Joshua Krause ~ Baking Soda: Stock Up For All Your Hygienic Needs

Ready Nutrition  May 24 2014

Aluminum-free baking soda recommended ~g

BakingSoda_AluminumFreeThere are countless uses for baking soda, and I could never possibly list them all. I doubt there is any off-the-shelf substance that is cheaper or more versatile, and lately there’s been an explosion of “do it yourself” recipes and concoctions on the internet. It’s been used for dealing with rashes, bug bites, cleaning dishes, cleaning clothes, heartburn and lord knows what else. Today I’m going to focus on a particularly useful niche. Personal Hygiene.

Almost everything listed below are examples I use daily. Not only that, but I’ve used them without mixing the baking soda with anything else. This stuff is pretty incredible in its powdered form, and that makes it a must have for Preppers. Sure, there’s plenty of recipes out there that will make it way easier and comfortable to use. But, Preppers need things that are simple, portable, and cheap. What if you don’t have all of the ingredients to make your favorite shampoo? After disaster strikes, you won’t be able to run down to the store and pick up your apple cider vinegar.

Never fear, because baking soda’s got your back, and you can use it all by itself. Speaking of shampoo…

For Your Hair

This was one of the first things I used it for. Shampoo had a habit of sucking all of the oils out of my hair, making the strands go completely dry and flat. This gave my hair a kind of… teenage Bieber appearance (yuck). By lathering the baking soda into my scalp, it would clean out about 80-90 percent of the naturally occurring oils, leaving just enough behind to give it a healthy appearance and shape. Not only that, but the baking soda seems to work wonders with dandruff, almost as well as head and shoulders (and with a lot less chemicals than any commercial shampoo).

Brushing Your Teeth

The abrasive nature of baking soda makes it ideal for scrubbing your teeth. It’s just hard enough to clean your teeth, but not really hard enough to damage your enamel. Though I’ve heard warnings recently about brushing your teeth with pure baking soda, I’m not entirely convinced. Tooth enamel ranks 5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, above iron, steel, and nickel (though I wouldn’t try biting steel, enamel is incredibly thin). I think a salt like baking soda doesn’t stand a chance at damaging healthy teeth, but you should do your own research and make your own informed decision. As noted in thisawesome article from yesterday, don’t use abrasives if you have a cavity.

Though if you do try it, just be prepared for the incredibly salty taste of baking soda (I used to pop mints after brushing my teeth until I got used to it). The procedure is pretty simple. Just wet the baking soda and apply it to the toothbrush. Brush as you would normally use toothpaste.

Another wonderful use for baking soda in oral care, is as a mouth wash. The pH level works wonders on bad breath. Since bacteria tends to thrive in an acidic environment, baking soda will balance out your mouth’s pH making it difficult for odor causing bacteria to thrive. In my experience it also enhanced my sense of taste after a thorough mouth rinse.

Deodorant

While there’s many recipes for homemade deodorant that call for baking soda, I’ve recently found it works quite well on its own. By simply powdering your armpits it kills the odors. Really. Just as simple as that. Some people like to add a little bit of water and turn it into a paste first, but I found you can skip that step as well (though some folks appear to be sensitive to baking soda’s abrasiveness, they may find adding water softens it up before applying it to the skin).

The first time I tried it I didn’t think it worked. There really wasn’t any difference until I stepped outside. It only took the smallest amount of sweat to activate the baking soda and kill all of the odor. Not only that, this stuff really stays with you. When baking soda gets wet it tends to have a slippery feel, so when I took a shower the next day it was obviously still there, but incredibly easy to wipe off with water. And unlike deodorant, it isn’t loaded with aluminum.

Shaving

That same slippery feel seems to make baking soda a decent shaving lather. This is the only item on my list that I don’t use everyday, because I tried it for the first time this morning. It doesn’t work as well as shaving cream, but still works well enough. It takes a bit of practice because the baking soda needs to be mixed with water in the right proportions before being applied to the skin (it should be very watery). I would advise applying the paste to your skin one section at a time as you shave, until you get the mixture just right.

The real reason I wanted to add this item to my list, is for those of you who plan to keep shaving in a survival scenario. The high pH of baking soda would likely lower the risk of infection if you happen to cut yourself shaving. We wouldn’t want to survive societal collapse, only to die from shaving would we?

Conclusion

So there you have it. At less than a dollar per box, you can stock up on a quite a bit of sodium bicarbonate. Even after using it for deodorant, hair care, and brushing my teeth, it seems to take a really long time to go through a single box. And these are only a few of the dozens of uses. There is simply nothing cheaper or more versatile for your personal health. If the grid goes down, it will make hygiene quite a bit easier.

As a final note, baking soda DOES NOT contain aluminum, a myth likely started over the confusion between baking soda and baking powder, which does occasionally contain aluminum. So not only is it cheap, versatile, and portable, baking soda is quite safe. If you have any sources that say otherwise, sound off in the comments below.

Joshua Krause was born and raised in the Bay Area. He is a writer and researcher focused on principles of sulf-suffiency and liberty at Ready Nutrition. You can follow Joshua’s work at our Facebook page or on his personal Twitter. Joshua’s website is Strange Danger

 

This information has been made available by

Originally published May 24th, 2014

5 thoughts on “Joshua Krause ~ Baking Soda: Stock Up For All Your Hygienic Needs

  1. Great post! I usually use baking soda to brush my teeth and haven’t yet tried it some other ways. As summer is now coming, using it on my hair and as deodorant seem to be a perfect idea! 😀
    Carol

  2. Despite what Joshua Krause says, all you have to do is read the box. Most of the Baking Soda sold in Supermarkets has ALUMINUM in it and if you research aluminum you will discover that it is toxic to the human body! This is why it is very important that you always purchase Organic Baking Soda.

    I take it to alkalize my body Ph because bacteria cannot grow in an alkaloid matrix but thrives in an acidic matrix. Most of us are sick because the foods we eat are full of acids. Baking Soda introduces oxygen into the blood, which prevents cancer cell survival; it eliminates acid reflux and it eliminates arthritic pain. I fill my own capsules and take two every four hours and you will notice the difference if you ever forget to take it.

    1. Thanks, Dale. I put up the Arm & Hammer box because it is so well known. Based on your observation I have updated the pic to RedMill (Aluminum free). hugs, g

  3. Thank you for sharing !
    It’s a revelation … I take baking soda baths, I drink a glass of water with baking soda, maple syrup and fresh lemon juice daily at least 30 min before a meal, I wash my face, my private parts with warm water with baking soda … I use only home made toothpaste with baking soda, coco nut oil, sea salt, 6% peroxide solution and clove essential oil … No sores or ulsters in my mouth or or anywhere on my body … !!!!

Please leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.