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Original poster

To think natural deodorants don't work?

153 replies

Hangingover · 31/03/2021 17:10

Has anyone had a good experience with natural deodorants? Being a bit of a hippy I finally succumbed to the advertising and switched to a natural brand. Feel a bit damp and a bit smelly a lot of the time for the first month. Nothing dramatic but I can't wear the same top two days in a row now if it's a tight one, it has to be washed. As it was quite a cheap brand I signed up to the Wild eco friendly deodorants that send you the refills in the post. Hasn't arrived yet. Had high hopes for it until I received an email from them thanking me for my order and saying a lot of people find they sweat more when switching to their product but not to worry as your body adjusts eventually. They also used the word "detoxing" several times which is usually a buying red flag for me.

Has anyone found there's a period of stinkiness and then everything's fine or do they simply not work?

OP posts:
dayslikethese1 · 01/04/2021 01:35

That's interesting blizzard I recently bought Salt of the Earth and didn't find that it worked but maybe I wasn't swiping enough? 80 swipes really? I really want it to work cos there's no waste but I was finding I was smelly and just having to wash my clothes more, therefore defeating the point of trying to be more eco.

Malin52 · 01/04/2021 02:18

The salt rock crystal ones work really well and they last for years. DP has a manual job and found them effective. They don't stop you sweating but remove the bacteria that makes sweat smell. When i combined that with washing with bar soap I was smell free.

Don't drop them as they crack and sometimes a chunk can shear off randomly but I live the fact they don't leave marks and tshirts don't have that horrible crispiness antiperspirants seem to do

whydobirds · 01/04/2021 03:50

The Clovelly Soap Company ones are lovely, very effective and last for ages. They are bicarb based. I find them better than commercial men's deodorant, which, due to peri making me sweatier I'd had to resort to...

Mrbob · 01/04/2021 03:59

I was super smelly and now use natural paste (no bicarbonate) and so much better. I would never have got 2 days out of a top at any point so that seems weird to me but I get a full day out of clothes now rather than struggling to not be grossed out by my own stink after a few hours

The trouble is that strong anti perspirants kill the less smelly bacteria off and let the really stinky ones proliferate. Natural deodorants will allow a normal balance back. They don’t stop you sweating but should stop you smelling as much and you should smell more like normal sweat

It can take a couple of weeks to regain your armpit balance and you might have to try a couple out but life is better after. Swap to soap too at the same time instead of shower gel (I also use laundry sanitiser because I realised it was my clothes that still had the stink from before nice deodorant)

Selttan · 01/04/2021 04:04

I made the switch last year - the detox was not fun.

I tried no pong and black chicken and didn't work too well but switched to native which is great.

I survived smell free through the Australian summer only downside is I had to order from the USz

Pyewackect · 01/04/2021 04:05

NHS. I use Adidas Sport for men at work. You sweat like fuck in full PPE.

lovemelongtime · 01/04/2021 04:37

I also got sucked into Wild and still have half a box in the cupboard. Didn't work for me and kept dropping out of the holder!

MarmaladeBumpkin · 01/04/2021 05:23

I am currently using a MooGoo one which I like a lot. The other thing I've had success with in the past is, weirdly, vodka - you pop some cheap aldi vodka in an atomiser / spray bottle and spray it on. You need to use it morning and lunchtime and it won't get you through heavy exercising but it did the job really well for me on a normal day- I gather the way it works is it kills the bacteria that cause the smell. Anyway it was unexpectedly successful. But for portability I use the MooGoo roll on.

moogooskincare.co.uk/fresh-cream-deodorant-60ml

Blessex · 01/04/2021 05:56

Whenever I stop using antiperspirant I sweat like hell and ruin my clothes. What is the benefit of not using anti perspirant?

Mycatismadeofstringcheese · 01/04/2021 10:07

I’ve mentioned it up thread but I really recommend this. This stuff is excellent. It lasts for a few days as well.

trustproducts.co.uk/products/trust-long-lasting-aluminum-free-extremely-effective-deodorant-for-underarm-odour-protection

redcandlelight · 01/04/2021 10:12

I'm a bit bemused by using antiperspirant before exercise.
maybe I'm weird, but I sweat all over, not only on the arm pits.
and afterwards it's a shower & change of clothes anyway...

