natural beauty confessions | deodorant and antiperspirant

July 18, 2012

Today, let’s talk about your stank. Specifically, your underarm stank. When it comes to keeping your pits fresh, clean and dry, do you trust natural deodorants?

{Armpits want natural product love, too! Photo By Kinomoto41/Courtesy Flickr}

For the longest time, my answer was no.

See, I’m a sweaty, stinky girl, and I’ve been through pretty much every bottle of maximum strength antiperspirant at the drugstore looking for smell-good armor to keep people from plugging their noses when they approach me at the end of the day.

However, nothing seems to work (I still end up smelling not-so-fresh, though I am dry), and with my current conventional personal-care product cleanse, I’m getting more comfortable with the idea of detoxing my deodorant.

Why?

For starters, I have a feeling that my body is becoming resistant to the deodorants and antiperspirants that used to work on my body.

But the bigger concern is that ingredients in conventional deodorants and antiperspirants, such as aluminum chlorohydrate or aluminum zirconium, that temporarily block sweat (keeping you dry) may also increase your risk of developing breast cancer.

Again, I don’t like getting too preachy or scare tactic-y on the blog, but with the wealth of knowledge out there — and the wealth of up-and-coming natural products that actually work available — it’s worth a shot to try out some new products that may be just-as-effective yet cleaner.

The hard part is actually putting yourself in all your sweaty glory out there and testing all the sophisticated natural deodorants on the market.

That’s why you have me. Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing my experiences with my first natural deodorant in the test group, and throughout the coming weeks, I’ll have more natural deodorant reviews in the pipeline.

And lucky for you, I’ve been bearing this awful Midwestern heat wave (100+ degrees during the past few weeks!), so I’ve definitely put these products to the test.

Ready, sweat, go: Tell me — have you tried natural deodorants? What did you think, or what keeps you from testing them out?

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Comments

comments

Susan

I haven’t tried any personally—mostly because I’m skeptical of how well they work—so I’ll be curious to read your reviews! I’m not a huge fan of regular deodorant, and sometimes I purposefully won’t wear it to avoid getting those awful pit stains on my favorite shirts. (Luckily, I can get away without wearing it most of the time, though not so much in summer…)
http://kimberlyloc.com kimberlyloc

@susan i feel ya! i tried a natural deodorant a few years back but only used it for a day because i was so nervous about it working! tomorrow i’ll share a review of one brand i’ve been using for almost four weeks! i am jealous that you can go sans deodorant…you def wouldnt want me to do that…:)
http://www.kirstenmhudson.com Kirsten Hudson

I’ve been using Desert Essence’s Tea Tree Deodorant and love it! I’ve even worn it to yoga a time or two.
http://kimberlyloc.com kimberlyloc

@kirsten oooh yes, i like a lot of desert essence products, too! glad it’s worked in yoga…because i sit next to you…
http://nofindersfee.wordpress.com Caro

I have tried Tom’s back in the day but ended up switching back to an antiperspirant eventually. So glad you’re doing this though! It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the options out there!
http://kimberlyloc.com kimberlyloc

@caro what made you switch back? did the tom’s of maine deodorant quit working for you, or did you just need more dryness?
David

Looking forward to your results. I use unscented Mitchum Clinical Strength with the aluminum zirconium. So I am definitely interested if there is a good natural alternative. The Mitchum keeps me dry as a bone, and I wear fragrance every day which helps to cover up any unpleasant odors.
http://kimberlyloc.com kimberlyloc

@david thanks for stopping by! what’s nice about a lot of the natural brands, too, is that they can easily be unisex, so i hope you find something in my results that you like.
Anne W.

I also gave Tom’s a try. The scent was nice, but it didn’t last very long!
http://kimberlyloc.com kimberlyloc

@anne that’s too bad! i’m hoping to uncover more under-the-radar brands that work well and last long!
http://styleofsam.blogspot.com/ Samantha

I have tried multiple natural deodorants including Toms, I think Jason (?) and Avalon (?), and now I’ve stuck with with Lafes deodorant stick – like a crystal. The previous were too sticky! I am a sweaty sweaty gal and it doesn’t stop me from sweating, but I’m not stinky! {at least that I know of!}
http://kimberlyloc.com kimberlyloc

@samantha i love that you have tried so many! i have experienced that sticky feeling with one of the brands i tested (second review next week) . i have yet to try the crystal types, but it’s def on my hit list! i think i have used some lafe’s body or foot spray before, though, so somewhat familiar with the brand

July 18, 2012