To think natural deodorants don't work?

[Hangingover]

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?

I used to use Tom's of Maine when I lived near a supermarket that sold it. Must have a look again. The roll on took too long to dry but the push up bar was good. It was a deodorant one , not antiperspirant. A bit citrussy - coriander and lemongrass I think. I didn't work it too hard- if I wanted to wear a tight fitting or synthetic top, or work a long day indoors, I used an ordinary spray antiperspirant.

I am sorry to say that they just don’t work.

There are some people (a minority) who are just naturally less smelly and those people can get away with using a natural deodorant. But not most people.

Best thing for me is the Dove maximum protection in a stick. Natural ones just don't work unfortunately

I’ve got an earth conscious tin on the go while wfh. I get damp pits so I know when I do go back into the real world I’ll have to go back to the usual 48hr antiperspirant, but at least I’ll reduce a little plastic waste in the meantime.

I use the lush one that’s like a bar of soap and it works well. I tried the one which is like a bar of talc but it irritated my underarms.

I once tried ‘natural’ deodorant. Let’s just say it wasn’t a successful experiment.

Turns out I need the Industrial strength stuff. Lesson learned.

I would also add that I find I sweat much less if I wear natural fabrics. I’m gradually getting rid of the floaty polyester blouses I used to wear to work because they make me sweat so much in the armpits! In cotton, bamboo, hemp etc I definitely feel the difference.

@PattyPan

I would also add that I find I sweat much less if I wear natural fabrics. I’m gradually getting rid of the floaty polyester blouses I used to wear to work because they make me sweat so much in the armpits! In cotton, bamboo, hemp etc I definitely feel the difference.

I agree. If anyone on here claims they can’t use a natural deodorant and yet wears a lot of synthetic tops, it’s worth switching to cotton/bamboo/linen and seeing if it makes a difference.

@Notcontent

I am sorry to say that they just don’t work.

There are some people (a minority) who are just naturally less smelly and those people can get away with using a natural deodorant. But not most people.

Except I was very very smelly. Embarrassingly so.

I think it must really differ from person to person. I would stay I used to be a person pretty in need of a strong deodorant.... I used to use the sure or dove £5 extra strong one, and if I forgot to put it on within an hour I'd be really regretting it! End of the day if I wore tight tops I'd always wash them.

I decided to switch to Wild deo mainly because I'd seen something about how deodorant can mess with hormone balance and also honestly because I like their packaging!
I had really low expectations but I can't believe how well it works for me! Almost immediately I was less smelly and how i can even go overnight without wearing deo and not smell at all and that's something I could not do before. I also can wear a tight top all day and if not smell at all at the end of the day! The real test will be when gyms open and go back to working out properly... also the white marks drive me crazy. But other than that I was pleasantly surprised.

I tried the Wild one over a month last summer. Also found it to be useless - left me sticky and smelly. I asked for a refund on the grounds the product didn't do what it was advertised to do, and I also did not buy into their 'wait to detox' promised, which I read as "want for your hygiene standards to drop". Their customer services were good and refunded in full without quibble. Now trying the Neals Yard one. The fragrancing is nice - very natural, very light - which is what I wanted, but I notice I need to scrub more in the shower each day, Its an acceptable compromise for now, not sure if it'll
Be good enough once the temp rises.

My issue is that natural deodorant causes a the skin in my armpits to change a darker colour, apparently it’s a ‘thing’.

Thanks for the reply @PrivateParty which one do you use?

@ConnieDobbs

Thanks for the reply *@PrivateParty* which one do you use?

The salt of the earth stick roll on thing. This one. Bought it from Holland and Barrett years ago and it was buy one, get one for a penny. So I have 2. The first one isn't even half way done yet.

www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/salt-of-the-earth-natural-unscented-stick-deodorant-60071585

I've tried loads -- I became convinced one summer that my pregnancy induced water retention might ease off slightly if I could let myself "ventilate" without stinking. It sort of helped (giving birth to DD2 helped more). But I love been sticking with them regardless.

Fit Pit works the best of the lot I've tried. It does have bicarbonate, but not so much that it irritates my skin. Fit Pit Woman scent seems to agree with me. Only bicarbonate free "natural" deo I've gotten on with is Natural Deodorant Company's Gentle Cream. It's expensive.

For a high street non-aluminium deo, Old Spice Wolfthorn has been a nice surprise. It won't win prizes for hippie street cred, but I smell fine and I'm not any damper than I would be with my favourite natural deodorants.

I find my pit stains have gone down a lot, surprisingly, by switching to aluminium free. I don't know why, but it's been a nice bonus.

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.

Are you confusing deodorants with antiperspirants? Antiperspirants work better because they reduce/eliminate the sweat in the first place, leaving little to deodorise.

Yes, you will sweat if you use a deodorant so I wear very thin t-shirts (H&M are ideal) under my tops as a protective layer.

I've been using Tom's of Maine for years (unfragranced, push-up stick). It works so well for me that even after they stopped distribution in Europe I ordered it from the US.

I tried Jason's a couple of years ago but the deodorising effect didn't last long on me. So I've stuck with Tom's of Maine. Slightly pointless recommending it to a UK audience though, because it's not easily available and therefore unlikely anyone will try it.

But just shouting-out to fellow Tom's of Maine fans [waves] and wondering where you buy yours from? It looks like Amazon might be dispatching them from the UK now, so perhaps we won't need to buy them from the US any more?

I get Tom's of Maine from iHerb in the US but I don't live in the UK.

I tried Jason once it didn't work I smelled really bad.

I find they work for about a week and then stop working

I've only tried various brands of the crystal type ones but always with the same results

Like a PP I love Native.

They have such a good range of scents, plus unscented. Some of them are in cardboard tubes.

I've been using Tom's of Maine for years (unfragranced, push-up stick). It works so well for me that even after they stopped distribution in Europe I ordered it from the US.
*
I tried Jason's a couple of years ago but the deodorising effect didn't last long on me. So I've stuck with Tom's of Maine. Slightly pointless recommending it to a UK audience though, because it's not easily available and therefore unlikely anyone will try it.*

I tried Tom's of Maine after reading this comment and I'm really impressed. Had to pay nine quid for it on Amazon but I will continue to do this as long as it keeps working for me. Have been using a roll on salt of the earth recently but I find that I need to rotate deodorants as they seems to become less effective over time

I've tried Toms of Maine, Bionsen, pitrok...none of them have worked.

Sanex works best for me but it's not really natural, just aluminium free. I'm also trying Dove 0% vanilla peach and it's not really effective, and I don't like the smell. Definitely wouldn't be using it if not for WFH lol.

I remember my mum used to use natural deodorant and constantly smelled like BO! Nothing worse than the combined scent of BO and essential oil.

I tried Wild and it left my armpits sore and itchy. Back to normal solid deodorants for me.

I watched a video on how to make your own and it actually worked just coconut oil, bicarbonate soda and peppermint oil I used it last summer and didn’t sweat atall and I’m a very sweaty person.

I use suds deodorant bar and I love it. I tried a cream one with my shaving box but it wasn’t working for me. I also tried wild but it irritates my armpits. I’ve gone back to my suds bar. I still swear but I don’t smell

I’ve tried wild and the natural deodorant co - both worked, in that I wasn’t smelly or sweaty (and I have a very active job) but unfortunately irritated my skin horrendously. Back to sanex for me!