Raise your arm if you don’t want aluminum, parabens, phthalates, and thousands of other chemicals seeping into your pores through deodorant. Okay now put them back down so we don’t have to smell you. It’s time to avoid all the toxins in traditional deodorant without people smelling you and saying, “Yep, that’s weird natural deodorant there”.
We’re bombarded with toxins every day, through processed food, cleaning products, water, and personal care products. It’s overwhelming and impossible to avoid it all. Deodorant is a product where you have a choice. You can make a difference.
It’s a product your exposed to every day (hopefully). Armpits are a spot that absorbs a lot from the surface and is close to precious areas of your body like lymph nodes and breast tissue. You have the agency to easily make a swap for the better and control what you’re putting under your arms on a daily basis.
We tested many garage-made deodorants so you don’t have to. Our top natural deodorant pick is this charcoal deodorant from Primally Pure. Let’s get into it.
What are we looking for in natural deodorants
- Lack of smell (for you)
- Lasts a full sweaty day
- Scent of deodorant
- No irritation
- No stains on your or clothes
I got started on the Native kick, but found it didn’t work great for me. I didn’t love the scents of their sticks which stood out too much, and by the end of a typical day I could smell myself a little. And if you can smell yourself, you know what that means for other people (not good). So I went on a quest to find the best natural deodorant out there that actually works. From testing out small bath deodorants on Etsy, to large CPG-brand aluminum-free products, we researched a lot to make it easier for you.
We wanted to find a deodorant you could be confident using that smelled great, prevented your own smells, lasted throughout a long sweaty day, and doesn’t stain your clothes. After
Our Top Pick – Primally Pure Charcoal Deodorant
Primally Pure charcoal deodorant is the only natural deodorant I’ve ever found that works for me, and I use it religiously. The activated coconut charcoal has a great unisex smell that’s not too strong, and contains added detoxifying benefits while also deodorizing and disinfecting. Primally Pure has an unscented option and several other scents, but I love charcoal for the smell that’s not overpowering and added detoxifying benefits. And this deodorant works. No stains. No smells. On days I do a light weight lift on my lunch break and forget to bring my deodorant to reapply (oops), I don’t notice smells coming from my pits.
The Primally Pure aluminum free natural deodorant contains a small amount of baking soda to combat odor and is fortified with kaolin clay to detoxify and non-nano zinc oxide to soothe irritation. We love the remaining ingredient list rounded out with other good-for-you organic ingredients including grass-fed tallow, fair trade coconut oil, arrowroot powder, beeswax and essential oils.
It may be on the expensive side for deodorant compared to what you’re used to. But, a little goes a long way, but the investment in your health (and the senses of those around you), make it well worth it in our opinion.
So, check out or top pick and get yourself a stick of Primally Pure charcoal deodorant!
Why is traditional deodorant bad for you?
Traditional deodorant is filled with a complicated list of toxic ingredients no one can read. But plenty of ingredients pose risks to you and your family. EWG’s Skin Deep is our go-to for ingredient insight, which we used to look at traditional deodorant that can be stocked full of:
- Aluminum – Linked to Alzheimer’s disease and heavy metal toxicity
- Parabens – Endocrine/hormone disruptors, found in 99% of breast cancer tissue sampled in this study
- Propylene glycol – Classified as skin irritant by the EWG
- Phthalates – Endocrine disruptors linked to permanent birth defects
- Triclosan – Linked to liver toxicity and thyroid dysfunction
- Formaldehyde contaminated synthetics – carcinogenic
- Fragrance – Cocktail of chemicals creating skin sensitivities and irritations
Aluminum, often the most active ingredient in antiperspirants, poses serious risks to our overall health as it’s carried through the bloodstream, targets the central nervous system and also settles into fatty tissue and breast tissue.
Even if some of the “natural” brands lining the drugstore shelves claim to be aluminum-free, several are loaded with fillers and other harmful ingredients like propylene glycol, fragrance (which is a mixture of 3,000+ chemical ingredients and the cause of countless serious health issues), benzyl salicylate, phthalates, and triclosan.
