Why Natural Deodorant?

For years I used the normal deodorant in an aerosol. 3 years ago when I started this blog I wanted to eliminate the use of gases and the use of containers under pressure. This gave a problem for my deo’s. I tried using before glass containers with a roller ball, or sticks bought at the supermarket or even in the local pharmacy.

Actually there was nothing which did the job well. Most of the time it made my pits sticky and often I had the impression of sweating more! Until I found this lovely brand Speak skincare, they made a beautiful deo in a small metal container and I adored it. There even is a review on this blog about them. Speak produces in Maleysia and USA and at a cerain point they cut back the work with influencers outside of these countries. I still had one back up, but this lasted me to somewhere last year! So time to go on exploration in deodorant land!

Different kinds of natural deo!

There are deodorants and antitranspirants. Deodorants do something with the sweat to avoid odor, and antitranspirants stop you from sweating. The antitranspirants could cause blokked pores and infections of the glands in your pits. There are different kind of ingredients that neutralise odor, to name a few like hops, kaolin clay, eucalyptus and saccharomyces ferment. But they all do this differently.

Absorbing ingredients for a dry feeling

The deodorant can work by absorbing the sweat, the main ingredients doing so are kaolin clay and Zea mays starch. These absorb the liquid and are very important to give you the dry feeling.
If you think this is important, please look for these ingredients, the higher in the inci the more you feel of it.

Odor neutralising ingredients

A bad odor is caused by the growth of bacteria. To stop this or reduce this the deodorant has to create an environment where bacteria have no chance! You can use zinc or aluminium connections these make the skin very acid. Natural deo’s avoid aluminium salts. Or you can use alcohol, triclosan who kill the bacteria. Natural deo’s don’t use triclosan.

Another way of neutralising is to chemically react with the sweat. Zincricinoleaat and Zincoxide work in this way. But also aluminiumchloorhydrate.

Reviews

Malin & Goetz Eucalyptus deodorant

This is a stick deodorant. Texture slides on the skin. Main ingredients are refreshing natural eucalyptus extract and odor-neutralizing citronellyl. This is appropriate for all skin types, also sensitive skin types as mine. It’s formulated without aluminum, alcohol or parabens.
If you like a eucalyptus scent you’ll like this one. I wasn’t such a big fan of the scent. For me this didn’t work out well, but all stick deo’s didn’t work out well for me! Not for the same reasons though.
The Eucalyptus deodorant gave me the impression of being constantly wet in my underarms. When I was actually sweating at the end of the day I could smell myself. So for me this was a bummer.
This is ideal if you aren’t a big sweater and if you like to go baking soda free!

Kopari Deodorant

This is absolutely the most gentle deodorant of them all! I tried the signature scent sweet cocunut milk. It’s Aluminum and baking soda-free! The texture is the same as the Eucalyptus exept for the color.
It neutralises odor with Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate and absorbs sweat with silica. It creates an acid environment where bacteria can’t survive. The silica could be in some cases irritate the skin, but I didn’t experience any sensitivity to this deodorant.
As for me, I unfortunately had the same experience as with the Malin and Goetz. I do adore the scent! I mainly use it in wintertime when I don’t sweat so much.

Corpus Neroli

This was the most expensive deo of them all, and I hate to say it but for me the worst. This one silently burnt my underarms. At a certain point there were big red spots and after the use of the deo my skin fell off.
It neutralises odor with Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate and absorbs sweat with silica. It creates an acid environment where bacteria can’t survive. Was is the alcohol listed as 4th ingredient, was it sodium chloride? The last one is salt, salt from our earth. It is often used in natural deodorants, it is like the solid deo crystal you can buy in the supermarket.
I don’t know what caused this reaction, but it did happen. So sad because this Neroli scent was so lovely!

Drunk Elephant Sweet Pitti deodorant

Well this is a lovely one! It’s a really gentle deodorant cream which has a delicate sweet scent of cocunut milk. You could discuss about the applicator but I felt fine with it. You practically push the cream out of 4 holes and then smear it under your arms or use your finger. Some product may stay in the holes of the container, but I cleaned it regularly and didn’t take it as a concern.
It is without baking soda, essential oils nor aluminum-derived ingredients.
It fights bacteria with Mandelic Acid. Mandelic acid is an AHA (alphahydroxy acid) Mandelic acid is also an excellent killer of odor-causing bacteria while being milder to skin than glycolic acid (due to its larger molecule size).
It absorbs sweat with Arrowroot Powder. This is absorbent powder derived from the roots of the arrowroot plant. This is also a delicate absorbtion, absolutely not irritating.
Furthermore this deodorant contains lovely oils and Shea Butter all focusing on the skin barrier, so this was the one I used after they were burnt.
Allthough it doesn’t keep me dry as a desert, I don’t feel like drowning in a river either. On normal not so sporty days I’m really enjoying the goodness of this deodorant.

Nuxe Bio Deodorant Sensitive Skin

The texture of this deodorant is like a cleansing balm. It solves with body warmth ans spreads easily. Nuxe is on their website not so transparent about their ingredients, meaning they don’t show their inci list. What they do mention is that their key ingredient is a Botanical Powder (organic corn Starch), with a high absorption capacity. It effectively captures humidity, leaving armpits soft, with a dry-touch. Additionally it contains Organic sweet Almond Oil: recognised for its ability to soften and soothe the skin. It is a waterless formula which is completely vegan. The incilist on the product mentions also zinc gluconate, which is the zinc we know to be effective in the treatment of acne.

Makesenz Deodorant Balm Shea Butter and Magnesium Hydroxide

The texture of this deodorant is like a balm, but it’s a little more difficult to spread than the Nuxe one.This deodorant is composed in a simple way with very few ingredients: Shea butter, Zea mays starch, Helianthus annuus hybrid oil*, Magnesium hydroxide, Magnesium carbonate hydroxide, Zinc ricinoleate, Helianthus annuus seed oil, Tocopherol, Aqua. The magnesium hydroxide is a safe alternative to baking soda to absorb sweat. Zea mays starch is like arrowrhoot extract and also used to absorb sweat. Zinc Ricinoleate absorbs odor and is a natural and safe ingredient to use.
I found this one the best sweat absorbing deo between the ones I tried! I suppose there are used more absorbing ingredients, but I think this is kind of what I search for in a natural deo! This is my absolute number one!

Kosas Chemistry

As the name probably reveals this deodorant is completely working on the chemical level! It uses acids to fight bacteria! They use quite unknown acids like Shikimic Acid, Mandelic Acid and Lactic Acid. Furthermore it uses hyaluronic acid, aloe vera and peptides to sooth and firm the skin of your pits.
This didn’t cause irritation but again, I felt there was nothing to absorb the sweat, which made me feel quite unconfortable with pools in my underarms. Again if you are not a heavy sweater, this is for you!

Hope you enjoyed reading! If you did please leave a comment and a like!