Pit Crew
Welcome back y'all! Man, has it been a week! I just transitioned to a new team at work so I have been working through a bit of a learning curve and the Oregon temperatures are a little too high for my liking once again. Even with my portable AC unit my apartment does not get below 75 degrees during weeks like these.. ugh! Last time we saw temps above 90 I ended up with my mattress on my living room floor so I could sleep as close to my AC as possible, I also spend a lot of time in my apartment building lobby where they pump the cool air in like crazy.
With the high temperatures making a comeback I thought it was the perfect chance to talk about deodorant and all of the fun natural, and low waste options that are out there and that I have tried. Natural deodorant takes a little bit of time to adjust to, there are no chemicals in it that act as an antiperspirant, all it is doing is minimizing odor. I tried my first natural deodorant probably about 3-4 years ago and it took me a few good weeks of some unenjoyable BO before my body was used to the new formula and ready to rock. I was so used to antiperspirant deodorants that are stopping the sweat and the odor, but natural options only target odor, so my pits had to get used to sweating again and my deodorant had to work extra hard to stop the smell. Sorry, all that was kind of gross, but it's the truth! Now I no longer notice any smell unless I am experiencing something high stress or out on a hard hike in the summer.
Similar to my experience with shampoo bars, I have tried a ton of different natural and low waste deodorant options. Not all of them, but lots of them. I don't think I'm going to rate them like I did with the shampoo bars, but I'll just sort of outline what I liked and what I didn't about the different brands. I'll go in chronological order as well of which ones I have tested out. If you missed my last post and want to check out my shampoo bar ratings, you can do so here.
Let's get into it!
The first natural deodorant I ever tried was the Schmidts Rose & Vanilla deodorant stick. I liked how this one smelled, but I was in that sort of rough transition period where I was sweating more than normal and was not to a point where the smell was masked, so it wasn't the most comfortable experience. Another issue I had with this scent specifically was that the deodorant itself was brown rather than their classic white deodorant. This is something to consider, especially starting out, but just like any non-white deodorant, the color had a tendency to show on my light colored clothes during the early weeks, gross again, sorry, but just keeping it real for y'all. For my first go at natural deodorant though, I wasn't mad, and I wasn't deterred from trying more. On the low waste front, the Schmidts deodorant sticks are plastic, but they do have lower waste options that I will get into a bit later. They also have a sensitive skin formula which I have not tried, but I think is a great option for those of us out there with that extra sensitive skin.
The next natural deodorant I tested out was the Myro Refillable Deodorant . This is such a fun low waste option, but unfortunately I had to give up after one refill because I was allergic to something in the formula. Myro is great because you start out with a thick plastic canister that you ideally would keep and use forever. Then, on a regular basis, the company sends out a refill of the deodorant itself that pops into the canister for use. I thought this idea was so smart and I was sad that I couldn't keep using it because I would have loved to use this forever and ever. The most fun part of Myro is that you get to pick the color of the canister you get and have the ability to test out any and all scents that are offered. Although there is still some waste associated with this, it is significantly less than most classic deodorant tubes.
After my trial with Myro I went back to Schmidts, but this time I discovered that they have glass jars of their deodorant that can be used instead of their classic deodorant sticks. They have their three classic scents in glass, but they do not offer their sensitive skin formula in the glass. I have used all three of the scents which are Rose & Vanilla, Bergamot & Lime, and Lavender & Sage. I was a big big fan of the Bergamot and the Lavender scents and I went through over 10 jars in the span of a few years, I actually just discovered I have one more jar left that I have been neglecting in the back of my bathroom cupboard. I happily stuck with Schmidts until other brands started coming out with other low waste options and I got curious. The glass jar system is a little weird to get used to and I got a few weird looks from friends over the years when I would shove my fingers up into my armpits to apply it. Each jar comes with a little spatula that is used to grab a pea sized amount of the deodorant and then you have to apply with your hands. I got used to it pretty quickly, but it did always feel weird if I ever had to put it on around other people, not super easy to reapply in public that is for sure. Despite glass being easier to recycle than plastic, the company also offers a recycling program where 5 empty jars can be sent back to be cleaned and sanitized for reuse and in exchange, you receive one free jar. When I inquired about this program it was at the start of COVID so I was not able to send them in, but I have reused most of them as candle jars when I melt down old wax. Even though I could not send them in, they still sent me a free jar, which was super nice. I love that this company offers a lower waste option of their classic deodorants and I would highly recommend to anyone. I have not seen the glass jars sold in stores, but they offer a subscription on the web and will send out new jars on the requested intervals and the classic Schmidts deodorant sticks are sold in stores.
I had always been curious about the Native brand of natural deodorants, but I didn't want to give up my low waste option to try it. Luckily for me (and the planet) Native launched a Plastic Free line and I am obsessed. Most Targets carry both the classic plastic deodorant tubes as well as the newer plastic free options. The plastic free line features a fully cardboard tube and is available in most of their classic scents. I have only tried one scent so far, the Cucumber and Mint, but I plan to go back to Native after I use up what I am using now. Native is also a 1% for the planet company so a portion of their proceeds are going back to initiatives that are benefiting the earth. 10/10 would recommend testing out Native, but again, don't be discouraged if there is a little extra sweat or smell in the first few weeks, that is a normal part of swapping out the antiperspirant for a more natural option.
After I had my first go with Native, I tried out the Habitat Botanicals plastic free deodorant. I had gotten a bundle that came with the shampoo bar, conditioner bar, body soap bar, deodorant, and lip balm. I used all of the products up completely except for the deodorant. I ended up being allergic to something in the formula and had to toss it mid way through, but I do think this is a good company and my experience shouldn't deter anyone that is interested in trying it out. I am not sure what scent I received, but they carry a few different options and even a sensitive skin formula, so maybe I'll test that one out if I ever decide to go back to this brand. Their deodorant, similar to Native, is a fully cardboard tube that is biodegradable. Also, Habitat is part of the Pela brand. If anyone is not familiar, Pela is a company that makes biodegradable phone cases, AirPod cases, smart watch bands, and other tech accessories. I have a phone case and I absolutely love it, and love that once I upgrade my phone or need a new case for other reasons, this one will not end up polluting the oceans.
Back to deodorant, the last, but not least, low waste deodorant I have tried thus far and am currently using is the Raw Sugar deodorant. I found this brand at Target and wanted to give it a go, and I was not entirely disappointed. Really the only thing that disappointed me was the construction of the tube itself. The scent I got was the Lavender & Lemon Sugar scent and I absolutely love it. It is such a nice, fresh scent and the formula seems super nice. My beef with the product is based solely on how hard it was to push the deodorant up in the tube once it got low up top. Maybe I just got a faulty tube, but I had the HARDEST time getting the deodorant to push up and I would have to use all of my strength to get it to move at all and I even broke my tube at one point along the way.. oops. Other than that, I loved this one. It is a cardboard tube, just like Native and Habitat so will be a heck of a lot less harmful on our environment in the long run. They have lots of fun scents so I may be alternating between Raw Sugar and Native for a while as I test out all the scents to see which ones I like the best.
That's all I have for now! As always, any questions, comments, suggestions, send them my way!
Have a good weekend :)
