Sleeping with wet hair.
SPEAKER_03Never. Never. Why? Never. You know, you can get scalp fungus from that.
SPEAKER_00You are sleeping with millions of bacteria every night. And it's causing you to age faster, break out, and sabotage your skin journey.
SPEAKER_03Most people wash their underums like this. I have two seconds here. I'm clean. You're not clean.
SPEAKER_00And the thing is, fixing it is easier than you think.
SPEAKER_03Why do I smell two hours after I get out of the shower?
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03And it's because you didn't focus on the Wow.
SPEAKER_00I I feel like I just have a whole new bathroom and shower routine now after this.
SPEAKER_03That product should never go in your underarms. Look for things that have naturally antibacterial. And then the biggest one that I can give you is So how bad is it to reuse a towel? Never ever use a towel that I was on a hook. That is a house for a load of bacteria. You need to wash your fingernails as often as you wash your hands.
SPEAKER_00Wow. That was a good start.
SPEAKER_03You will see a big difference. That's when you're squeaky clean.
Welcome to Face It, the podcast that cuts through the noise of the beauty industry. I'm your host, Barry, and today we are diving into the unsexy parts of beauty. Think sweat, germs, odor, and of course self-care with the woman who made hygiene go viral. She calls herself Madame Sweat, but after this episode, you might be calling her your new hygiene coach.
My guest today is Mary Feather, better known as Madame Sweat, your go-to voice for all things hygiene. She's behind Kaya Natural, a brand all about clean body care and honest hygiene talk. From sweat to odor to the stuff most people are too shy to talk about. She's here to break down what we're doing wrong, what actually works, and why clean starts way before skincare. Madame Sweat, welcome to Face It.
SPEAKER_03Thank you so much, Barry. I'm I'm pleased to be here. This will be fun.
SPEAKER_00We are so excited to have you and just learn all things hygiene. I feel like it's such a taboo topic for whatever reason. So I can't wait to just dive right into it with you.
SPEAKER_03Wow, fire away.
So people talk about skincare all the time, but no one really talks about hygiene. Why, why do you think that is?
SPEAKER_03Well, I think pre-COVID, I think hygiene had a bit of a stuffy reputation. And I think a lot of people thought that's just something you learn when you're a little boy or little girl, and it's pretty boring. That's up to your mom to teach you or your dad to teach you how to stay clean. But it's it's not about that anymore. It is about skin conditions, it's about preventing them by using proper hygiene practices. And also keeping in mind post-COVID, also the world is getting hotter and we're sweating more. And when there's moisture on your body, there's trouble, which means rashes, um, skin irritations, just feeling uncomfortable and odor. A lot more odor.
SPEAKER_00Right. Why do you think it's such an uncomfortable topic for people to just sit down and discuss? Or like, why are people so uncomfortable saying, yeah, I have this skin rash right now, or yeah, my armpits don't smell really good right now. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_03Well, I think that it has, and I think it still is to some degree, um, uncomfortable for people to talk about it because I think anything that's deeply personal, especially about your appearance or, you know, your your your odor, um, is someone sometimes people are ashamed um and think that people will perceive them as unclean. And I also think that conversations uh between one another, even with your girlfriends, um, those can be deeply, deeply uh emotional. If someone told you that you had body odor, Barry, I think you'd remember that for the rest of your life. Right.
SPEAKER_00And you'd feel offended.
SPEAKER_03You feel offended. And so there is also that fear of offending someone or hurting someone's feelings.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03So you have to approach those conversations very carefully.
And when it comes to social media with this kind of stuff, do you think people are more into like looking like they have this clean girl aesthetic rather than actually being clean?
SPEAKER_03I I think I think they want to hear about that because people right now, particularly women, we are all product junkies and we love buying things and we love feeling clean and trying new products. So I do agree with you that there is that clean girl aesthetic. But I will say, uh, and I certainly see it on my social when I offer tips on things to prevent skin issues or people not even knowing that if they aren't cleaning that, they could be at risk of getting fungus, foot fungus, toenail fungus, you know, there's all kinds of things that they are very receptive and very open and want more. So I would say that yes, there's the aesthetic fun side. And then there's like, oh, I did not know that. OMG. Right. Yeah. So I try to be the OMG. Here's what you need to know. Like, I I love this one stat that a lot of people don't realize, but they
teach young children to wash their hands after you know they've used the washroom or before they eat a meal. But what no one teaches them is to wash their fingernails because your fingernails actually hold more bacteria than your hands. So why is it that we don't have fingernail brushes in our in our sink, you know, next to our soap to wash our fingernails, as particularly right now with long fingernails being a real trend, that is a house for a load of bacteria. And I don't even want to give you the numbers on what can be stored in there, but you need to wash your fingernails as often as you wash your hands.
SPEAKER_00Wow. So it's almost like kind of like back to the question where, you know, people can show this routine they're doing and it shows them washing their hands and washing their sheets and washing their and washing everything. But then I'm sure you notice little things like, oh, but you didn't wash your fingernails or there's a little thing missing here.
SPEAKER_03Well, even that's something that I even am trying to teach young mothers is when you're teaching your children hygiene habits, you know, let them know that you have to you have to scrub your fingernails too. Yeah. So have a s has have a fingernail brush um next to the soap. And so that they remember to clean their fingernails, um, especially children because they're outside playing or you know, touching things. Um, those will those nails can harbor a lot of bacteria. Yeah. So if you learn that as a child, that'll stay with you for the rest of your life. And as adults, you're learning it now.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03Here on your podcast. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00You know, such a great tip. Like wash your hands, but make sure you wash your fingernails.
SPEAKER_03Scrub your fingernails, like get that out. And that's not just a once-a-week or when you go and get your nails done. That should be that's like multiple times a day, I feel like.
SPEAKER_00That's wow. Okay, good to know. Thank
you. So, another question back to what we were speaking about before. What's one thing that you wish people would stop being so embarrassed about when it comes to their bodies?
SPEAKER_03Well, I I think um body, well, body odor is something, and I don't know that I can tell them to stop being embarrassed because I I have a fear of smelling as well. So, what I try to do is explain to people that there are precautions that you can take. It's not just the deodorant's job. There's a deodorant ritual. And that is how you wash your underarms. And people don't realize that it takes just as much work as washing your hands to clean your underarms. So I do think to me, that's a big one because I think body odor is huge. And because it's so hot and people are sweating a lot, it's going to get bigger and it's going to be a bigger problem.
Okay. And what's one trendy hygiene habit that you keep seeing online right now that you wish people would just stop doing? It's not, it's not helpful.
SPEAKER_03Uh, well, there's um it it's women who of color or women who are melanin rich often get pigmentation in the underarm region. And some women are really uncomfortable with it when they're at the gym or at the beach or wearing a sundress, and you can see dark pigmentation under their arms. So people have come out with all kinds of crazy hacks online to um to brighten or or whiten that area and even the skin tone. So they're recommending things like glycolic acid. And what happens when I see people putting glycolic acid on their underarms? It makes me crazy because the pH of your underarm is very different than the pH of your face. So it's not a product that was designed for underarms. And so what happens is it's too strong. And yes, it will, it will work on odor because it changes the pH of the underarm, so it'll prevent odor for a period of time. And it can also brighten the underarm area. The problem is it's what happens after, and that's rebound pigmentation, which is it goes away and then it comes back with a vengeance because you irritated your underarm so badly with a product that's far too strong.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Um, and I've even seen derms recommend that, and it really makes me crazy because underarms is my business, and I do know everything about underarms, and that's why I'm shocked that a doctor would recommend using a product with a pH that high on your underarms because the skin is so much thinner, and not to mention you shave and remove hair, so that area is ultra um sensitive. So that that product should never go in your underarms. You should only use products that are formulated for underarms in your underarms.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Okay, well, that was a good myth buster. Yeah, because I feel like a lot of people also believe that like you can take your skincare down to your body or to your armpit. No.
SPEAKER_03No, okay. In some cases, you you can, but your underarms are so different. They're moist, dark, warm, and wet.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And they are thinner skinned, and the pH is very different, and you shave it. You don't shave your face. So that's why you treat your underarms very, very differently than you do your face or the rest of your body.
Wow. Okay. Well, speaking of myths, I want to bust a bunch of different hygiene myths with you. Okay. Starting with showering. So people think once you take a shower, if you come out smelling clean, you are clean. Is that true? It's okay.
