Wellness, wellness, wellness. I hear this term so often. With so much attention and research out there, I’m often re-assessing my daily routines and choices and left in a confused state just trying to figure out where I stand on this wellness continuum. Whoa, let’s take a step back here. Sure, wellness is a multifaceted term, but the number one thing I’m after is mental peace and clarity. That’s what we’re all shooting for in this crazy life, right?! There’s no simple way to attain this goal, but for me there have always been two simple things I can focus in on when I’m feeling out of whack: 1) make sure I’m getting plenty of exercise, and 2) re-assess what’s been on my nutritional menu recently and try to swap in some healthier choices. Exercise and healthy eating are basic ideas, but for me they always get me back on the right track.

It’s always been obvious to me that what I put into my body will have a direct effect on how I look and feel. And I’ll be the first to admit that I have to mix in some unhealthy treats from time to time to keep my sanity! The occasional indulgence is a legit component of a healthy diet. Seriously! But I’ll be the first to admit I have often overlooked another equally important part of my daily routine: not only what I put into my body, but what I put on my body. So, recently I made it a priority to be more vigilant in how I choose the everyday products that I use on my skin. This led me to dig deeper into reading labels and researching what ingredients my favourite products are actually made of.

Just like changing up my eating habits or revamping my workouts, I’m always tempted to jump in with reckless abandon to make a drastic change. An old-fashioned shock to the system is great, but I’ve come to realize that I personally have better long-term success when I do a bit of planning. So rather than frantically read every label in my house, I thought it would make more sense to pick one product that I use a lot. Rather than something I only use once in a blue moon, simple math told me I could make a bigger impact on my body by picking something I use every day, then finding an equally effective replacement that lacks unwanted ingredients that shouldn’t be cozying up with my skin on a daily basis. Sounds super simple, but past experience tells me this might be more challenging than it sounds.

After some deliberation, I settled on that place we all love talking and worrying about… my armpits! I bet I’m not alone here, so I’m just going to cut to the chase. Odour protection is a mandatory necessity for my daily deodorant, but I know there are some sneaky ingredients that I would rather live without. Aluminum, parabens, and dyes were the trio I aimed at knocking out of my daily vocabulary, but there’s not much use applying a more natural deodorant if it doesn’t do the job of actually preventing odour. So, I set off on this hopeful yet risky journey!

Cam Lee Yoga Secret Aluminum Free Deodorant

I’ll spare you my stressful and extensive search details, and my cringe-worthy memories of a single good intentioned years old attempt at giving another alternative deodorant a try. This time my research eventually led me to a new candidate: Secret’s new Aluminum Free Deodorant, which is also free of parabens and dyes. Check, check, and check on the ingredients. But, the results you may ask? Well, well. Let’s just say there was a test, and Secret passed with flying colours. Here are the details. Stinky pits? Nope. To my surprise, even though this new Secret deodorant is free of many of the typical players in the deodorant realm, this time around I was totally odour-free. Ah refreshing, and if I’m being honest, actually surprised. And it’s not like there’s some sort of compensation with a blast of tacky car air freshener - just a nice, subtle scent. Even though I was already convinced at this point, I was super impressed because it was comfortable (it goes on dry, not sticky) and didn’t wreck my looks with those stubborn white marks on my clothes (you know what I’m talking about).

secret aluminum free deodorant - Cam Lee

I started with a healthy diet and ended up at the armpits. That’s wellness for you. All jokes aside, I think we can all use some outside the box thinking to up our wellness game. For me, I have a simple formula. Once I’ve got my exercise routine on lock and some healthy fuel lined up, I systematically pick other high traffic areas of my life that could use a simple tweak to reap some serious benefits. Give this approach a shot, and I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what you’ll find. Let me know where you ended up in the comments! I love hearing your ingenious approaches to wellness!