Natural Deodorants – A Review of 3 More

Herban Cowboy Organic Grooming Deodorant is one of the natural deodorants we tried out

As you may or may not know, traditional deodorants and antiperspirants contain some pretty nasty ingredients. Ingredients such as aluminum, parabens, propylene glycol and triclosan have been linked to various conditions, including: cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, endocrine disruption, and kidney and liver function disruption (to learn more, read our post about aluminum in deodorant). Once we learned about how bad traditional deodorant can be for your body, we started looking for some natural alternatives and wrote a review on 4 natural deodorants that we tried.

However, none of the 4 that we tried were perfect. They all had their own flaws, from not working, to bad odor, to high cost. So, we kept looking for more of them to try out. We eventually found 3 more that we thought were worth trying and put them to the test. Here is how they performed and stacked up against the others.

Tom’s of Maine Natural Deodorant – Unscented

Steph found the Tom’s of Maine deodorant at our local Fresh Market and brought it home for us to try. We had heard of Tom’s from a few different people and knew that the company had a very good reputation, so we were excited to try it out.

We tried the unscented type. As expected, it is unscented and has no smell at all. This was a small negative in my book, as I usually like having at least a little bit of scent, both because I like adding a scent to my natural body smell and because a nice scent can do a good job masking odor. As for performance, I am sad to say that it did not perform well. I applied first thing in the morning and by lunch I was typically already starting to smell. If I re-applied at lunch, by late afternoon I was starting to smell again. All of this was during typical work days too, where I was not exercising heavily. I can only imagine how badly I would smell after working out when using it.

However, before you run off thinking that you don’t want to try Tom’s, remember that we were using the unscented version. They offer several other scents, including: Lemongrass, Honeysuckle Rose and Citrus Zest, that all get very good reviews online. So, given Tom’s good reputation and the fact that they use all natural ingredients, it is probably worth trying out one or several of their scented varieties.

Herban Cowboy Organic Grooming Deodorant – Dusk

Unlike Tom’s, which is larger, very well known and offers an pretty extensive line of natural products, Herban Cowboy is a smaller company that is not very well-known and does not offer all that many products. However, like Tom’s, their products are all natural and contain now parabens, aluminum, propylene glycol or triclosan.

We tried out the Dusk scent. I really liked the scent. It smells great. It goes on a little thick, but quickly dissipates and leaves just enough to make you smell nice and cover up some odors. It also performed very well. I applied first thing in the morning and could usually go into the evening still smelling pretty good on a typical work day. If it was a particularly hot day or I was moving around a lot that day, I did find myself re-applying in the early afternoon. However, when I had to do that, I made it through the rest of the day smelling great.

Herban Cowboy also offers several different scents in case you do not like the Dusk scent or if you are of the female type and are looking for something more feminine. The scents include: Mountain, Wild, Forest, and Blossom.

Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Deodorant – Fresh

We had heard about Arm & Hammer Essentials a while ago and resisted trying it because we are both pretty skeptical when it comes to larger companies (Arm & Hammer is owned by Church & Dwight) trying to produce a natural or organic product. However, several friends and family members were using the deodorant and giving it rave reviews, so we decided to try it.

We tried the Fresh scent. Both Steph and I liked the scent. It is kind of a mixture between citrus and mint. It is also light enough and generic enough that we could both wear it. The deodorant performed wonderfully. I could put it on in the morning of a normal work day and smell great all day long and into the night. Only if I was working out or was attending a big meeting or something really important, did I re-apply.

Given how well the deodorant worked and the fact that I just don’t trust most large companies to do the right thing, I started researching the ingredients list. I found out that it uses Propylene Glycol, which can lead to some allergic reactions, but is generally not all that bad. So, I kept looking. Most of the rest of the ingredients were fine and non-toxic. However, down near the bottom of the ingredient list, I found Triclosan. Triclosan is a naturally-occurring chemical that is known for its anti-microbial features. However, Triclosan also can react with tap water to create chloroform gas, which is a potential carcinogen. It has also been shown to disrupt thyroid function in some studies.

Overall, Arm & Hammer Essentials Deodorant is definitely much better for you than traditional deodorants and it works very well and has a pleasant scent that works for either men or women, but it has Triclosan in it. You will have to decide whether that is a big deal to you or not.

Have you had any experience with any of these deodorants? What is your take on them?

Are there any other natural deodorants that you have tried that you would or would not recommend?

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