SPEAKER_03So, first of all, you have to look at your body parts and which ones produce the most bacteria. And those are the ones that you really need to focus on. So you actually do not need to wash your arms and legs every day because they're not getting, you know, they're not sweating. Yeah. They're not, I mean, they may feel a bit. If you're at the gym, different matter, right? But just on an everyday basis, a lot of derms will recommend that you don't wash your arms and legs every day because it just creates a lot of uh skin barrier disruption with harsh soaps. So you can you can skip that if you didn't have a very active day. Um, you can skip washing your arms and legs maybe every second day. But your smelly bits and the smelly bits are ones that have high numbers of sweat glands. They produce sweat and produce sweat, then feeds the skin microbiome and the bacteria, and that's where you start to smell. So the groin, the underarms, your feet, um, and even in the chest area too. If you have skin folds, you have to get in there. So that's where you will stay clean. Because a lot of people say to me, and this is a really good analogy about what you
just said, which is why do I smell two hours after I get out of the shower? Right. And it's because you didn't focus on the area, unless you're at the gym or you know, it's 110 degrees out, that's a different matter. But if you didn't focus on your smelly bits, you won't stay fresh as long. Because when you're wearing pants or underwear, there's no airflow in the groin for both men and women. And also anywhere there's hair, so particularly for men, uh, bacteria loves to live around the hair follicle. So if you just swiped it clean really quick, most people wash their underarms like this. Yeah, two seconds here. I'm clean. You're not clean. Wow. It's the same as um washing your hands. That's why they said 20 times. So if you had a surgeon that went like this and went, okay, I'm ready to, I'm ready to operate, would you be very happy about that?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Same thing with the underarms. So there's yesterday's bacteria, there's yesterday's deodorant residue. So they say the number is 20 seconds, each underarm. And I'll be honest with you, that when you can when you uh are washing, I count to 20, which seems insane. But I just know that if I'm moving my soap, and it also depends what you wash it with, and I'll get to that later. But if I'm moving that soap around my underarm 20 times, I know that my deodorant is gonna perform way better than if I just swipe it.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_03And with a 2D fruity soap that doesn't have any ingredients that will actually help and lift the results of the deodorant. So that's one. Also your feet getting in between your toes and cleaning those as well and over the toes, like as well, over that nail bed, making sure that you're lifting your foot up and washing it. And that's why the incidence of toe fungus, I don't know if you're watching network television, but there is a lot of ads for toe fungus products. And it's because a lot of people are getting toe fungus. It does happen more frequently in older people because they can't lift their foot up to wash it. So they're just letting the soap fall down. And I know a lot of people do that in the shower, just let the soap fall down. Okay, that's washing my feet. Well, that's not washing your feet. You have to really get in there and scrub, same thing 20 times. So I just count when I'm in, and same thing with the groin, 20 times in the groin area so that you don't get odor down there as well. And because we're all wearing constrictive clothing, sitting all day, it gets kind of sweaty down there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So keeping that really clean. And for women with larger breast size, they have skin folds in that area, getting inside the skin fold. That's when you're squeaky clean.
Yeah. So you said 20 seconds for the groin area, 20 seconds for the underarms. What about like the routine? Like, what's the products you should be using for these specific areas? Like, is there any specific ingredients people should be looking for, specific products? What is what does the routine look like to wash your underarms and your groin?
SPEAKER_03Well, you know what? I always say to people, you shouldn't have just one soap in your in your shower. You should have two, a minimum of two different types of soap. So you have that, I always say the 2D fruity one. So buy whatever you like and whatever scent you like, and you wash your arms and legs, go for it because
you love that smell. But for the smelly bits, you also have to watch the fragrance, especially in the groin area. Um, but you need something, and now I'm not suggesting that people go use hand sanitizer on their on their smelly bits, but I always like something that's a little more powerful than a 2D fruity soap. And so I make natural products, and because I I do believe in the plant, the power of plants and herbs, and I I use a soap that's made with salt. And the reason that I love that is think of prosciutto. This is a crazy analogy.
SPEAKER_02I sometimes use food analogies, but people understand it.
SPEAKER_03So think of prosciutto. It's raw pork, but it's cured, and it's cured with salt. So if I gave you raw pork and you ate that, you would be sicker than a dog. But because I cured it with salt, it killed the bacteria. So you can have and enjoy prosciutto.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03And that is the same concept for smelly bits. I remember um when I first created this product called the underarm bar, this the chemist who was the soap maker at the time said there's nothing like salt for smelly feet or smelly underarms. Wow. Salt is a so I use sea salt in the in the bar, so it's not as aggressive as you'd find with like heavily alcoholed hand sanitizers. I also use apple cider vinegar.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_02So we put it, believe me, the bar doesn't smell like apple cider vinegar, but when they're making it in the factory, it's awful. Everybody there wants to kill me because it smells awful.
SPEAKER_03Um, but we we conceal that. And so by having apple cider vinegar and salt, like look for things that have naturally antibacterial. And then the biggest one that I can give you is sea salt. Look for soaps with sea salt. And if ours has the added bonus of apple cider vinegar, that is terrific for areas where you have sweat glands and bacteria. So it would do the heavy lifting. And that's why I said then get really in for men. They have, there's a technique for men. They have to get down to the hair follicle and really get in there, not just scrub over top of the hair, get into the the base with their fingers of their uh hair follicle so that that bacteria doesn't live around the hair follicle. Because the more hair you have, the more odor you will have. Because that's where odor likes to live. That's why people have problems with the groin as well. So it's a big key, is that, and I know it sounds, you know, uh maybe not so pleasant, but it is a fact. You have human hair, and human hair uh harbors bacteria.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So with the salt in in the product, would you say that more so helps with the cleanliness or the odor, or does that go hand in hand?
SPEAKER_03Uh it helps with the odor. Okay, helps with the bacteria, which then, yes, you could say it goes hand in hand. Okay. Um, I will say though, I would never recommend using that on the rest of your body because your arms and legs will dry out terribly if you use something like a salt. So that's why I said in the shower, you should have multiple products address different things. It's just, you know, like your hair. You buy pro hair shampoos for certain things.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03So it's the same with your soaps. Choose them wisely. And there's no rule that you have to have one that will do the whole trick. You can use, as I said, I have one for underarms and then I have one for
my body.
SPEAKER_00Okay, awesome. And I want to talk about after the shower. Right. So, how bad is it to reuse a towel, even if it still smells fine?
SPEAKER_03Well, you know, there's all kinds, it's kind of controversial in a way, in some ways, but they've done all kinds of microbiologists, they've done all kinds of studies, and where there is moisture and humidity, you will have bacteria. That's just a given. Okay. And the thing about towels is that towels are made of cotton. And cotton, terry, takes a long time to dry. And that is and your bathroom is moist and warm. So you've got a perfect scenario for a petri dish. So they often say the longer your towel takes to dry, the more bacteria you will have because it will start growing as the moisture is. So if your bathroom is very humid, and some people don't have proper fans or proper ventilation in their bathrooms, so their towel, and if they're really thick, may take a full 24 hours to dry, which means it's already got bacteria growing on it. So the answer is depends on the towel, depends on the conditions in your bathroom. Um, and most people are busy. I get that. They're not going to be running a load of wash every single time uh they're drying off their body. But I would definitely recommend um, you know, trying to change your towels twice a week if you can. The other thing that's really good is heated towel racks because it'll help them dry faster.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's smart.
SPEAKER_03Right? Like if you want to leave it on. Yeah. Um, because I sometimes forget to turn mine on and I think, yeah, then I'm not gonna get that mildew, even if you can't smell it. I know it's drying faster. So I know it's not growing well, it's bacteria.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So would you say that let's say someone followed all the right steps in the shower, right? They wash all their bits correctly, everything's all good, we're all clean, bacteria-free. Then we get out of the shower and we use this towel that's been sitting there. Did that kind of just cancel everything out, would you say? Well, you're basically rubbing, yeah, that bacteria and gosh knows what else is on the towel.
