I Tried 7 Natural Deodorants and a Few of Them Actually Worked

Could using natural deodorant ever leave me this clean and serene? I had to find out. (Photo: Getty Images)

I’ve never been one of those girls who could skip a shower. To put it more bluntly? I can really work up a stink. I am also someone who gravitates to natural, organic, beauty products that are free of excess chemicals, which has always just been unfortunate when it comes to deodorant— until now.

You might say that natural deodorant is having a moment. And so, after many past earnest-but-failed attempts to ditch my aluminum-filled antiperspirant in favor of natural roll-ons, solids, and crystals, I gave it another go: no Secret for a full week, even in the office and the gym (sorry, everyone!).

While it wasn’t a 100 percent success, there were a couple of major winners.

First, some quick background: The way antiperspirants work is by temporarily blocking the sweat ducts to stop the natural flow of perspiration to the skin’s surface. And while the FDA allows the use of aluminum for this purpose, it also allows, in beauty products, the use of nearly 1,300 chemicals that are banned in Europe. So the federal permission doesn’t exactly inspire confidence — particularly when aluminum has been linked (inconclusively) to toxicity and endocrine disruption.

Other worrisome ingredients in typical antiperspirants include dimethicone (linked to reproductive toxicity), cyclopentasiloxane (a known endocrine disruptor), and propylene glycol (a possible skin irritant).

All of that was inspiration enough to embrace a week of experimental perspiration. Here’s how it all went down:

The anti-stink goods (clockwise from top): Erbaviva Organic Deodorant, Primal Pit Paste, Reset Yourself Beauty Pure Deodorant, Soapwalla Deodorant Cream, Meow Meow Tweet Deodorant Cream, Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant, Oyin’s Funk Butter. (Photo: Yahoo Beauty)

I started with Funk Butter ($5.49 for 2 oz.), packed with baking soda, cornstarch, and shea butter, because I loved the name. It came in a form I don’t love — a small pot, like lip gloss, which requires dipping your fingers in and then slathering it on — but I went for it. The consistency was a bit too dry — I had to rub and press it into my pits to get it to stay, and as I walked around afterward and began to get dressed, some bits flaked onto the floor and my toes. But it smelled subtly sweet, like mango and coconut, which helped. I had sweaty armpits on my morning subway ride, but that calmed once I got to the office. And though I nervously checked for odor throughout the day, it miraculously never came — not even after my entire workday, and not even after a pretty intense post-office workout at the gym! This experiment was starting out really well.

Soapwalla Deodorant Cream ($14 for 2 oz.) was my choice for day No. 2. And I had high hopes, as a fresh-as-a-daisy coworker swears by the stuff, made with wholesome ingredients including jojoba oil, cornstarch, and kaolin clay. Things started out well: While it, too, had to be scooped out of a small pot, the consistency was much easier to spread, and it had a nice, refreshing lavender-and-tea-tree-oil scent. But I couldn’t say the same for myself: I had B.O. by about 3pm, and by the time I finished my workout I was terrified to lift my arms in public.

Erbaviva Organic Deodorant ($20 for 3.4 oz.) I loved the packaging, the name, the fact that it’s organic, and the form — a liquid spray housed in a classy glass bottle. But things went downhill from there. First, it stung my skin when I sprayed it on (the ingredients include a high alcohol content, as well as grapefruit peel oil and ginger-root extract, which might explain it); then, because I thought I had already begun to reek before I left the house I sprayed some more, just in case. But then I realized it was just the scent of the spray itself, which is acrid and a bit too close to BO for comfort. I had a serious stink in each pit by the end of the workday, which, although only detectable if I really stuck my nose in there, was not OK with me.

Next up was Lavanila Laboratories’ The Healthy Deodorant ($14 for 2 oz.), which won me over from the start with its adorable packaging, easy-to-apply twist-up solid form, amazing grapefruit scent, and vegan formulation that includes aloe, cornstarch, seaweed, lemon peel, and lichen. Sadly, it did not keep my funk at bay for more than a few hours — nor did Primal Pit Paste ($10.95 for 2 oz.), which I tested in stick form (there’s also a pot o’cream) and was still partial to for its lavender scent, pure baking soda and shea butter elements, and cute graphics.

Reset Yourself Beauty ($18 for 2.65 oz.), with coconut oil, baking soda, and arrowroot, is an L.A. concoction that goes on smoothly and easily, has a delicious pineapple-coconut scent and kept me stink-free for two (though relatively sedentary) full test days in a row. And last but certainly not least was the adorable glass pot of Meow Meow Tweet Deodorant Cream ($14 for 2.4 oz.), made in small batches in New York’s Hudson Valley by way of Brooklyn. I tried the subtle grapefruit scent (containing arrowroot powder, essential oils, and magnesium), which is baking-soda free for sensitive skin, and while it was slightly thick and hard to spread, it was worth it: I had no funk all day — even after a class at the gym.

WINNERS: Meow Meow Tweet, Funk Butter, and Reset Yourself Beauty, in that order. But everyone’s chemistry is different, you know? So try them for yourself and see. As for me, I’ve not gone back to my anti-perspirant ways in weeks, and I still don’t stink! A small miracle indeed.