Give Your Body a Fresh Swipe With These Natural Deodorants
We’ve become used to deodorants with aluminum that keep us sweat free and odor free. But let’s consider the benefits of swapping to natural deodorants. Instead of blocking your sweat glands, natural deodorants allow your own body to sweat naturally to keep you fresh. At Green Space, we taken your health a step further — we recommend products that not only take care of our bodies but are also kind and gentle to our planet. Let the smell test prove to you that these natural and sustainable deodorants are worth the swap!
Why Aluminum Free?
Fragrances, alcohol and aluminum in deodorants can trap bacteria leading to clogged pores, ingrown hairs and skin irritation. Reactions can be particularly painful on recently shaved skin including redness, dryness and itchy rashes. By detoxing your underarms with natural deodorants, you can have fewer irritations and better overall skin health. When making the switch, give your skin time to adjust for a few weeks as your sweat glands need to start working again naturally. Be prepared to sweat and be ok with it! It’s your body’s natural way of functioning the way it was meant to. The right natural deodorant for your body will feel light, breathable and fresh all day long. One main ingredient in some natural deodorants to prevent odor is baking soda which may cause irritation for sensitive skin. If that’s your experience, there are plenty of other brands on the market (including the three that we’ve tested), that have aluminum-free benefits without baking soda. Of course, all of the products we selected are cruelty-free, toxic-free and have a majority of organic ingredients.
Happy swiping and swapping!
Wild
In solid or stick form, Wild deodorant allows you to pick from a variety of scents and plastic free cases. There are festive case selections for the entire family and the company has a subscription service for extra savings. All of Wild’s deodorants are free from aluminum, parabens, phthalates and have 95% natural origin ingredients. The brand also offers a baking soda-free, sensitive skin collection. I went for the Sensitive Coconut & Vanilla refill and picked out the chrome case (coincidentally this matches my chrome Leaf razor in the shower perfectly). The bottom of the case opens to insert the refill and then it’s easy enough to turn the bottom and get the product to the top of the case. The product glides on easily. I generally recommend dryer under arms to begin with and it only takes a swipe or two for the product to cover the area. Once it’s there, it stays and surprisingly keeps you smelling fresh the entire day. Trust me, I checked often! I tend to do most of my exercise activities outdoors and even when I was sweating, Wild held up and I still did not detect any odor (yes, I kept checking) for hours after. I’ve tried other natural deodorants with disappointing results and I was skeptical. Wild continued to surprise me — two weeks in, I had soft skin and smelled fresh. For every Wild product sold, a tree is planted to grow wild forests and remove carbon out of the atmosphere. Products can be purchased online from the brand’s website or at Target.
Little Seed Farm
The name may imply small however Little Seed Farm packs a powerful punch in delivering a natural deodorant for odor-free underarms. The brand’s aluminum and baking soda free product is packaged in a glass jar with a recyclable metal lid. Activated charcoal powder is combined with other certified organic ingredients including jojoba oil, beeswax, glycerin and sweet grass oil. Once you open the jar, you notice immediately the gray hue and the thickness of the product. A little dab goes a long way to keep you dry and irritant-free. Starting with a dry under arm, I recommend using the back of wooden spoon provided to take a small dab and swipe back and forth under your arm. The idea of putting a thick cream on may seem a little daunting however the product goes on smooth and stays there. To avoid tiny clump build-up, make a few swipes back and forth product into a thin layer with coverage. The deodorant feels lightweight almost like not having anything under your arm. Even after outdoor activities in the hot sun, the product lasts all day long and my honey vanilla scent smelled just a fresh as when I first put it on. Little Seed Farm is an actual farm that supports responsible farming techniques including solar panels that generate 100% of the electricity used for production and operations. Take a try and order two scents of Little Seed Farm’s deodorant samples for free from their website. Samples are a great way to take a test drive without committing. To find retail stores where Little Farm products are sold, visit the store locator on their website.
Salt & Stone
Salt & Stone is another brand that offers sensitive variations (baking soda-free) of their natural deodorant roll-on. Their ingredients are made without artificial fragrances, parabens, phthalates or alcohol. The deodorant stick packaging is made from recovered ocean plastic and post-consumer recycled materials. The brand states that it removes twice as much plastic from the ocean as it produces. The roll-on glides on smoothly and does not feel like you have anything on – but its powerful ingredients including seaweed and spirulina extracts, hyaluronic acid and shea butter work their magic by keeping skin smooth, preventing irritation and neutralizing odor. The sticks come in a variety of unisex scents including the one I chose Santal & Vetiver for sensitive skin. To use the product, start with dry underarms and swipe a few times for coverage. I did feel dry and odor free the entire day however the product claims of odor free for 48 hours did not gel with my experience. I would consider this product a strong contender within the natural deodorant line ups however given the cost, I believe there are more reasonable picks and just as effective brands out there. If you decide to splurge, Salt & Stone can be purchased online at Sephora retail stores.
Green Space is a community space for sharing good finds to contribute to a healthy body and planet. We are committed to encouraging our readers to do something small — make a product swap that has an outsized impact on the environment around us.
Happy Swapping!
Julie Andersen
Contributing Writer & Volunteer, Wilton Go Green