SPEAKER_03Like I don't know what you did the last time. So that's what I mean. Like, did you throw it on the floor? Did it fall on the floor? Like, so there's all those things. Um, and some people even dry their, like where you dry your towel, as I mentioned, a heated
rack, but a lot of people put their towels on hooks, which is the worst thing you could do. I would never ever use a towel that I was on a hook. Why? Because the towel is, you know, I can't show you here, but the towel is not spread out to dry. So guess what's growing in all of that? And I can guarantee you that towel smells the worst. But it's amazing how many people have hook uh towel racks in their bathroom. And it's like, no, you have to open it up and allow it to dry properly. So I would never reuse a towel that's been drying on a hook ever. Okay. Um, I would want a fresh towel. And FYI, here's another little thing is that, and I love this stat, but the sun, and especially because you're based here in Florida and you have UV, UV rays all the time, the sun is nature's sanitizer. So I will tell you if you're having trouble getting that smell, even out. After you wash your towels, if you can leave the towel in sunlight, the if it's a high UV index that day, the UV index is like a natural sanitizer. It will get the smell out of the towel.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_03And it will, it will get rid of the bacteria, basically. So they say to do that with your shoes too. If you, you know, and this is a little fun fact. I'm kind of digressing here for a minute, but this was such a good way to illustrate it. I had a young girl on my team who is from Southeast Asia, and she said to me, We were doing a segment on um odors in your shoes. And she said, I find it so odd in Canada that's where I'm from, is that when people go to the gym, they take their shoes off and they put them in their closet. And I went, Why do you find that odd? And she said, Because there's no air or any circulation in your closet and your shoes are gonna stink. She was when we come home from the gym or wearing or running, she's we put them outside in the sun so that the sun can sanitize the inside of the shoe. And I thought, that is such a great way of explaining it. She just thought it was an odd custom that North Americans have of putting our shoes in the closet after we've just finished wearing them. Right. She said you should be putting them out outdoor, if you can, outdoors, and let them air out. And if the sun, if it's a it's a high UV day or a sunny day, they won't smell.
SPEAKER_00I'm I'm just still shook that the sun is a natural sanitizer. Like I did not know that.
SPEAKER_03Well I think in the 60s it was really big for women to put because it was usually women that was doing laundry, there was wash lines. Like I don't know if you've seen it in old movies. I know, of course. There was a reason.
SPEAKER_00I mean They knew what they were doing. They knew what they were doing.
SPEAKER_03And of course, now it's been outlawed, and most places are not allowed to have, you know, laundry hanging outside. But there is was a method in their madness. It was the UV rays are very good for deodorizing um and getting rid of bacteria in uh in fabric.
SPEAKER_00Wow. I I feel like I just have a whole new bathroom and shower routine now after this.
SPEAKER_02You'll be putting everything out in the balcony or wherever. My boyfriend's got a bad hygiene. What are you
doing?
SPEAKER_00Okay, wow. And what about um sheets and pillowcases? Oh, that's a big one.
SPEAKER_03And you know, it's funny because last week I just did a television segment on that and they were asking me about bed hygiene. And here's a a different element because um the statistic that I wrote, I'm sure it's very similar in the United States, but in Canada, 38% of people sleep with their pets, or should I say, their pets sleep with them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Which means, oh boy, sleep hygiene is even more important about how frequently you wash your sheets and pillowcases.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03So, and what kind of sheets and pillowcases you buy. So, number one, I'll address um the frequency of they recommend cleaning everybody's sheets once a week. Okay. But I will say you have to be a realist. If you're a busy mom, you've got two kids, and you're running around and working full time, it's really hard to make time to clean your sheets. It's a big job to strip your bed every week. So I get that, but definitely you've got to do it for the pillowcases. That's a minor effort. And your face is there, and if any of your pets has been on your pillowcase, you 100% have to, because you can get if you have uh if you're acneic or oily skin, just skin cells in general. You really, really must wash your pillowcases every week. Um, and then sheets and towels or sheets par pardon me, um once a week is optimum, but you can get away with every second week. Now, if you have pets, keep them off the sheets. So always have a protective blanket and try to keep the pet on that protective blanket that you can wash every week because of the hair, etc. But they also said what you should do is look for things like bamboo, which has a tight weave, or Egyptian cotton. The fibers are are are woven closer together, which means pet hair can't um adhere to them as well. Okay. Um, also static, because static will attract the hair. So, and if you're a night sweater, you'll want to have something with a tighter weave. So never anything with synthetic, uh, because they'll hold the odor like a polyester. Anything with a polyester blend will hold hold odor more. So they always said really pay attention when you're buying your sheets to spending a little extra money to make sure that you have something that has a very tight weave, which will prevent um, as I said, pet hairs, etc. But also, it is not gonna hold odor from sweating because people sweat at night. A lot of people sleep hot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's what they recommend is something that is cooler uh if you sleep hot so that you feel that you have somewhat hygienic. I also uh believe in like airing out your bed. So Saturday morning, maybe give it a good, if you're not gonna wash sheets, give it a good air out so you get some fresh air circulating in there. I have uh this other little trick that I use because I want my sheets to smell fresh. So I have this sweat powder that, and it's in a spray bottle. I spray, and it's just natural powders, but I sway and it has like um magnesium in it. It's oh nice. Yeah, so it has a little bit of magnesium. I spray the sheets, but it's like a fine mist uh on the sheets so that they just are smell a little bit fresher. Yeah. Because they get a bit stale if you don't wash them every week.
Something like a linen spray. Because I was just going to ask you about that.
SPEAKER_03Well, see, here's the thing about the linen spray. I know people like doing that, but if and in my case, I sweat. So I want something that will also absorb. So that's why I use a sweat powder so that there's a little bit of absorption. It's there's there's starches in there that will also, but it's just a fine mist, uh, it'll absorb that sweat. Okay. So it'll stop the, and there's uh believe it or not, the one that I use also has apple cider vinegar, which will stop the odor from bacteria. So I do treat it that way. And then there's a whole nother thing, and I think you were you had mentioned earlier uh to me when we were talking before the show is about mattress care. So I'll I've got some really good learnings on yes, we definitely have to touch in on that. On that one too.
SPEAKER_00But so for the linen spray, it depends on the ingredients just like anything else. Because it's kind of just like if you don't have something that's gonna actually soak up the bacteria and the sweat, it's more so just masking a smell, but not actually cleaning. Correct. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Those are just meant to mask and because it is it's alcohol, water, and fragrance. So that's essentially what's in that. The alcohol will help a bit, but it's not gonna clean. I mean remember, it's just a freshener.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, not a not a shampoo.
SPEAKER_00That's good to know. Yeah. Okay, so another myth I want to bust um is natural deodorants. Because I I feel like natural deodorants are something we're supposed to
use, but they never, they never work. I know.
SPEAKER_03You just said, you just said, and I make natural deodorant. And when I say I know, I it's something that everyone says, like those exact words. Oh, I've tried natural deodorant, but it doesn't work. So, first let me explain the difference between antiperspirant and deodorant. Okay. So that we understand they because they have very different jobs. And I think when people understand that, then they they can make a better decision. So antiperspirant contains an ingredient called aluminum chloride. And the science community has said they've never found conclusive evidence that it causes cancer. However, there's been many articles published that it alludes to well, we found aluminum chloride in women's breast milk, we found aluminum chloride in blood samples, we found aluminum chloride um, you know, in in skin tissues. And so then everyone sended off the alarms and said, I don't want that ingredient in my body. And how it works is when you spray or use a stick deodorant or antiperspirant, aluminum chloride forms a gel. So you apply it and then you wait for it to form a gel, and it forms a gel and it goes into your pores and it plugs the pore so you don't sweat, which means if there's no moisture, there's then there's no bacteria, then there's no odor. So they do the job. They keep you dry and they keep you odor-free. The problem is it it has to have aluminum chloride in it in order to work. So if you don't want that in your bloodstream, and that's why natural deodorants became so popular, is because people said, no, it's not natural to plug my pores and prevent myself from sweating in the underarms. But a lot of people also have said, but I don't want wet underarms and I want something to work. Good point, too. So my recommendation is if you choose to take the precautionary principle and not use antiperspirants and you choose a deodorant, remember it's not one size fits all with natural deodorants. It might be a little bit of a, you know, trial and error kind of situation that works with your body chemistry. But what I will say is that in order so you don't get odor breakthrough, use that step that I just talked to you about with that underarm bar. Use that trick first because you are protecting yourself because it leaves a salt film on your underarms. So it's kind of like the prosciutto. It's curing your underarms so that when they start sweating, um, there's salt there to stop that bacteria in addition to using a natural deodorant. So you have a better chance of improving the results of your natural deodorant if you use that step in the shower first. So I call that my priming step. So that's that's a piece of advice number one.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Piece of advice number two is again a little bit of try-nail, but you have to give yourself time because people talk about the detox period between um, you know, changing from antiperspirant to changing from natural deodorant. And I will tell you, I did the exact same thing when I first was developing it. I was using antiperspirant because I sweat terribly. And I said the same thing. Oh, natural deodors never work for me. I've got to find a way to make them work.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So I was trying all these natural deodors and I was sending them back to the chemist after a week. I go, it's so weird. It worked for a week and then it stopped working. This is bad. I don't like this formula. Make another one. And so finally, on the third time I did that, my chemist said, Mary, were you using antiperspirant before you started doing this testing? And I said, Yes, because I could never get a natural deodorant to work for me. So I've always used it. And he said, Okay, well, just so you know, he said, and it's not marketing BS. He said, There's scientific studies that show when you stop using a product like an antiperspirant and you allow yourself to sweat, your body needs to go through this, they call it detox. I mean, it's not a detox, really. We know that you can only detox through your kidney or your liver, but they call it a detox, just mean purge. Your body goes through a purge period because it suddenly overproduces bacteria because it's like, hey, wait a minute. I used to never sweat. Now there's all this moisture here. Right. So it overproduces bacteria. So you suddenly like the deodorant can only handle so much.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03The deodorant stops working. And he said, it's usually at about the first week. And then he said, and then people throw out the deodorant. He goes, just like you've been saying, this doesn't work. And he said, you have to push through. And he said, that period of time is usually anywhere from one week to to 30 days.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03He said, before you judge your deodorant as not working, give it time. But what I liked was adding the extra step, because that was my insurance policy that I would never stink, um, was making sure that I wash my crazy wash my underarms with something that will prevent the bacteria. So what I will say to people is there is no such thing as one size fits all. Some people like this brand. Some people said this one worked, but this one didn't, which is 100% true. It's really what your body chemistry is. But I will tell you, you will have greater success if you do that net that step in the shower, which quite frankly, you should be doing, even if you're wearing antiperspirant. Because at 110 degrees, I don't care what antiperspirant it is. It's going to be pretty hard for you not to sweat. It it in those, in the kinds of temperatures that we're getting now in the summer. So I will say everyone should learn to do that 20 times with an antibacterial, naturally antibacterial bar in their shower before they apply their deodorant and they will have better success. Will I say that you're gonna have 100%? No, because I I don't know what works for you. But what I can say is do all the right steps. Chances are you'll have better success with natural deodorant if you do that step first.
