I started this habit when I was going through my divorce years ago, and it’s just stuck: I go to the gym just about every day and spend at least 30min doing cardio exercise and various weights — and then using a long-lasting deodorant! — to try and keep healthy and stave off the inevitable consequences of those sands of time falling through the hourglass of my life.

Not to mention that since I don’t have a perfect diet, burning off a few hundred calories per day is beneficial too, though sadly I’m definitely not at the lowest weight I attained during the Nutrisystem period. ((sigh))

Still, I go to the gym and as a resident of the City of Boulder, I get a good deal on membership in the local recreational centers so alternate between the North Boulder Rec Center and the East Boulder Rec Center, depending on which direction I’m heading on that particular day. Every day. And every day I get sweaty.

Now it’s not too gross because I do actually shower at the gym after working out, but still, I rely on the Tom’s of Maine deodorant in my gym bag to keep me from getting too rank:

While this is a perfect product to buy at a local retailer, it’s also part of the expanded selection of personal goods you can get through Amazon.com.

What makes it interesting is that there are so incredibly many options…

Tom’s of Maine has been making really good quality, healthy ingredient-based personal hygiene products for years, and I’ve been using their toothpaste and deodorant for years too. They were the first deodorant I could find years ago that didn’t have an ingredient called aluminum cholorohydrate, which basically works as an antiperspirant by clogging up your sweat pours.

For me, it causes a rash and when I try a regular antiperspirant it’s a matter of an hour or two after application before my underarms are itching and have the beginnings of a rash. Which is horrible, and so I now have learned to eschew aluminum-based products entirely. I suspect I’m not alone since a number of companies in this space now advertise that their products are aluminum free.

Meanwhile, I don’t think anyone actually enjoys showering and changing at the gym, as far as I can tell. There’s a sort of weird “I’m not looking at you, don’t look at me” vibe that goes on, especially in The Shower Area:

Back to Amazon, because I just want to say that I’ve never seen a product with so many buying options. Above you can see that you can buy it individually or in packs of two, that you can use a “clip coupon” instant discount and that I can subscribe and have replacements shipped automatically.

But wait, there’s more!

First, details on the subscription model:

Yes, I’m part of Amazon Mom even though, well, I’m a Dad. For some reason, Amazon execs don’t think Dads do shopping or should get a discount so they doggedly stick with the name “Amazon Mom”, even though in the EU it’s “Amazon Parent”. Go figure.

On other scents of the deodorant, it shows this:

Oh, and finally, there’s another new thing:

So there you have it. An essential ingredient for anyone who wants to stay smelling nice but also wants to avoid that yechy aluminum. And ten thousand ways to buy it from Amazon.

#freshnaturally #cbias #shop