimalist eating. If your precious plant produce needs hours of prepping, needs to cook for half an hour over LPG fueled fire, simmering with spices flown in from 7 different states before it can be consumed, there's hardly anything simple about it, is there.

I am talking about raw foods. Locally procured, simply prepared and freshly consumed. Minimal time, effort and energy from plant to plate, and minimal digestive effort by the body.  Could you do it?

I am a big foodie, but I think this will be my year to start out in the sattvic, simple diet direction. It is not a forced decision, in fact it is not even a decision. Especially with my strong yoga practice these days, I notice the digestive load that complicated foods put on my body. (I mean even home cooked foods - fry 7 ingredients, grind with coconut, simmer with odds and ends that have been soaking overnight. The worst culprits are our starchy, nutritionally pointless breakfast items)

The myriad health benefits manifest themselves rapidly, and I spot the first effects in my yoga practice. There is so much more focus, I'm able to go deeper into postures and hold them for longer. The mind is clear and quiet.

I don't know how this will evolve. Right now, I'm eating raw food a couple of days a week, whenever possible. Going forward, I'll step up RF to alternate days, slowly easing into the system till cooked, complicated foods are like dessert -  an occasional, enjoyable treat. May take years though.

Lest you should think this is something of a fad diet, think about how sad it is that we now think of simple, straight-forward food as a fad. This is not any kind of diet plan. This is a lazy man's dream, a way of simplifying your life in one fell swoop. Think about it - no sweaty kitchen time, no complex recipes to remember, no stocking of dozens of ingredients, no expensive fuel to buy, no digestion pills to swallow after meals.

The RF menu is surprisingly wide open:

i. Practically any vegetable you can manage (Think beyond carrot and cucumber, you! tender green beans are great too. As is cabbage, radish, turnips, tomatoes, onion, capsicum, tender leaves of all greens like spinach. Actually, experiment. Try a snake gourd. You'll be surprised how many vegetables taste rather nice when raw)

ii. All edible fruit you can lay your hands on

iii. Sprouted pulses. Any pulse. Buy it whole, soak and sprout. Spritz lime juice and chow.

iii. All edible nuts and seeds. Include coconut in nuts, and in seeds, sesame, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds.


To take a minimalist approach to food, just think about how, and how much, you can reduce the number of steps it takes to get the food from the plant to your plate.

Remedy for a common summer ailment

In summer especially, it is common to develop boils on the rim of the eyelids (called styes). These swell up over time, turn red and painful, often shutting the eye out completely. I usually go to a doctor, get drops and things, and it takes about 3 to 4 days to subside.

I started to get a boil yesterday - it had swollen up a bit, and was making it painful for me to blink. Then my friend Asha suggested a cure - dab some saliva on it several times a day. Apparently this is a well-known remedy, but I had never heard of it.

This was last evening at about 4 PM, when the stye had already inflamed quite a bit. I did the application once every half an hour till bedtime, and this morning the boil is completely gone!!

If you are wondering which is the least unpleasant way to procure saliva, just dip a finger under your tongue to pick up a drop on your finger tip, and dab on the afflicted spot. Repeat often.

Gross, but effective!