SPEAKER_00I feel like this all ties in, like this is just like a skincare routine, right? Like the skincare routine on our face that we all talk about and everyone posts about online. Like it's the same thing. Like if you're not cleaning your face properly, then your makeup products or your skincare products products aren't going to penetrate into your skin properly. Same thing as with your deodorant, it sounds like. Like if you're not cleansing your armpits properly and cleaning and getting the bacteria priming, right? Like like for makeup. If you're not doing that step properly, then the rest is not gonna follow.
SPEAKER_03Right. Right. You're giving yourself a much greater chance of not smelling or at least go pushing through a few extra hours because you did that preparation step. And it's not a big deal. You just have to remember to have that extra product and count.
SPEAKER_00So it's almost like a purge, I feel like. It is. It is.
SPEAKER_03It is in a in a way, yeah. Right.
SPEAKER_00So speaking
of that, what actually like what's the point of sweating? Is it something that we actually need or should we be trying to like cover it up?
SPEAKER_03Well, first of all, your body sweats because if you're at the, for instance, when you're at the gym and you're aggressively exercising, your body sweats to cool you down because it doesn't want your body temperature to go crazy, which could cause health issues or a heat stroke. So the sweat is there for a function. It provides a function, which is to cool your body down. So sweating is good. Now, when people say, oh, sweating detoxes me, it doesn't really, because what's in sweat is usually mostly water, a little bit of protein and lactic acid. Um, and like I'm talking a very small amount of lactic acid and protein, mostly water. So, however, uh, and salt. So when you sweat a lot, there is a little bit of salt. And so removing that sweat is quite important, particularly in sensitive areas. So I know with myself, if I'm running on the treadmill, et cetera, and I'm I often a lot of people sweat in the chest area, but it's it's sticking in under my sports bra, I can get a rash right underneath if I don't shower right away. If I let that sit wet, I will get a rash because the salt and the moisture trapped inside that bra will cause a rash. So it's super important to get rid of that sweat. But it's also super important to sweat because I don't want to have a heat stroke from my body temperature going way up. So it does provide a very, a very um healthy function.
SPEAKER_00Okay. And then some people say that they don't, they don't really sweat or they don't really smell. Is that really a thing?
SPEAKER_03That is. In fact, here's an interesting factoid is, and I can't remember the name of the cell, Asians, most 50% of Asians do not use deodorant because they do not possess the same chromosome that Caucasians do uh or other ethnicities do, which causes body odor.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_03And I think it's the YYC. There, I've seen a few um videos on it, I can't remember the name, and someone may comment on your on your show saying which chromosome it is, but they do not possess that. So you will find I used to have a lot of Asians on my team, and 50% of my team did not wear deodorant. Wow. They did not possess at the deodorant company. Yeah, at the deodorant company, they did not possess that that that chrome chromosome that white people do, they just did not have, they did not have body odor when they worked out. So it's yes, it's 100% true.
SPEAKER_00Wow. How lucky.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I know. I'm jealous.
So then also when it comes to odor, can shaving make odor worse? Yes.
SPEAKER_03No, no, it doesn't make it worse. It makes it better.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it makes it better.
SPEAKER_03It makes it better. So that's why men tend to have because less men than women, 80% of women remove uh underarm hair for aesthetic reasons. Uh, but it also reduces body odor significantly because body odor likes to hang bacteria hangs around that that hair.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03So in the hair follicle. So if you are clean-shaven, there's nowhere for it to hide. It's just on a clean surface. Right. So if you want to reduce, and same thing with uh the pubic region as well, if uh you remove hair in the bikini line anyway, but that's why you need to wash carefully over top of any hair, because that is where uh odor can uh thrive, and men particularly. I love to do special videos on men how men should wash their underarms because most men do keep hair there. And that's why they tend to have a lot of stronger body odor.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And I feel like men aren't not all men, but most men aren't as particular with their hygiene routine and how they wash themselves. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03I think that's changing though now too, is that you know, if people, if you can smell yourself, then you know, it's kind of unpleasant. And so you think cheapers am I making, you know, other people feel uncomfortable too? Right.
SPEAKER_00Would you say when the hair starts growing back for your let's say for your underarms or your pubic region, once the hair starts growing back, the odor starts growing back with it?
SPEAKER_03Or well, it's it's when the hair is long enough for it to hide. Yes, the it's where the bacteria hides, right? It's the follicles. So, you know, if it's really short hair, it's harder, but uh hair in the underarm, well, particularly in the underarm, I've never let my underarm hair grow that long. So I don't know what mine would be like, but certainly in the pubic region, it's coarse and curly. So it makes it easier for bacteria to get trapped. So I'll speak to the groin for sure. It will be uh, you know, in not not stubble. It's pretty hard to hide in the stubble because it's still easy to wash over the stubble. But as soon as it starts getting longer, that's when you need to be more careful about the way you wash.
SPEAKER_00Okay. And what about deodorant buildup? Can that um cause odor? Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Well, again, when people are washing their underarms like this with like just one little swipe, uh, it's not enough to get rid of deodorants because deodorants do contain waxes too. If it's a stick deodorant, um, so you've got to get that off. So yesterday's residue is not a good idea because it could also have bacteria trapped on it as well. You want those underarms and that groin squeaky clean.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I will tell you, you will avert body odor for much longer during the day.
So, how do you know if your deodorant routine is actually healthy for you? Like what ingredients should everyone be looking for? I feel like salt, I you've said salt, but I feel like it's not a popular ingredient. Like, what should people be looking for to know that they have a healthy deodorant routine?
SPEAKER_03Okay. Well, the salt in the in the bar, uh, soap's a different challenge because there's not that many on the market, right? That are designed for the underarms. So that one is, and some deodorants do, and it's interesting because I'm formulating uh a body spray deodorant right now to be used at the gym because a lot of people don't want to shower at the gym. Yeah, but they also don't want to smell on the way home. So, and I find using body mist, which I know people are doing, uh which is putting fragrance over top of sweat, I find that just not very hygienic. So I'm coming with something that will deliver to consumers both, which is it's a deodorant in a body spray. So you get both.
