This is the harrowing tale of one women’s quest to find the perfect natural deodorant.
Hey boos!
As y’all know, I am #notabeautyblogger. This realm of influence requires a commitment to research, willingness to test a variety of products, in addition to sharing with readers the most accurate information about ingredients, sourcing, and how a company’s mission aligns with your own. I commend all of the folks whom I regularly rely on for this info, but it couldn’t be me. My skin is sensitive and despite the fact that I am almost thirty years old, I continue to battle with acne, dark marks, dandruff, body odor (you name it!).
With that said, it took a lot of encouragement to write this post. I don’t have an expertise on the topic or a degree in chemistry, but after almost a decade of trying out a variety of natural deodorants, I do feel I can finally verbalize exactly what didn’t work for me and what does.
Here’s to all the natural deodorants I’ve loved before.
My First: Tom’s of Maine Natural Deodorant
Prior to Tom’s, underarm acne, razor bumps, and subsequent scarring had been my constant companions and I was honestly sick of the embarrassment. I avoided wearing sleeveless items of clothing and kept envisioning myself ten years in the future, trying on wedding dresses, and too self-conscious to lift my arms in celebration. (Dramatic? Yes, but also the truth.)
Years ago, a high school friend told me antiperspirant contained tiny bits of aluminum, that clog pores to prevent sweating. Although I had used Secret and Dove for years, I always felt as if both were eternally stuck to my skin. I scrubbed and scrubbed every shower, and yet the film under my arm was always there. What if all those little bits built up over time, truly were clogging up my pores? As a frequent sweater, I also assumed my toxic glands were responsible for ruining #allthewhiteshirts. Turns out aluminum was to blame for that too. (Read more about this culprit here and here.) After additional research, I decided to switch.
Fall 2010 I started with Tom’s of Maine – only a deodorant, not an antiperspirant. After only a couple of days, the difference was evident. When I showered, my skin felt clean and smooth! Shaving, however, continued to result in aggressive razor burn and ingrowns. Additionally, Tom’s didn’t always mask the my body odor, and my poor shirts were still taking a beating. Though Tom’s wasn’t as heavy as my previous sticks, I didn’t mind reapplying midday, but sometimes it didn’t help. Most days, I headed to the bathroom often to freshen up with baby powder or hoping that a neighbor didn’t find me as pungent as I found myself. I also tried several scents, but the Unscented + Fresh Apricot worked the best.
Conclusion: I felt better about what I was putting on my skin, but that’s about it.
My Second Love: Native Deodorant
August 2017, I decided to switch to Native after talking with a co-worker. I also started waxing my underarms to cut down on breakouts from razor burn. Furthermore, I talked about the switch with my wax specialist, and though she commended using cleaner ingredients on my skin, she suggested I exfoliate to prevent baby breakouts from ingrown hairs.
I liked Native much more than Tom’s; in fact used it for almost two years. The deodorant is firm, with a gritty texture. It’s important your underarms are squeaky clean before use, and that you rub it in with clean fingertips after application. At times, I used a cotton pad with witch hazel after showering to ensure all dirt was removed.
When I initially began using Native, I peeled. I worried it was an allergic reaction, but I stuck it out. After a couple of weeks, I had no issues. (Note: A friend also tried Native, peeled, but found that her underarms became darker over time. Her diagnosis: a bad reaction to the baking soda, one of it’s main ingredients. For me, on the other hand, that ingredient was key to keeping my body odor at bay.)
Similar to Tom’s, some scents worked better for me than others. I was partial to the Unscented, their Powder + Cotton, despite the fact that I hated the smell, found Lavender + Rose worked very well. (If you are scent-sensitive, I’d avoid the latter.) I wanted to love Coconut + Vanilla (because who doesn’t love those two ) but more days than not I could smell myself by noon. I also tried Charcoal, but wasn’t wowed.
Conclusion: Native and regular waxing decreased my hyper-pigmentation, ingrown hairs, and yellow stains! My penchant for almost knocking myself out with my body odor decreased, but not as consistently as I wanted.
Third But Not the Charm: Lume
Ultimately, the inconsistency with Native products drove me to search for a new, more reliable deodorant. Enter Lume.
I’ll be honest, I decided to purchase Lume after watching a commercial. (In my defense, however, it was a very amusing and informative commercial!) I also read at least 50 almost unbelievably positive reviews on Lume. Lume is also aluminum, baking soda, and cruelty free! The apparent key: a bit of science. I decided to do a deep dive into underarm health, and how deodorant + antiperspirants affect the bacteria that live there. Turns out a bacteria that’s produced in larger, more egregious quantities in the underarms is generally the culprit for B.O. and Lume’s works to prevent this bacteria from multiplying and eliminate them altogether. After a short transition period, Lume’s promises 72 hour protection after application, a claim I couldn’t pass up testing out.
Although, there were days in which I was completely odor free, there were others I was decidedly not. Imagine having one normal underarm and one spicy one. Imagine. Also let’s not get into stress sweat; a whole different beast altogether. After a month and a half, I returned to the trail.
Conclusion: Lume, sadly, did not live up to its claims. Additionally, the lack of baking soda had a notable affect on the number of times a day I needed or wated to reapply.
Fourth + Final: Sway
I have been using Sway for about two weeks and I honestly love it. This time I didn’t get suckered by a social media ad, but an honest to goodness Internet search. Sway is an aluminum and cruelty free natural deodorant, that uses essential oils and apple cider vinegar to balance underarm pH in order to tackle pesky body odor. It comes with a liquid deodorant for post shower application and a dusting powder for throughout the day odor control. It’s also available at retailers such as Amazon, PacSun, + Macys.
The liquid deodorant is a roll on, and even though you have to wait until it dries to put a shirt on, so far it’s been worth it! I love the scent and I honestly do not smell at the end of the day! Despite the mixed reviews on baking soda, for me, it is one of the most effective ingredients for my odor control. I love that Sway’s dusting powder uses baking soda as a key ingredient, but that they also offer a different option for those with sensitive skin. Additionally, their kit includes an underarm mask with activated charcoal for folks making the switch for the first time or those who just need a detox.
Conclusion: In love! [I’ll update this post again in a couple of weeks.]
There you have it! If you made it this far, you are a champ! Let me know if you have any more natural deodorant questions in the comments below. I’m happy to answer them!
