My Honest Review – Top 5 Natural Deodorants

Happy Saturday!

I hope it’s sunny and gorgeous out where ever you are at. I am currently looking into an abyss of snow and grey skies (I am up north, so I shouldn’t be all that surprised!).

I’ve decided to do a blog post of the top 5 natural deodorants I’ve tested out and give you my *honest* opinion and review of each brand. I have tried possibly every natural deodorant ever made and while there were A LOT of kinds that did absolutely nothing for me, there were a few that did work decently well. The following 5 deodorants are kinds that I am asked about regularly by friends who want my opinion on how clean they are and how well they work. These are also brands that MOST health stores and drug stores carry. All opinions below are my own and this was not a sponsored post. 

1. Veggiewitch Cream Deodorants. 
   I am completely obsessed with this company at the moment. I was given some samples of a few different kinds (thank you Dylan!) and was pleasantly surprised with how well they worked. Before I had tried this kind, I had tried a different company’s balm deodorant and it caused a horrible reaction (see review below), so I was hesitant to try another similar formula. Once I actually put Veggiewitch on my armpits, they instantly felt moisturized and almost like they were being healed. Although I did sweat just a bit still, I didn’t notice a smell at all. They state right on their website: “Veggiewitch’s Natural Deodorant is a barrier deodorant, not an antiperspirant”. It’s normal to sweat and it’s GOOD for you. Products that make you not sweat at all actually make me pretty nervous because you NEED to get those sweat glands workin and get all of the toxins out of ya. They use clean ingredients like: coconut oil, shea butter, calendula, bentonite clay, baking soda and neem oil. They use essential oils and edible flowers too. My favorite one (that I am also currently using) is the Peach Lavender. It smells delicious. I’ve also tried Vanilla Patchouli, Sweet Orange & Lemongrass Bergamot.
   PRO: clean, vegan, smells good, organic, local (for Calgary peeps), not tested on animals and a little goes a long way.
   CON: a bit pricier than other deodorants but it does last long so it makes up for that
2. Routine Cream Deodorant
   I tried this cream deodorant a few months ago after I did a training on the company at work. They gave all of us some samples of different scents. All of them smell incredible. When I first tried it, I really liked them and didn’t have any problems for the first few uses. After that though, I ended up with a rash under my armpits after I would use the cream and my armpits felt like they were on fire and were in pain. I’m not sure if it was from the strength of the baking soda in the formula or if it was from certain essential oils in the blend but it was not comfortable. The rash didn’t go away until I switched from Routine to Veggiewitch. They did just come out with some that are baking soda- FREE so that would be an option too, I just haven’t tried them yet. Now, this was just MY experience from these creams. I know plenty of others who have had amazing results and no rash from it. My best advice on this one is to try it out for yourself and see how you react to it. Some of their ingredients include: coconut oil, beeswax (some of them), kaolin clay, baking soda, corn starch (some of them), marigold and shea butter. They also use a variety of essential oils. Some of the scents I really liked: Like a boss and Whoa Blackberry betty.
   PRO: clean ingredients, some vegan options, locally made, not tested on animals, lasts anywhere from 3-6 months w/ regular use.
   CON: the baking soda blends are quite strong, expensive
3. The Green Beaver Deodorant Sticks
   Ahh this company though. They are one of my favorites to support. Recently, I met one of the owners (Alain) and he could not have been more sweet. He did a training for our work and went through the company’s history, how they came to be and why they chose every ingredient that they use. He was so passionate and honest about everything. He also gave everyone a sample of their deodorants to try out. I tried the Citrus scent and gave it a trial run for about 10 days. I found that it did help with smell and sweat. it didn’t last all day and I did need to apply it a few times throughout the day. I found it most effective if I wiped off my armpit before applying it again. Although this was a bit less convenient, it did work best for me this way.  I haven’t tried out any other scents but when I do, I look forward to trying out the Tea Tree and Lavender kinds. This deodorant is pretty good for casual wear. I don’t know if I would use it before the gym or before wearing a sleeveless top to an important meeting (lol). Out of all of their products (toothpastes, castile soap, ect) I use the deodorant products the least. **If you haven’t tried their castile soaps yet… do it, they are AMAZING. The Green Beaver uses clean ingredients such as: Aloe leaf juice, saje oil, labrador tea, orange oil, chamomile, and a variety of veggie oils.
