Natural Deodorants I’ve Tried Lately

My armpits and I have been through this before. I thought I found a natural deodorant that really worked. It did work. Until my armpits starting peeling and became so red and scaly that I had a problem far bigger than stinky pits on my hands. I’ve concluded that the issue was baking soda, something many people are sensitive to in natural deodorant formulas.

So the search continued for a cruelty-free, natural deodorant. When brands offer to send me their’s, I always say yes because I’ve yet to find the one. Read on to find out if I have.

A very nice woman from Bubble and Bee Organics reached out offering to send me a product called, Pit Putty. I was excited to try it, based on the name alone. I was also intrigued by their deodorant guarantee.

I tried both their deodorant stick and their Pit Putty Cream for sensitive skin, without baking soda.

What I liked

• The Almond Coconut scent. It smells like a delicious almond pastry, which I can’t eat lately due to my low carb diet.
• The Pit Putty Cream was easy to spread and apply and has a nice, non-gritty texture.
• Pit Putty Cream is housed in a glass jar, as opposed to plastic.
• Baking soda free versions for those of us that are sensitive.

What I didn’t like

• The stick format is super crumbly and made a gigantic mess on my bathroom floor every time I used it, even when I followed their special instructions. It was enough to make me not want to use it at all.
• Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me. It keeps scent away for probably 4 hours but after that, if you’re disgusting like me, you’ll probably notice that scent start to creep in.

It was inevitable that I would buy . The name literally has meow in it and it’s sold at my domicile .

What I liked

• The scent is a light grapefruit that I like a lot.
• Baking soda free formula
• The glass jar with aluminum lid packaging
• The artwork on the box is cute and humorous.
• The consistency is spreadable and easy to apply.

What I didn’t like

• That I still smell prevents odor for a few hours, but like so many others, not all day. Another one bites the freakin dust dude.

Weleda Citrus 24h Roll-On Deodorant
Next up is a roll-on natural deodorant from a German brand I love, Weleda. You already know I’m obsessed with Weleda Skin Food so I added this to a recent order, ready to give it a stinky, gamey whirl.

What I liked

• The roll-on format is super quick and easy to apply. This also comes in a spray which I may try next.
• I love the fresh lime scent. Legit smells like you rubbed a fresh cut lime under your arms.
• Despite the citrus content, I experienced no stinging or burning after shaving.
• I think this one lasted the longest and performed the best out of all that I’ve tried.

What I didn’t like

• The 24 hour claim is not founded. I wouldn’t feel comfortable not reapplying this after about 6 hours.

LATHER Lavender & Bergamot Deodorant Creme

What I liked

• I love the scent of this. I’m a sucker for lavender and the bergamot is a nice addition too.
• This was one of the more effective ones in the bunch. I think I know why though. Read on.

What I didn’t

• I think this works better than most because it has baking soda, which if you’re paying attention, my arm pitties don’t like. I haven’t experienced irritation yet but it’s possible.
  If you have no sensitivities to baking soda, I’d definitely give LATHER’s Deodorant Creme a try!
• The texture of this paste is a bit granular, perhaps the bamboo powder. I’d prefer a smoother texture so you just need to be careful not to apply too much and make a mess.

Weleda and LATHER came out on top, though still not perfect.

Because baking soda raises the body’s PH to one that is often inhospitable for bacteria, the source of the body odor, perhaps my sensitivity to it is my own cross to bear.

At this time, I can honestly, and unfortunately, say that no natural deodorant has been able to fully replace my traditional one. I work closely with people as a makeup artist so I really can’t be smelling like green onions y’all.

I have tried every single kind you can think of and honestly, most are comprised of the same ingredient profile: essential oils, baking soda and/or arrowroot powder, coconut oil, etc. There really is little sense in me trying too many more.

I’ll leave you with one random but effective tip that I picked up from Tracy Robey, author of this Racked article.

Apply an acid toner to a cotton pad and swipe under your arms instead of, or maybe even before applying your natural deodorant. This seemed to work well for me, controlling odor far longer than I thought! Perhaps Bubble and Bee’s Pit Primer is onto something.

My stinky arm pits and I soldier on…

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