'I haven't used toothpaste, shampoo or deodorant for years but I don't stink'
EXCLUSIVE: Mum, Brittany Bland gave up mainstream life for natural living four years ago and does not use any toiletries - despite her radical lifestyle, she insists she doesn't stink
Her radical lifestyle has raised eyebrows across the globe. But since shunning deodorant and shampoo and not cleaning her teeth, Brittany Bland says she’s never felt better.
The mum-of-three gave up mainstream life for natural living four years ago. And though some of her choices are controversial, she says she has simply done what works for her after years of struggle. “This isn’t just a lifestyle - it’s survival,” she says. “I’m not making medical claims. I’m sharing what worked for me after a decade of suffering. Being chronically ill ruined us financially and I’ve spent hundreds of thousands just trying to find answers. I want people to know there’s another way.”
Brittany, a former nurse turned holistic practitioner, has rejected everything from toothpaste to traditional medicine. “My hair isn’t greasy. I don’t stink. And I’ve healed cavities without a dentist,” the 41-year-old says. “I’ve healed myself from the inside out. My teeth, my hair, my health. This is my truth - and I smell just fine, thanks.” Brittany has been married for 24 years and is mum to three “non-vax” kids aged 24, 21, and 14 whom she has homeschooled. She says the switch to holistic living began after her health problems spiralled out of control in 2015.
At 18st 9lb pounds and in constant pain, she was bounced between specialists, misdiagnosed repeatedly, and prescribed unnecessary treatments. “They wanted to do major surgeries on my hip and that wasn’t even the problem,” she says. “My body was shutting down, and nobody was listening.” It wasn’t until 2018, after finally seeing a pain management doctor, that she got her first real answer. “He ordered an MRI straight away. I had tumours on my spine and ruptured discs. I had emergency back surgery two days later.” But the trauma didn’t stop there. Four months later, her appendix ruptured. She was still sick, still in pain - and still searching for answers.
“A friend who’s a nurse saved me from being butchered by a local neurosurgeon who’d left a trail of patients in worse shape.
"She sent me to a specialist in Columbus. He was furious. He said I should’ve had imaging years ago.” In 2021, Brittany had a second emergency back surgery and a metal cage implanted in her spine.
"Even then, her symptoms persisted. It wasn’t until she saw a geneticist in 2023 that everything made sense. “I was finally diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and MTHFR gene mutation. Suddenly, my entire life of sickness and pain clicked into place,” she says.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a rare genetic connective tissue disorder, often dubbed the “zebra disease” due to its wide range of hidden symptoms affecting every organ. Brittany says one of her children also tested positive for the condition. By then, her faith in Western medicine was gone. “I saw the system from both sides, as a nurse and as a patient, and I was done,” she says.
“It wasn’t about healing anymore. It was about profit. Doctors were pillaging my insurance while I lay there in agony.”
After nursing for 22 years, she quit in 2022 and started training as a holistic practitioner, picking up where her late aunt, a nurse and founder of a home health care agency, left off. Since then, she’s thrown out the rulebook on personal care. She makes her own magnesium-based deodorant, which she says eliminates odour naturally. “Body odour is from toxins,” she says. “If you’re magnesium deficient you’ll stink.
"But I don’t. I take chlorophyll, too. Between that and detoxing properly, I don’t need store-bought deodorant.” To clean her teeth, she uses homemade tooth powder.
“My mouth was a disaster in 2020. I was getting bridges, root canals, teeth breaking left and right, even while doing everything the dentist said.
"But once I switched to my own routine? Game changer. No plaque, no cavities, no dental work since. My dentist was stunned.” Her hair routine is just as surprising. “No shampoo. No conditioner. I use baking soda and vinegar maybe every few months. That’s it.
"My hair’s healthier now than it’s ever been.
"Shampoo is full of chemicals and actually causes greasy build-up. Once you stop, your scalp regulates itself.” Despite others’ scepticism, Brittany, from Lucas, Ohio, stands firm in her beliefs.
She has found an audience after starting a TikTok account to promote her company Holy Holistics “I just wanted to draw some attention to my new company,” she laughs.
“Now I’m a full-on UGC content creator and affiliate. I didn’t plan this, but maybe it was meant to happen. Maybe this is how I help people now.”
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