SPEAKER_00I love that.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so I think that one will do well. But back to your question about what they should look for, there's so many different formulations. I'll I'll do it this way. I'll tell you what not to look for. What not to look for. And so, okay, this is my pet peeve, is coconut oil because I've seen it stain when it gets warm, it stains white shirts. And people think it's the sweat. But if you have a lot of coconut oil in your natural deodorant, I will tell you if you're wearing a white shirt, good luck with that. And it's super hard to get out of because it's oil. That's one thing. I'm also not a big fan of baking soda, which is used in a ton of natural deodorants. But I'll be really honest with you, when I first formulated my natural deodorant, retailers told me that if I put baking soda in, they wouldn't buy it because they take too many returns with people um where uh that have an allergy to baking soda, because uh baking soda is very abrasive and and alkaline. And it's not, it does keep odor away. That's why we put it in our fridge to suck up the odors from the fridge, but it's not skin friendly. And that's why I never recommend baking soda in skincare products. So I will say if you are very sensitive in your underarm area, do not buy anything. Even if it's low levels of baking soda, just stay away from baking soda altogether. So coconut oil, baking soda. Um, what else is in there that I think? Um, it depends again on your on your skin. Uh, but those are two big ones in deodorant that I'm not a fan of. And I see a lot of people struggle with high levels of. Fragrance. And I will not say which brand this is, but they are famous. And they're also famous for causing burns. And it's chemical burns on the skin. They wouldn't define it as that, but they put way too much fragrance in. Way too much. So put it this way: fragrance will also cause a reaction. So it's okay to have a fragrance in a deodorant, but you want it nice and mild and pleasant. If you pull the lid off and it knocks your socks off and you have sensitive underarms, good luck with that. Yeah. You're going to have a rash from high levels of fragrance. Yeah. So that's my thing. Not to say that if you want fragrance free, you can, but it doesn't give the same sensory.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03I put it in very lightly so that there's some sensory, but not enough to irritate the skin.
What about treatments like laser hair removal? Can that help with removing odor?
SPEAKER_03You know what? There's varying, it's so funny that you should say that because there's varying responses to um laser treatment. Again, very individual on it, but I have heard of cases where there it intensified the odor. And I'm not saying that you go and get laser and it's gonna, it's not everyone.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But I actually um I produced a video on that because I got feedback from some of my followers. We looked into it, and in some cases, because of the irritation to the skin, it changes the microbiome of their underarms. And some people experienced more odor.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_03Can I tell you the science behind it? No, but I know that that's if you look it up, you will see that some people experience that as a side effect. That video went crazy viral. Yeah, I wonder why. Because people said, Oh my god, that explains it. So it's out there. I'm sure that if they looked into the science, and I for some reason I normally I always do, and I might, I might have on it, because normally I wouldn't put a video out unless I really looked into peer-reviewed science on it, that it, but I know that it does change the microbiome because because it is using heat.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So it does change the surface of the skin. And if it's, you know, uh even if it's done properly, it can change that microbiome. And that's where some people say, oh, after that I had intense odor issues.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Okay. Well, good to know. I was curious.
SPEAKER_03Not everyone though. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I was curious because you mentioned how like shaving will help a lot with odor, like because of the odor and the bacteria sticks to the hair follicle. So what do you what if you just burn the hair follicle off? Then what? But wow, interesting.
SPEAKER_03But odor does not, like odor travels in its bacteria. It'll find a way. Yeah, it's bacteria. So it finds a way, right? So, you know, if it can't hide in the hair, it will find a way to be living on your skin.
SPEAKER_00So right. Um, so I want to kind of shift over to home hygiene a little bit more.
SPEAKER_03I love this.
SPEAKER_00So people people talk about their skincare routine
all the time, but not so much about their environment. How much would you say your home environment can impact your skin?
SPEAKER_03I think it again, depending on your skin type, Barry, because you know, everyone has different sensitivities and some are more sensitive and some are much more robust.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03So there are certainly things that I would say impact. Well, we talked about pillowcases, first of all. That's a big one. But your bathroom is also another area of you know what you're washing your face with. That's a huge one. Um, is you know, bacteria-filled um face cloths, or if people are using face cloths that are too abrasive for their skin can definitely make uh an impact
as well. Also, just like your toothbrush, that's a big one. Like not changing your brush often enough. Even just now, can it make your skin sick? No, but can it introduce bacteria? We did a uh a piece once on um, particularly on electric toothbrushes, because they're fabulous. They really do the job. I I'm a big fan of electric toothbrushes. But I always wondered, what is that gunk that I always see on the base? You know, the the base? Yes. And I and I'm so clean, like I rinse my thing very carefully and then I put it on. So inside the brush, you know, when you you plant clamp it on.
SPEAKER_00So you You're talking about when you put the toothbrush back on the charger. Back on the charger. And then the next.
SPEAKER_03And I'm like, I wash that brush before I put it on the charger. And why did like the next morning? I pick up the charger and there's this disgusting ring around the bottom. It's like yellow. It's yeah. And I'm I was like, why is that there? So we decided to do an investigative report of what is on that charger. Like, why is that dirty when I wash my toothbrush? Like I rinsed it off, I cleaned it, and I put it back on. And basically, it's the design of the toothbrush. All of them are like this is that when you clamp on that brush, so all the saliva and the toothpaste and blah, blah, blah slides down inside. Good. And that's when, even if you're rinsing it with hot water, I even spray like isopropyl alcohol. I have a little thing from the dollar store that's 70% isopropyl. So I do that, spray it so that I know that that's clean. It's still the saliva and all the debris from your mouth has still slipped down inside the unit. And then that's why it shows up the next day. That's horrible. When it's drained, and that's what it is is saliva and your toothpaste residue, which is super gross. That's horrible. I know, but there's nothing you can do except wipe it off.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So, what about leaving toothbrushes uncovered? How can that affect our hygiene?
SPEAKER_03Well, that's that's a good one, too. And it's so funny you said say that because I was thinking that this morning when I was staying in my hotel room, I have a little cover for my thing. I went, I am definitely putting it on because here's the thing is toilets, most people flush the toilet and do not close the lid. And the aerosols in the toilet spread throughout the bathroom. So there you go. Your toothbrush is sitting on the counter. Are those aerosols from the toilet floating over, you know, your sink and whatever sitting out?
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03Probably yes. So a good tip is always close the lid when before you flush your toilet so that the aerosols do not spray into the rest of the bathroom because it's super unhygienic. Um, and I now, in terms of covering your brush, no, because now you just enclosed a wet. That's the other end. You're gonna grow bacteria. So that's why I don't like to put the lid back on because I know that I'm gonna have to sterilize my toothbrush before I use it again. Right. However, it does protect it. But I think, well, doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose? So, no, I wouldn't say closing your open toothbrush, but I would say before you put it in your mouth and before you put the toothpaste on, you may want to rinse it, like kind of counterintuitive, rinse it before you use it the next time. And there's nothing wrong with a little spray of that dollar store isopropos, 70%. You can buy it anywhere for next to nothing. Spray that on the the the uh the brushes before you put it in your mouth. Okay, and before you do any of this, close the toilet seat. Always okay, and it's it's a habit, like you have to remind yourself to do it, but you do have to do it. And that's the problem with public washrooms. 90% of them don't have a lid.
SPEAKER_00They don't have lids, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so it's floating all over the place.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's horrible.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it is.
Okay, so we talked about like the towels and the sheets and how they hold this bacteria and how often you should clean them, but why is it you should clean them? Like, is it just gross or can it be causing breakouts?
SPEAKER_03It it can. Again, it's really about the condition of your own skin microbiome. Because I'm not gonna be because you have to be careful about not being a germaphobe and some people call me one, but to some extent, but on the other one, like some bacteria on your skin micro is okay. Um, but if it is, like I think also you're wiping various body parts as well. So presumably you're clean and the towel should be clean. But like I said, it's like while what's growing on it after you leave the bathroom. It really depends on your bathroom environment. And if your towel stayed in a moist bathroom all day, huh? I wouldn't be washing myself because you can probably smell faint smell of mildew and uh bacteria. And I don't like you're not gonna feel fresh if you're wiping yourself with that like mildew. Yeah. Especially after you just went to all that work, just scrub yourself. Exactly. So, but again, I know people have you know thresholds on how much laundry they can do. But that's why I said really look at your bathroom. And if you have a window, open your window if you have a little bit of a breeze coming through because you want to circulate the air. Air circulation is important. And how long you leave your fan on. People think, oh, just turn my fan on while I'm in the shower. And then as soon as they get out of the shower, they wait until the mist is gone and they shut the fan off. Leave the fan on for a minimum of 30 minutes after you've showered to really air out and get the air circulation going in the bathroom. But it's your bathrooms, that's why they say don't keep your skincare in the bathroom, which I know we all do, but that's where mold and mildew grow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Is bathrooms are lethal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So besides,
okay, so we'll leave the fan on for 30 minutes. Um, there's linen sprays that have certain ingredients that could help. Is there anything else that could help keep this bedding or keep towels cleaner between washes?
