Tuesday 17 September 2013

My Odoriferous Search For a Natural Deodorant

        As I touched on in my very first post, this whole ridding myself of added chemicals and hormones "thing", goes further than just what I eat. Trying to use only natural products has meant that I have had to replace A LOT of my daily-use products, like my deodorant. I have never had a deodorant that I love. I always love the way my husband's deodorant smells, but  it never smells the same on me and he seems to prefer it when I don't smell like a dude, so there you have it.
 
     I really did think that I would just pick a different kind of deodorant and that would be the end of it...I was wrong.
      Now, I did try one of the Crystal Stick deodorants a few years ago, I did find it worked on a very preliminary level, but I definitely didn't find that it made me feel particularly fresh and lovely. I also remember that on occasion I would drop it and there would be my $8-$10 dollar deodorant, shattered and useless. So, while this deodorant wins in that it has very basic ingredients, mineral salts, it just didn't work for me.
   
     The next oh-so-natural deodorant I tried was Penny Lane Lavendar Deodorant. This deodorant smells AMAZING! Penny Lane does not skimp on the natural essence oil and it's lovely. Another thing I loved about this deodorant is it is very basic. The only ingredients in Lavendar Penny Lane deodorant are coconut oil, baking soda, cornstarch and lavender oil. I love coconut oil in all things, it is my moisturizer, my cooking oil and I even eat a tablespoon each morning for it's very healing and balancing  effects. However, for some reason this deodorant made my underarms chafe and it HURT! With Penny Lane deodorant, because they are so bare-basic, you have to add water before you put them on. Maybe I did not add the right amount of water to the deodorant? Either way for almost $10 chaffing isn't great, well chaffing isn't great ever.
   
     My next deodorant and I am surprised to say, my least favourite so far, has been  Tom's Fresh Scent Deodorant.  My first problem with this deodorant, is that although it does not contain aluminum it does contain a lot of unnecessary ingredients (in my opinion). I do like Tom's toothpaste though, so I thought I would give it a go! This deodorant felt sticky, like I had rubbed honey and water under my arms and it also made me smell bad. Me (regular smelling human being) + Tom's deodorant (flowery and dewy smelling) = weird unidentifiable stink. In summary my Tom's deodorant purchase went in the bin and so did the $9 I spent on it-boo.
   
    My latest deodorant that I am still kind of testing is LaVanilla's Pure Vanilla The Healthy Deodorant. I have used LaVanilla's perfume in the past and loved it, so that's how I ended up trying it out. LaVanilla deodorant is free of aluminum, petrochemicals, Phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oil (which is in almost all standard personal care products-yuk!), silicone, synthetic dyes, sulfates and parabens! The smell of this deodorant is light and kind of sweet, but not particularly vanilla-y. The biggest problem I have with this deodorant is the price- $25!!! Now, at the Sephora they have a mini for $13 (still too expensive) so I thought I would try it. I think LaVanilla's deodorant is decent for a natural deodorant, but as I said I am still testing it out.
 
    Thus far in my natural deodorant quest for smell, ingredients and price, Penny Lane is still my favorite. In fact I am actually considering trying Penny Lane again (gulp). I am also considering just getting some of my very own natural essence oil and putting a little on after I have slathered myself in coconut oil, we'll see.
   
     However, the REAL reason that I am writing this deodorant blog entry is because I want all of you to tell me your fave natural deodorant so I can find one that I LOVE, that doesn't make my armpits or my wallet hurt.

Tell me, tell me!

**Update: the Penny Lane Deodorant mentioned also contains cornstarch

5 comments:

  1. Hi Alicia! I bet the reason that natural deodorant you used that made you chafe is because of the baking soda - if you use it soon after shaving, baking soda will wreck havoc on that broken skin. I learned this the hard way. The only natural deodorant that's worked for me has been ones that include baking soda. I have a recipe on my blog. So, after shaving, I wait a few hours and then apply the deodorant.

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  2. Hi Sara!
    I saw your natural deodorant recipe-which I plan on making once I run out because it matches my current deodorant EXACTLY! I found really wetting the deodorant helped as I think DRY baking soda was why it was chaffing-now it works amazingly well!!

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  3. Here's what you need: http://www.schmidtsdeodorant.com/

    Seriously, it's the best ever. I was never satisfied with the way "normal" deodorants worked because they only smelled good for about 6 hours and then started to go south. Then I had to reapply which left my pits stinging. Then I found Schmidt's.

    It smells great, has NO weird ingredients, and I've found it lasts all day and into the next day if that's your thing...

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  4. Hey Joel! This sounds great, I am going to order some and will report back! Thanks!

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  5. I just bought penny lane deodorant and applied it right away dry and it felt weird so I added water and re applied and they are stinging like crazy!!!!!! So I googled it and found this blog. Did you give it another shot? I'll keep trying it because it was $10...

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