QueenPaw · 01/04/2021 10:15

@redcandlelight I sweat everywhere but like my forehead/back sweat doesn't smell. My armpit sweat does! Hence the antiperspirant

skirk64 · 01/04/2021 10:22

It's true that so-called natural deodorants simply don't work for most people. Obviously we are all different and produce different volumes of sweat that smell to differing amounts. But most people need more traditional deodorants.

To be honest even they haven't been that great since we ditched CFCs. Now our understanding of the ozone layer has been improved and we know that it is self-healing, maybe CFCs could be brought back to a limited extent? Certainly they should be used for medical products like asthma inhalers. A limited reintroduction could be reviewed after five or ten years, and of course if there is major ozone damage it could be suspended again while the ozone layer repairs itself again.

FrangipaniBlue · 01/04/2021 10:55

I use wild and I love it!

I couldn't wear the same tight fitting top more than once before but I definitely can now and I don't ever feel damp under my arms unless I'm actually working out.

LostInABlizzard · 01/04/2021 12:16

dayslikethese1 Yes, 80 swipes! I counted again this morning. It does sound extreme but it is very quick, really.

WishICouldThinkOfAGoodName · 01/04/2021 12:50

Pitrok works brilliantly for me. I was very sceptical about it, but I never smell these days and it lasts for absolutely ages.

ShaneTheThird · 01/04/2021 16:50

I use fit pit its ok but the bicarb hurts my pits so im eventually going to look into something bicarb free.

redcandlelight · 01/04/2021 16:55

if you want to avoid aluminium: those rock deodorants are often alaun (i.e.aluminium salt) based.

PrivateParty · 01/04/2021 21:28

I've been using the salt of the earth stick thing for years. It lasts forever. Works fine for me. But I'm not a particularly sweaty person.

ConnieDobbs · 01/04/2021 21:55

I want to try one of these but I'm a bit put off by the fact that they need to be applied to clean skin because I shower in the evening before bed and not in the morning. Could it be applied before bed and still work all day? I don't sweat much at night.

PrivateParty · 01/04/2021 22:15

@ConnieDobbs

I want to try one of these but I'm a bit put off by the fact that they need to be applied to clean skin because I shower in the evening before bed and not in the morning. Could it be applied before bed and still work all day? I don't sweat much at night.
That's what I've been doing recently. It's been fine.
diwrnachoflleyn · 01/04/2021 22:21

YANBU

withmycoffee · 01/04/2021 22:24

I was a TOTAL skeptic. I wanted to try as menopause has found me stinking through the strongest deodorants. I was even using perspirex which is so potent you get a rash and that is supposed to last 2/3 days. It only lasted one for me. So first lockdown I went for it. I tried about 6 different brands. At first I found I just stank. Then I stank on some days and not others. But I figured at this stage I was no worse off than I was on the traditional stuff. I settled on Native which is a US brand that I have to order but it works best for me. Schmidt works ok too as do a couple in jars but they are a bit messy. I can honestly say I DO NOT SMELL. It's weird. Now some people can go fir a couple of days on a single application . I can't. By morning, I smell. But I get through an entire day and don't smell. At all. I've even done a morning workout and not had a shower until late afternoon and I haven't smelt. Weeeiiirrd. I'm so happy! It's just coconut oil and bicarbonate and dons tea tree and stuff like that. I have no idea how it works

WeavingWandering · 01/04/2021 22:31

Sukin’s deodorant is amazing ! They really should pay me to advertise their stuff - 40+ degrees outside having to be fully covered since I was working in a conservative country and was still able to repeat wear clothes ...

Mind you - I’m not a sweaty person but 40+ degrees probably should have been a stretch even for me Grin

trashcansinatra · 01/04/2021 22:43

I use nuud which is brilliant. Tiny tube lasts months (literally, about 5-6 months) as I only need to apply it every 4-5 days. It stays effective even showering at least once a day and exercising.

It's a deodorant (neutralises the bacteria so they don't multiply and small) so you still sweat but no marks on clothes.

My DW didn't get on with it but I think she might not have given her body long enough to get rid of the aluminium anti perspirants she had been using. I moved from pitrok so didn't have that.