SPEAKER_03That's, you know what, it's like a lot of people suggest vinegar, uh, washing them in a vinegar rinse. But here's what I'll say about that is that you can do it once in a while, but vinegar can corrode your washing machine.
SPEAKER_02Oh. And I was using it for a while in my dishwasher because I thought, oh, I love that it's making all my glasses super clear, et cetera, until the dishwasher repair man came to my house and said, Um, I'm seeing some corrosion.
SPEAKER_03And he said, Are you using vinegar? And I said, Yes. He goes, Never use vinegar in your appliances. You want them to last longer. It's too acidic.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And they say that, like you'll see it all over online. You'll read about it until my dishwasher repair man said no. And because I was putting like a cup in with my laundry because I thought it was helping freshen and kill some of that bacteria. Right. He said, Why don't you pre-soak them in in just don't do it in the washing machine. Because if you want to keep your appliances uh in better working order, he said, do a vinegar soak. So again, like I'm trying to be a realist and know that people are super busy. Um, and when you have a big family and that's a lot of work to ask someone to do, but you know what? If you can let them sit in water and vinegar before you throw them in the in the washing machine, if you have the luxury of having a little, you know, laundry room or something where you can put them in, um, that's ideal. Vinegar is really good at getting rid of the odor and killing that bacteria, and it probably will push them a little longer. The other little trick is I always put baking soda. So what I do is I turn the washing machine on, I sprinkle baking soda in the water as it's filling, then I throw my clothes in and then the detergent over top. Because when you do that, baking soda changes the pH of the water, which is a boost to the detergent. So it makes your detergent work even harder.
SPEAKER_00Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_03Because it boosts the um the power of the detergent. So I have a big box of baking soda in my laundry room always. I use that for so many things.
Okay. These are great tips.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So and then what about pillows and mattresses? Like when it comes to pillows and mattresses, how important it is it to keep those clean? Very.
SPEAKER_03And but here's the thing. First, I want to teach this is something I just learned recently, and I was like, oh, I just spent a fortune on a mattress cover, but it was an elastic mattress cover. What I should have bought is a zip, bottom zip one, so that it encloses the mattress.
SPEAKER_00Completely.
SPEAKER_03Completely. Oh. Because dust mites can't get out if you trap them in there. Same, you know, for a while there was that big bed bug thing, you know, and people, some people have it, but but dust mites, you can't escape. If you've, you know, they come from our skin. They feed off our skin rather. And so if they're in your mattress, um you at least if it's they're like hermetically sealed in there so that when you take the mattress cover off, um, you have definitely protected your mattress. It's better than one that just uh goes around. Right. So you can find full mattress cover. So that's my first piece of advice to um to listeners is the next time you're looking for one, get one of those instead of the elastic ones. Okay. You need to wash your mattress cover. Like if you have one of those every six months, it's fine, but you should be taking the mattress cover off and letting your mattress air out as well. The other thing to keep it clean is baking soda. So I sprinkle baking soda on top of the mattress, let it sit there for an hour or two so that it pulls out any odors, just from if it did pick up odors from some people who sleep hot and sweat, or or you know, it's it gets a little stale in there. Um, and then I take the upholstery cleaner of the vacuum cleaner. Don't use a vacuum cleaner that you've used on your floor. Use the upholstery cleaner, make sure it's clean, and vacuum it out.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03Then put your clean mattress cover back over top. Pillows, same process, really. Well, pillows, to be honest, I wash those. I do it every time there's a long weekend because I sweat a lot. So I know my my pillows will get so I just remember like I pick some dates and I go, okay, when it's a long weekend, I'm gonna throw my pillows in the washing machine, wash my pillows, and leave them outside to dry.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03And of course, I have pillow covers that are fully zipped as well. So dust mites can't get in there as well.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so pillow covers, mattress covers are going to be very helpful. Very and pillows can go in the wash. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Okay, most of them can. Check the washing instructions. I'm not gonna say all of them because some of them may not be. Um, but what I'm 90% sure that most of them, I would hope, can be washed. And then you just take them out, even them out, and if you can, set them outside to dry and get them dried as quickly as possible.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
Perfect. Yeah. And so kind of back to showers. I feel like there's a big debate between night showers and morning showers. Is one actually cleaner or it doesn't matter?
SPEAKER_03It well, you know what? That it and we actually just uh did a piece about that a few weeks ago, and the answer is, and we looked deep for a real because people want to know definitively, is this one better than this one? And I looked everywhere for this research, and basically what it came down to is I look I took it from Durham's and they said it's really personal preference. And here, but if you are a night sweater and you shower at night and then sweat all night, you're gonna have to deal with some body odor in the morning, not to mention the fact that um, you know, that's you're not gonna have really fresh feel really fresh. So my feeling is okay, it depends on your lifestyle, but I would say me personally, I always think hands down a morning shower is best because if you're going into the office or work, other people can sense that you know you are fresh, you're pretty fresh. You it hasn't, you know, eight, twelve hours, ten hours hasn't gone by since your shower, and especially if you sweat. So that's why I would say that morning showers will be your best bet.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03But that's my personal appearance, like opinion. Yeah. It's depends on lifestyle. If you've got two kids and it's crazy in the morning and night sh night work better, then that's fine. And people ask about children because a lot of people bathe their children at night. And that's for time saving, but it also helps children sleep is um because the body, the heat from the bath uh calms them down and puts them to sleep. Now, if you have a bed wetter, that's a different matter. Then you have to you have to do a little quick shower in the morning.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, the also another reason I ask is because so if you shower in the morning and then you go spend your whole day out and about when you get back into bed or when you get home and put your pajamas on and get into bed, isn't that couldn't that be gross for the sheets?
SPEAKER_03It can be. And so people will say, Yes, uh, what about your sheets? And that is a very good point, especially if you've had a hot, humid day. So sometimes, you know, even a sponge bath is not a bad idea, like definitely with the bit the sweaty bits, okay. Is just wiping down before you put your pajamas on so you actually do feel fresher. But you know, you be careful with the dangers of overbathing as well, because it can be hard on your skin microbiome, especially if you're somebody that has eczema or skin sensitivities, washing twice a day, that's that's hard on the skin. So I would say always remember that where the odor comes from, it's always those smatty bits. So you want to the the zone, and it's the feet, the groin, the underarms, and under the breasts and the chest area that is. Or in the back, too. For some people sweat a lot on the back as well. And of course your bum bum. Um that's a pretty dirty zone and and should be addressed, and everybody gets super embarrassed about it, but it's quite, you know, I mean, think about it. It's uh and the B day is a whole different topic for another day, I'm sure. But um that is quite a controversial topic as well. But um I will say not not enough people talk about proper
washing back there.
SPEAKER_00I actually have another debate to settle, a top sheet. Does that have anything to do with hygiene?
SPEAKER_03I think it has more to do with personal preference, to be honest with you, because I also noticed it's funny you should ask that, because my husband and I were in Germany recently, and we were in a department store, and we noticed in the their bedding section that they have a whole different sheet setup. It's very different than North Americans.
SPEAKER_00Interesting.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, they don't have, they just have a fitted, and theirs is all about the duvet cover, and they change the duvet cover all the time. Oh there is no top sheet. Okay, and I think my husband said to me, because he lived in Asia for a while, and don't quote me on this, but I think he said Asia was the same. Is that that's a North American thing with the the the two-set sheet thing.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03So I don't know the origins of that. And I actually, but I have seen some stuff on YouTube uh of a German girl that actually did a comment because the German uh bedding situation is really um quite unique. And I noticed that when I was in the department store too, and I went, oh, that's kind of different that they don't have top sheets.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, because I I feel like I've had this debate with friends, like it's gross or unhygienic to touch your duvet cover, like have your duvet cover on your body. I never thought so, but I wasn't sure if that was a thing that you knew about or anything.
SPEAKER_03Well, it's a good one, and that that actually requires further investigation, like what other ethnicity because I I think it's different all around the world. Yeah, it's like a cultural thing. North Americans, yeah, it's totally a cultural thing. But I think most duvet covers, like unless it's you know, super um like an upholstery kind of cover, uh, you should try to buy duvet covers that are like cotton, you know, that it can be washed just like a sheet. And then why is that dirtier than a like if it's made of the same Egyptian cotton sheet or whatever, why is that dirtier?
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03You know, it's a psychological thing as long as you're washing it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03And a lot of people don't like to change the duvet cover because it's work.
SPEAKER_00It's a big job.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a big job to do it.
SPEAKER_00But mine is currently waiting for me to put it on.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I know, I know. I procrastinate too, but uh, I just know it's gotta be every second week.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
Okay, so I want to do a little lightning round. Okay. So I'm going to fire a few different hygiene habits at you, and you can say if we should keep it or clean it up.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_00Okay. You ready?