   PRO: clean, locally sourced in Cananda (I LOVE this aspect of the company), amazing owners who stand by each natural ingredient, inexpensive, good scents, vegan, not tested on animals
   CON: might need to apply a few times, stick- style so bacteria could possibly grow on top
4. Jason Deodorant Sticks
   This is a brand I used a few years ago when I was first experimenting with natural deodorants. The scents I’ve tried are: Apricot, Calming Lavender, and Soothing Aloe Vera. I did find that this deodorant worked really well for me for the first 3 weeks but then after that, it would stop being effective. Because of this, I found myself purchasing different scents every few weeks. When I would go back to a certain scent after a month or so, they would work again, but only for a few weeks. I don’t know why this effect happened or if it has happened to anyone else (please let me know in the comments section :)) but it was a little bit frustrating. After looking into their company a bit more, I learned that they use specific odor-busting ingredients such as: baking soda, corn starch, zinc ricinoleate and grapefruit seed extract. They also include a mix of: apricot kernel oil, water, glycerine, and vitamin E and other ingredients in their deodorant sticks. If you are sensitive to fragrance (parfum is how it’s listed on some of the labels) or just want to flat out avoid anything that you are not 100% such of, double check all of their labels before buying. I personally try to stay away from anything that is listed simply as “parfum” because I don’t know exactly what it is they have added. It could be a bunch of scents, chemicals and random ingredients OR it could be one or two different ingredients. My thoughts are “if they are using clean, amazing oils or scents, wouldn’t they want to advertise and show off what they are using?”.
   PRO: inexpensive, works for the first few weeks, includes specific odor-busting ingredients, can last a long time, not tested on animals
   CON: includes “parfum/ fragrance” in formulas, can be ineffective after a little while (depending on the individual- obviously), don’t include AS much skin-nourishing ingredients for the armpit
5. Tom’s Deodorant Sticks
   This is another deodorant that I tried a while ago but I still remember my experience with them. I had to apply it MANY times and I felt like it almost made me smell worse that I did before using it. I’ve tried: unscented, wild lavender, honeysuckle rose, and calendula. I do think they use quite a few clean ingredients such as: sunflower seed oil, aloe vera leaf juice, calendula and different veggie oils. However, I don’t like how they use palm oil (they don’t specify if it’s ethically sourced or not. If it doesn’t say, I don’t support. If you aren’t sure of what I am talking about, look it up online and do some of your own research – it’s pretty horrible) and they also have some deodorants that include aluminum which is something I recommend everyone avoids in their deodorants (again, you can do some research on it and see the effects).
   PRO: inexpensive, the sticks themselves smell pretty good
   CON: they don’t work as great as you would want, contain palm oil, some contain aluminum

Deodorant is something that is so specific to the individual and our bodies react to ingredients completely different. My biggest recommendation is that you try out many different kinds and see which one works for you. Some major ingredients I would 100% recommend avoiding while you’re looking at a possible deodorant are: aluminum (remember: it’s good to get your sweat on!), parabens, fragrance/parfum, propylene glycol, phthalates, and triclosan. These are known toxic ingredients that may be: hormone disrupters, linked to various cancers (especially the aluminum), known carcinogens, and toxic to your organs.

ALWAYS read labels and look up ingredients you don’t know. Skin Deep is a fantastic resource for finding out the toxicity of chemicals, brands and individual products. Check it out!

I’d love to hear from you- leave a comment with any thoughts, opinions or experiences you may have had with natural deodorants (good or bad).

Marcy xo