Well, that depends...
Are you skeptical? Maybe you’ve been irritated by natural deodorant before. Or maybe you don’t trust that it will keep you odor-free. Don’t worry, we get it! We’ve been there too.
And the answer isn’t quite as simple as yes, it works or no, it doesn’t. There are several factors to take into consideration first. Let’s look at a few things to think about when it comes to natural deodorant.
What’s in natural deodorant?
Conventional deodorants typically contain aluminum salts (in antiperspirants), different types of parabens and phthalates, dipropylene and/or propylene glycol, fragrances, and stearates/stearic acid. Most of these ingredients are used to improve the texture and application of the deodorant and have little to no deodorizing properties. They are either synthetically created or chemically extracted from natural sources and modified in the lab.
If you find a natural deodorant with any of the ingredients mentioned above, beware! You’re looking at what we would call a pseudo-natural deodorant. Truly natural deodorants, on the other hand, contain ingredients like coconut oil, arrowroot powder, baking soda, and essential oils. Ideally, these ingredients are unrefined and unprocessed. A deodorant can only be as natural as its ingredients.
How does natural deodorant prevent odor?
Considering the purpose of deodorant, we believe this is a fairly important question to answer... And to do so, it helps to work backwards, starting with the smell. First, we need to understand what causes odor (if you are interested in understanding the full explanation, check out Why do We Stink? The Science behind Body Odor).
In short, the answer is bacteria. The bacteria on our skin break down our sweat, releasing odor as they do. Deodorants work, then, by preventing the bacteria from breaking down our sweat.
One way they do this is by creating an environment that is unsuitable for bacteria. For example, natural deodorants with baking soda or diatomaceous earth create an alkaline environment on the surface of your armpits. This prevents the acidic bacteria from populating your armpit in the first place. No bacteria, no odor.
This is slightly different than other deodorants and antiperspirants. Some conventional deodorants contain bactericidal ingredients like triclosan that work in the same way as antibiotics, attacking and killing the bacteria directly. Antiperspirants contain aluminum salts that combine with moisture to form a gel over the surface of your armpit pores, preventing sweat from escaping.
The good news is that (with proper formulation) natural deodorant works as well (or, in many cases, better) than conventional deodorant. This means that you can skip the chemicals and still be odor-free.
Are all natural deodorants effective?
Unfortunately, the answer here is no. There are too many improperly formulated deodorants available on the market. And although natural ingredients are great, we often ask ourselves, “if it doesn’t work, what’s the point?”
We believe natural deodorant needs to be as effective as it is natural. You shouldn’t have to continuously reapply throughout the day. One application should do the trick. That’s why we recommend finding a deodorant with baking soda (if you are wondering about irritation with baking soda, hold on, we will get to that in a minute!) Baking soda is the champion when it comes to eliminating odor, so look for a deodorant that contains baking soda as one of the first few ingredients.
But, as you may know, there is a reason to be cautious! The high alkalinity of baking soda causes irritation for roughly a quarter of the people who try it (and for a few others during the transition period). If that’s the case for you, you’ll want to find a natural deodorant that uses another potent odor-eliminator like diatomaceous earth. As long as baking soda is one of the last ingredients, these deodorants won't cause any baking soda irritation.
Are all natural deodorants natural?
This may seem like a silly question, but the answer is an emphatic NO! How can this be?
Well, the governing body for cosmetics (the FDA) does not have a definition for "natural". And without a definition, "natural" essentially has no meaning. Any company that wants to claim that they have a natural product can do so without penalty. Surprised? So were we!
This technique is known as greenwashing and is meant to take advantage of the naivety of consumers. So even though it says ALL-NATURAL on the label, you’ll find ingredients like propylene glycol, “natural” fragrance, glyceryl stearate, and stearyl alcohol inside. You’ll likely also find a bunch of bleached and chemically refined ingredients because information about the processing of ingredients is not required either. Here’s a hint though: If your deodorant is white in color, its ingredients have likely been highly refined.
The good news is that not all companies try to trick you into a profit. For example, we go the extra step (and cost) to make sure our products are as close to their natural state as possible. This means raw, unrefined, extra-virgin, cold-pressed ingredients. And we transparently provide all of this information on our website. We recommend that you find a deodorant that cares as much about their ingredients as we do!
Conclusion: Does natural deodorant work?
So, we’ve made it all the way back to our original question. And perhaps now you can see why the answer isn't so straightforward. With a properly formulated natural deodorant that contains completely natural ingredients, of course you will be odor free! But trying to figure out which ones fit that category is not an easy task. Even out of the deodorants that contain unrefined, high-quality ingredients, only a select few of them get the job done. Some don’t have enough odor-fighting ingredients, others are irritating. Some are too oily, others are too drying. Some build up on your armpit, others don’t stay on your pits.
We believe that the perfect deodorant is one that (1) has a strong odor-eliminator like baking soda or DE, (2) has enough arrowroot powder to keep you dry, (3) has hydrating oils like shea butter and jojoba oil that keep your skin healthy and happy, and (4) has coconut oil and essential oils that provide the extra bacteria-fighting strength that your armpits need.
Want to see what we are talking about? Take a look at what 7 years of research and trials has produced! And see what our past customers have to say about it themselves. We are confident that you, too, will be happy with the results!
Have you already found a natural deodorant that is both as natural as possible and as effective as it can be? Let us know! We don't pretend to be the only ones who got it right. Just one of the few!
Is this your first time using all natural deodorant? If so, we've got a few tips for you! Read through our First Time User's Guide to get started on the right foot.
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