SPEAKER_03I'm ready.
SPEAKER_00All right. The first one sleeping with wet hair.
SPEAKER_03Never.
SPEAKER_00Never, why?
SPEAKER_03Never. You know, you can get scalp fungus from that.
SPEAKER_00Wow, really?
SPEAKER_03Yes. And very controversial. I'm sure I'll get people commenting back, but it is a known fact. If you sleep with wet hair, it's anything wet, right? And so if you it's you need to dry it as fast as possible. That is the healthiest thing. Your sheets, your towels, you get them in a hot dryer as fast as you can. The faster you dry them, the less chance for bacteria to grow. And your scalp is the same. So if you go to sleep with a wet scalp, it has a chance for bacteria to grow and irritate your scalp. You need to dry your hair.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_03Before you go to bed.
SPEAKER_00And the bacteria will breed in your in your head. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And especially if you have long hair and you put it up wet, which some women do, even worse. Um, so no, you do have to dry your hair before you go to bed.
SPEAKER_00Oh, wow. Okay. That was a good, that was a good start. Okay. Very firm on that. We're using your body towel for a week. Keep it or clean it up? I would say clean it up. Every two days, right? Yeah. I think so. Yep. Using perfume instead of deodorant.
SPEAKER_02Keep it or clean it up. Clean it up. And I think you heard me earlier in the thing saying that's why I'm so irritated by that is that and I know people are doing it.
SPEAKER_03And you know, I'm not saying they're dirty girls or dirty boys for doing it. I'm just saying there's not a lot of products out there that address that particular issue at the gym. Yeah. Which is usually when they don't want to shower because they don't want to shower. The showers aren't known for being super hygienic at a gym. So they just don't want to smell on the way home or they or they want to go out and smell fresh. Um, but putting fragrance over top of sweat, not a great idea.
SPEAKER_00Irritating, right?
SPEAKER_03Totally. And sweat and perfume, they don't mix very well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I feel yeah, because I feel like if you put for perfume on and then you go out and you're outside sweating, the the scent is gone, you know? So the sweat overtakes the perfume and then it probably also interacts. It's not great with each other. Okay. Um sharing makeup brushes with your best friend. Keep it or clean it up.
SPEAKER_03Clean it up. Never, never. It's like sharing a toothbrush. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00It's like sharing a toothbrush. Wow. Wow.
SPEAKER_03The bacteria on someone's face, right? Especially, you know, if you're using a um loose powder brush, something like that. I mean, it's picking up all their um skin oils. Wow. And then you're gonna transfer that onto your skin oils.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, not good.
SPEAKER_03I'm super uh careful with makeup brushes because I do think that they're responsible for a lot of breakouts. If you're not, I wash mine every day and I know everybody goes, that's too much. But I'm like, no, I just have to wash my brushes after it's a little bit more. Good for good for you.
SPEAKER_00I don't think it's too much. I think everyone else, we're all lazy, including me. I don't, I don't want to wash my makeup brushes, but I know I should.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, only because you have yesterday's oil on your makeup brush and now you're reapplying it on, you know, with your foundation.
SPEAKER_00And I think it's like last month's oil on the makeup brush. Oh, there you go.
SPEAKER_03And uh and it's like honestly, it's very, it's not uncommon to do that. I see it. I worked in the beauty industry for a long time. I know that. But if that's the case, then buy yourself a brush, like something like a even isopropa alcohol, telling you that dollar that you spend it wherever it is now, maybe it's not a dollar anymore at the dollar store, but whatever, like it's super inexpensive to buy isopropa alcohol. At least it will kill the bacteria.
SPEAKER_00Very true.
SPEAKER_03And that's not a lot to ask, is spray that on your brush.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. No, I definitely know like why it's wrong to not clean them. It's more so about just the action of doing it, you know? It's habit.
SPEAKER_02It's habit, it's just learning a habit. Yeah. Maybe I spent too long in the bathroom in the morning. My husband always says to me, you have to do 30 products before you get out of that bathroom. And I go, yep, I have to get up earlier than you.
Wait, that brings up a good topic. What is your morning routine? I'm sure listeners would love to know.
SPEAKER_03Well, you know what? I I love products and I do like body products. That's why I make them. Um, so of course I have at least two different soaps in my uh I have three. So I have a tea tree oil one because I want to wash my uh my nails, my nail beds with tea tree oil because it's antibacterial. So I have a tea tree oil bar for my feet. I have one for my underarms and groin, and bum bum, make sure that that's all clean. So though I then I have a nice 2D fruity eucalyptus wash that I love. And so that's in the shower. And I also use um silicone, is my other thing. So I threw out all my brushes and all my accessories in the bathroom when I found out how much plastic holds bacteria. So I bought everything silicone.
SPEAKER_00Wait, plastic holds bacteria?
SPEAKER_03Yes, it's porous.
SPEAKER_00Oh.
SPEAKER_03So they the the bacteria can go inside the little tiny micro um holes in plastic and be held in plastic. So I always say, like that's why surgical um, you know, a a a surgery, uh surgical room, you would never see an a a surgeon operating with any implement that's plastic.
SPEAKER_00No, yeah.
SPEAKER_03It's always stainless steel because stainless steel is antibacterial.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_03But obviously, I'm not gonna, you know, use stainless steel in my shower. But silicone is the next best.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03So that's why I went and it's very inexpensive. And I went to start looking for like my back scratch, my my brush for silicone. I have a little um scalp uh massager. You know, I try to do that as often as possible to stimulate the blood flow in the in the scalp for healthy hair.
SPEAKER_00Are loofahs plastic?
SPEAKER_03Well, loofahs are made of a natural, um, a natural fiber. So they're very they're very bad for bacteria. Oh, they're even worse than the uh I think they should be against the law.
SPEAKER_02Oh wow. So I'm coming to Congress and I'm gonna abogate no banning allowed. Is it funny?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, because they grow bacteria. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00What could we use instead of a loofah?
SPEAKER_03Well, like I said, you can use silicone. There's all kinds of silicon silicone. Silicon brushes have come out. Honestly, they're everywhere now.
SPEAKER_00Okay, good to know.
SPEAKER_03And they will stimulate um the areas like in the skin and and circulation just like you know, a loofah will.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But way more hygienic. So if they're sitting in, because water repels off them. So if they're sitting in, remember, like wherever there's water, that's where bacteria will grow. So that's why bathrooms are lethal. Kitchens can be lethal as well. So back to the routine. So I do all that in the shower, then I get out, and I love body oils, and I do like them, particularly because I'm I'm a more mature skin type and I'm worried about my neck. So I use extra uh moisturizing and I use um a body oil on my neck so that I get a deep with mix it with a moisturizer. I get deep moisturization on my neck. You gotta pay pay attention to that. Arms and legs, switch it up in the winter months because I'm from Canada and it's super dry in the winter and then very humid in the summer. So I have to switch up my products according to weather. And that's why I honestly I cannot figure out why they don't make body products like summer body products and winter, and they actually say for winter skin for summer skin.
SPEAKER_00That's smart, you know.
SPEAKER_03Like that's what I'm working on something because I'm why is it that we don't address that?
SPEAKER_00That's that's the best way to come up with like a new product. It's like something that bothers you. It's like why don't I just why don't I just do it?
SPEAKER_03I think these crazy things when I'm in the washroom, you know, because your mind's a kind of at rest is the shower. Everybody thinks of things, and when I'm getting ready in the morning, yeah. So that is one of the big things that I have. I also have special foot creams.
SPEAKER_02Barry, we're gonna be here all day about knowing my routine. My husband's right.
SPEAKER_00I'm taking mental notes. I'm gonna write this down when we're done.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Well, this is one I'm usually a big fan of natural, but um, my podiatrist told me this because I was getting calluses on my feet that were driving me crazy because of the way I walk. And um every time I was getting a pedicure, it was a lot of work to get rid of them. And I'm thinking, what am I doing wrong? Like, should I be, you know, using a pumice stone every single day on my feet? And so I went to see a podiatrist, and you know what he told me? And he was so right, is lactic acid. And he said, or uric acid, sorry, uric acid. And he showed me this product that he said, go to the drugstore, get 12% uric acid. And he said, use that on your feet. And it's it's a high-intensity um exfoliant for your feet, but it's in a cream form.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03So before I put my socks on in the morning, I just sit down and I rub, especially the areas where I get a lot of the calluses. And I will tell you, it's like a pedicure in a jar because it has kept my feet in such great shape. They are super soft, no cracked heels, no cat, like the calluses. You can see we like it's not instant, yeah, yeah, but week over week, I can see them decreasing in in size. That's great. And like I went, that is genius. I want this product forever. And it's just a drugstore, and you can go, it'll say in large names, you know, in in I think it's 12%, he told me. And I think if you can go higher, go higher. Um, and I just pumped that on my feet before I put my socks on.
