Deodorant isn’t something I think about a lot. I use it. And I notice when other people don’t. When I’m hiking or camping, I might pack a stick so I don’t offend my loved ones. But I’d never bothered reading the labels. So I’d never considered whether the ingredients were natural or not. I just assumed if I wasn’t grossing people out by the end of the day, my money was well-spent.
In the last few weeks I sampled three different underarm deodorants to see if one was better than another. And to make sure each was thoroughly tested, I applied them before hiking, biking, P90X workouts, and at work during days I had big, important meetings. Plus it’s summer. And I live in Dallas, Texas.
Greenbody Athletic
SCENT (according to label): Wintergreen & Pine
SCENT (according to me): Wintergreen & Pine. (Good job, Greenbody.)
PRICE: $9.00 for a 2.5 oz stick
INGREDIENTS: Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Essential Oils of: Salvia Sclarea (Clary Sage), Cinnamomum Camphora (Camphor) Bark, Pinus Sylvestris Leaf, Gaultheria Procumbens (Wintergreen) Leaf.
NOTEWORTHY: Company is PETA certified cruelty-free and vegan.
WEBSITE: greenbodydeo.com
PROS
- Effective as a deodorant
- Strong, fresh scent
- Does not cake on
- Doesn’t leave yellow residue on white shirts
- Natural ingredients
CONS
- Twice the price of a typical Degree or Right Guard
VERDICT: Four out of four armpits
If you don’t mind the high price point, Greenbody is a great natural deodorant. It smells great going on, and should keep you from offending hiking buddies and co-workers alike.
Root Beauty
SCENT (according to label): none listed
SCENT (according to me): My first impression was strong mint leaf. I guess that’s what arrowroot clover smells like. If so, they should make arrowroot scented candles. This stuff is great.
PRICE: $15.00 for a 2.5 oz jar
INGREDIENTS: Organic arrowroot powder, baking soda, organic virgin coconut oil, organic rosemary oil
NOTEWORTHY: 100% satisfaction guaranteed
WEBSITE: rootbeauty.com
PROS
- Effective as a deodorant
- I love the scent
- Does not cake on
- Doesn’t leave yellow residue on white shirts
- Natural ingredients
CONS
- Due to the coconut oil in the product, it must be kept in cool temperatures. If your home is over 75°, you should refrigerate it.
- Is not a stick; you dip into the jar and rub it in, Vicks VapoRub style.
- Almost three times the price of a typical Degree or Right Guard
VERDICT: Three out of four armpits
I love the scent of this deodorant. And I love the simplicity of its ingredients. But its melt-ability, its high price, and the fact that you apply it with a dip-and-rub method make it very high maintenance for a deodorant. If you have certain allergies, this may be worth it. But it’s hard for the common man to put his foot down and say “I am paying a full $15 for my deodorant, and I will not compromise!” Even if it does smell like arrowroot clover.
Old Spice Denali
SCENT (according to label): Wilderness, open air & freedom
SCENT (according to me): After whiffing the other two, this smells more like a candy factory.
PRICE: $4.99 for a 2.6 oz stick
INGREDIENTS: Aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex gly 18% w/w, cyclopentasiloxane, stearyl alcohol, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, PPG-14 butyl ether, hydrogenated castor oil, petrolatum, talc, phenyl trimethicone, fragrance/parfum, cyclodextrin, mineral oil, behenyl alcohol
NOTEWORTHY: Old Spice has some of the funniest commercials on TV. Just sayin’.
WEBSITE: oldspice.com
PROS
- Effective as a deodorant and antiperspirant
- Walmart usually has 2-packs for $6.97
- Has an awesome illustration of Denali and a bear on the label
CONS:
- Cakes on; I have to wash the residue out of my pits every morning
- Contains ingredients only chemists and particle engineers will understand
VERDICT: Two and a half out of four armpits
If price is the only thing you care about, a 2-pack of Denali is an easy win. But this is an antiperspirant as well, which means is clogs pores to keep sweat from flowing. Not ideal on the trail. Plus, if you have issues with putting chemicals on your skin, this might not smell as sweet.
On one hand, deodorant is a hard thing to care about. Most of us could justify paying a little extra for furniture or a car or shoes if we really wanted them. But it’s hard for most people to pony up four to ten extra bucks for one deodorant over another, even if the ingredients are natural.
On the other hand, our skin is the biggest organ we have. I wouldn’t skimp on contact solution because we’re talking about my eyeballs. When I take any medication, I want to know how it’s going to affect my heart, my stomach and any other organ that may be in play. So if I can smell nice by putting something natural on my skin verses smelling just as nice putting cheap chemicals on my skin, I’m going to go with Greenbody. At least until I win the lottery. Then I might switch to Root Beauty.
