Why I (a Typical Millenial) Chose Freedom

I turned 30 this year. Contrary to what everyone had told me to expect – I didn’t wake up with every limb on my body hurting… but I did feel more aware of my body. I ate like a teenager all week and gained 5 pounds which honestly, I’m a little impressed about (Seriously? 5 pounds in just a few days? I’m mortified and still sore from all the gym time I’ve been putting in to lose it!) But that’s beside the point. I had spent all my life looking for bargains while investing in all the wrong things – dresses I’d only wear once, festivals that cost a month’s worth of rent (live music is still my weakness), you get the point – I’m a typical millennial. It wasn’t until I went on vacation and took out all my toiletries when one of my closest friends picked up the apricot scrub I bought at Target for less than $3. It was a knockoff of St Ives and a total steal. My friend’s reaction though? “Please don’t tell me that you actually use this? And every day? Do you have any idea how bad this is for your skin and body?!” I didn’t have any idea that the things we put on our skin are absorbed into our body. Who would’ve guessed? (Again, mortified.) I’ve never put any thought into these things or researched organic beauty products vs what I could find for under $5 at the local grocery store.

So I made a change in my life. I got home from Cabo and went straight to the closest natural beauty store, stocking up on moisturizers, masks, face washes, even the lip scrubs… but you know what never crossed my mind? Natural deodorant. Now fast forward months later, being educated on the harms of antiperspirants and the poison I had been putting into my armpits for years, I wish someone had told me sooner.

We can’t prove that the aluminum in antiperspirants give people cancer, but we do know that they aren’t helping. Sadly, we all seem to have a cancer story. We all have someone in our life who has either beat the disease, is still battling, or is no longer with us. When I met Ira (the lovely founder of Freedom) her story hit me hard. I had weeks earlier found out that my best friend’s mom was going through chemo to treat her breast cancer and I kept seeing breast cancer awareness all around me – maybe because it was the beginning of November which means that we were still catching the tail end of breast cancer awareness month. Ira told me about her friends, the women who had inspired her to create an all-natural deodorant and what it meant to her. It made me think about the promise I made to my friend only days earlier; I was going to find a charity to work for, run a marathon maybe… I just wanted to make a difference somehow, no matter how small… and there it was. We’re still not personally curing cancer, but the feedback we have received is amazing. Freedom has given people confidence and a healthy alternative! And this month we received the news that along with the portion we give to the Childhood Cancer Foundation that helps fund those going through cancer treatment, we’ve also donated enough to send a child to camp! This is why we are so passionate about what we do!

But enough about me! Here’s some facts that I’ve learned this past year and think need to be shared:

• Studies show that underarms can absorb 100% of the chemicals you can put on them
• Antiperspirants are classified as a drug by the FDA
• Aluminum is suspected to be a factor in breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, and kidney disease
• Triclosan can decrease the effectiveness of antibiotics
• Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) is currently on the Center for Science in the Public interest’s “caution” watch list

Now what’s so different about our deodorant?

• Freedom uses all natural ingredients
• Our products are free of aluminum, parabens, triclosan, and BHT
• All our ingredients can be pronounced and eaten (not that we’d suggest that! Not everyone likes the taste)
• Freedom works all day with only one application
• Freedom keeps your armpits happy, healthy, fresh and pretty