SPEAKER_00Every morning.
SPEAKER_03Every morning.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03And um, you know, if you want to do it at night, but then you have to wash your feet and everything. So I do it in the morning before I get dressed. So that's one of my things. And then, of course, my sweat powder spray. So I have three steps for my underarms because I use natural deodorant and I sweat. So I wash with the underarm bar. Step one, step two, apply generous amounts of charcoal deodorant. And then after that, I have that sweat, that spray sweat powder. And that sweat powder is made with, you know, the chalk that gymnasts use and weight lifters that dries the sweat in their hands.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_03Well, I created this product when I was at a a uh a store one day with my husband, and it was like a REI in Canada, it's called Mountain Equipment Co-op, and I was bored out of my mind. He was like, I don't know what he was buying stuff for, whatever. And I saw these guys gathered around, they were rock climbers, they were gathered around the table for the hand chalk. And I was listening to what they were saying, and I was like, why don't they use that in a sweat powder?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03If it dries out sweat. Like, I mean, gymnasts count on that. It's kind of life and death. If they miss that, that bar, the uneven bar, when their hands are all sweaty. That's pretty serious. So obviously this stuff works. So I bought a bunch of chalk. I went off to my um chemist and I said, Can you make a sweat powder with this? And she started to laugh and she said, If I did that, I would give every one of your customers a rip-roaring rash. And I went, Oh, really? She goes, Yeah, and the underarms, you know how I told you before that underarms is very different micro environment. She said, No, but we can put other things in with it. You can use that, then balance it off with other things. And so we used rice starch, we used climber's chalk, we used apple cider vinegar because it gets rid of odor, powdered apple cider vinegar, and we made it into a powder with a beautiful scent. And so I just spray that over top of the deodorant. So think about it like a setting powder for your makeup. It's the setting powder for my deodorant, which means if I start sweating like crazy, that rice starch will grab that extra sweat.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03And so will the climber's chalk will grab it. So I don't, because I don't want wet underarms. I will say, like when it's 110 degrees or it's or you're nervous, um, nothing's gonna stop you from sweating. Right. Like it's just, but it makes you feel fresher. And the other thing I always tell people is never ever put deodorant on sweaty underarms. It's not intended for sweaty underarms. You have to wash your underarms, dry your underarms, and then put it on. So if you're at work, as if you're gonna be able to do that, no. But what you can do is keep that sweat powder in your purse, lift up your top and spray your underarms with a sweat powder. Okay. And it'll absorb and the apple cider vinegar will help so that you don't smell. And if you want to go out for drinks at night, you can spray it all over your body. You feel so much fresher before you go out. So I caught my little shower in a bottle.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I love that.
SPEAKER_03And yeah, and off I go. So that's that's my body routine. That's perfect. We won't start with my makeup because we'll be we'll be here all night.
SPEAKER_02But in any event, that's that is
it.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I love that. So it brought up another thing that I want to add to the lightning round. Okay. Have you seen people using those like foot pads that they sleep in them and then they take them off in the morning and there's like all this gunk on the pad? Oh, yes. What are those called?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I know which ones you mean. I've seen them in a lot. It's very big in Asia, to be honest. Uh, I you see them in um not that I've been there, but I went in Toronto. We have a lot of Chinese um malls, and I see them everywhere.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03It's some sort of Chinese medicine belief that um that the bottom of your feet kind of dictate your health.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03And they'll say it's kind of detoxing. I honestly don't know if that is marketing BS or if there's real science behind that. I honestly, because I I believe that you cannot, I know one thing for sure. You can only detox through your liver and your kidneys. So I don't think you can detox through the bottom of your feet.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So we're not sure if we're keeping it or cleaning it up.
SPEAKER_03No. Okay. I don't know the answer to that. Good to know.
SPEAKER_00Because I feel like that's become like trendy. It is as of late. Or fatty. Right.
SPEAKER_03Right? Yeah. So not sure about that. But one thing we are sure about, you can only detox through your kidneys and your livers. So it's internal.
SPEAKER_00Good to know.
SPEAKER_03Um, so I don't like to say we use the term detox very loosely in the English language, but um, but that's what medical professionals have always reminded me of. You can't really say detox unless it's orally.
SPEAKER_00Right. Okay. What
about sleeping in yesterday's PJs?
SPEAKER_03Um, that's an interesting question, actually. And again, I think it really is about how much you sweat at night. Um and uh, you know, if if you if they still f feel fresh, uh then I think maybe two nights is okay. Um, but if you're a hot sleeper and you get sweaty, I do think you should change up the pajamas uh frequently. But I do think it's it's okay. And again, being a realist, you know, you could spend most of your life doing laundry.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_03Um, and so you know, I look at people's lifestyles, but I would say
smell them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Okay.
SPEAKER_03That should be your indicator.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. This one's really interesting. Wearing deodorant to bed, keep it or clean it up.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So that one is actually you will see online very often, and I keep saying online because I think that's where most people are these days, is derms recommending you wear antiperspirant to bed. And the reason for that is antiperspirant takes longer, especially at clinical strength. You know, when some people are, they may even have that condition called hyperhydrosis, which is an extreme sweating condition. But they'll often say that your antiperspirant will work better for you if you wear it at night. Because when that uh alinumum chloride, it takes time for it to turn into a gel. So the longer you give it to turn into a gel and get into the pour, the better the response rate in the morning. So that's why they'll say, put it on at night, copious amounts, and then you'll have full protection by morning. It'll already be in the in the pour. Deodorant, there's no science. If if you're afraid that you're gonna smell it and your partner will smell you or whatever, um, you know, when you're sleeping with someone, but if you're alone, there's no point in putting deodorant on unless you're worried about how you're gonna smell, if you're sweating and smelling. But I would say don't do it. Yeah, to be honest, give your skin time to breathe.
SPEAKER_00Okay. So today I'm learning I'm doing everything wrong.
SPEAKER_03No, because it's but it's not wrong. It's just like I said, it's making the distinction between antiperspirant and deodorant. So if you are wearing an antiperspirant, yes, there is a logic behind putting that on at night because you don't want to smell at night. That's your your biggest uh concern. Right. Yeah. I I I understand that, and it's not crazy, but that is what I've heard. I just I don't think you need that many hours for the aluminum chloride to be activated, but I have seen so many derms recommend that they use antiperspirant at night.
SPEAKER_00Interesting.
SPEAKER_03Because they say that it takes that long to get through your system.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Another thing we're we're gonna change after this conversation. We'll try it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, like nothing's written in stone. Like there's not a lot of science behind a lot of this. So I would say try it. Yeah.
So before we wrap up, I have one last question for you. What's one underrated hygiene habit that you wish everyone did, but no one really talks about?
SPEAKER_03Well, I'm gonna go back. I'm gonna sound like a broken record because I do think that the vast majority of body odor comes from your underarms. So I am gonna say I wish people would stop washing their underarms quickly and would start really paying attention to really cleaning their underarms. And I think people will notice a significant difference in the performance of their deodorant. And I I can't even begin to say, like, if if I read sometimes the reviews that that underarm bar that that my company makes, and what people say, it's like game changer, this changed everything. Now natural deodorant works for me, all of that. And when I see that, it makes me feel so good. And that is one that I think I just wish more people knew to wash your underarms longer and with better products.
And you will see a big difference in how you smell.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Okay. Thank you so much for being here. Oh, you're I feel like I've learned so much today. I feel like our listeners have learned so much today. And these topics are so important to cover because, you know, it's things that are unsexy and that people don't want to talk about and it's uncomfortable and it's embarrassing, but it's important, you know, it's our bodies, it's our hygiene. So yeah, thank you so much for coming and for, you know, informing everyone. And if you want to tell our audience, you know, where they can find you on social media, your company, please go ahead. Oh, well, thank you.
SPEAKER_03I mean, uh, at Madam Sweat, it's kind of an easy name to remember, is you can find more of my tips every single week. Uh, we have a really dynamic team that works very hard to deliver useful things for people uh for home hygiene as well as body hygiene. So you can find me on social.
SPEAKER_00Awesome.
SPEAKER_03All right.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you guys for tuning in. This has been Face It, where we get real about what works and what doesn't