...you want an alternative to conventional deodorant.

Yes, I know.  Very strange post title.  Not our normal wheelhouse of topics.  Put your seatbelt on.

Have you ever had one of those days where a certain piece of information is presented to you over and over, so much so that you feel like you are being tapped on the shoulder to check something out?  Well, that's what happened to me, starting two weeks ago.  

It started simply.  A friend emailed me about a new pop-up store in Wellesley center - Follain.  

Image from shop.follain.com.

Follain has stores on Nantucket and in Boston, and are trying out a space in Wellesley. She told me about their natural products, from deodorant to make-up.  I have to admit, I deleted the email.  But something about that email stuck in my head...

...BECAUSE, the next day, this post from Erin Gates and her Elements of Style blog showed up in my inbox.  An entire post about 'What's in Your Products?'.  Read it.  She discusses what elements in beauty products people should avoid if possible. I read it, and the information lodges in my brain next to the Follain tidbit.

AND THEN, I ran into that friend who emailed me about Follain and she circles back with me about it, telling me how she's swapped out her deodorant for some more natural product from Follain.

Something about these 3 interactions triangulates in my brain, and the next time I found myself in Wellesley center, I wandered into Follain.  Lovely shop.  Clean, pretty, smells great.  I am greeted by the saleswoman, and tell her about my interest in experimenting with some more 'natural' deodorant.  She gives me a brief 'tour' of the shop, and points me in the direction of their 2 choices for deodorant.  One is this cute little jar and the brand is Meow Meow Tweet. 

Image from meowmeowtweet.myshopify.com.

She tells me it's the more gentle of the two products (the other was more 'gritty') and I say, what the heck.  And according to the Follain website - "The cream does not use the unsafe ingredient aluminum zirconium, so it is not an anti-perspirant, but it does effectively absorb moisture". Let's try it.  She warns me as I'm checking out that some people notice some perspiring when they start to use it; all of the 'build up' from using conventional deodorant.  Ick.  Great.

(Full disclosure - I also purchased a tinted lip conditioner by Ilia, which is ah-maz-ing.)

It was with great trepidation that I put away my usual deodorant and start using this.  First, there's no roll-on here. The jar says "Gently rub a pea-sized amount into each armpit with your fingertips".  Ok, a little ick.  After a few days, I get used to it.  I learn that you just wipe your fingers with a towel or tissue after applying; washing my hands was a sticky mistake.  Second, I warn a couple of my girlfriends and ask them to please tell me if I smell.  I find myself sneaking pit-sniffs after working out and when I'm changing clothes.  So far so good.

After a couple of weeks, I think I really like this stuff.  I'm not a sweaty mess, I'm not smelly, and if it's supposed to be a better product for me, why not?  And a benefit that I didn't realize?  No accidental white marks on your clothing!  Seriously.  That alone makes my day.  

I have to say, I'm impressed with both products I purchased.  Consumer satisfied!  Give it a try if you are looking for an alternative.  Just a little research for your day!  Enjoy! ~ JH