Why natural deodorant is better for you and the planet

Why use natural deodorant?

You may have sensitive underarm skin and experienced irritation with chemical deodorants, or perhaps you care about the environment and the processing that goes into the products you consume. Whatever brought you to natural deodorant (or didn’t) we’re here to discuss the reasons why we think natural deodorant is so great. And no, we’re not just talking about our own 😉

Let’s begin this by prefacing:

Not all natural deodorants are created equally

There are different genres of natural deodorants - ranging from the type of container they come in to the ingredients within them. Some “natural” deodorants may not actually be the *most* natural when you actually take a closer look at their label.

Natural deodorants for sensitive skin

Some people have more sensitive skin than others - and armpits are no different. In fact, the skin under your armpits is important because it serves as the barrier to 20 underlying lymph nodes. We aren’t here to give you a biology lesson but our lymph nodes are a vitally important part of our immune system and serve to filter out toxins from our tissues.

Not only that, but you may find that your skin is sensitive, or even allergic, to certain ingredients. A common ingredient of natural deodorants is something you likely have in your pantry - baking soda (or Sodium Bicarbonate). To some, this ingredient is irritating, so you’ll want to look for deodorants without it.

Zero/ low-waste natural deodorants

Just because a deodorant is “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for the planet. Allow us to elaborate. The materials sourcing and manufacturing process is just as vital to consider when assessing whether or not a company is truly good for the environment or not. The curse of marketing products as “natural” is that, in some instances, companies stick that word on their products without having any real claim to it and it psychologically makes us believe that the product is in some way healthy to us or the planet.

Creams, tubes, balms, oh my

In the wonderful world of natural deodorant, you’ll find that there are an array of textures and application methods to choose from. You have your conventional plastic tube deodorant, or you have a recycled cardboard tube thats a more eco-friendly option. There are natural deodorant creams that come in jars with an applicator “spoon” and there are also deodorants that are more solid and you have to warm up in your hand or in your armpit before application. If you’re a natural skincare nerd like us, you’ll enjoy trying out the different types, textures, and scents that natural deodorants can come in.

It’s what’s on the inside that counts

As we mentioned, our armpits play an important role in regulating our body and ridding it of toxins via the lymph nodes in them. That is why what we put on or near our armpits is important - good ingredients = healthy armpits, bad ingredients = potential harm to armpits.

Now, not all chemicals are harmful to us - otherwise most of the products on the market today wouldn’t exist. However, plants and minerals that are refined and broken down into barely recognizable components in a lab may lose some of their amazing properties and benefits that they would have coming nearly straight from the ground to you. Plus, there are so many botanicals that possess the properties you want in your skincare products, but the centuries passed-down knowledge of those plants is unfortunately not common knowledge. The ancient Maya were healers who lived off the land. They knew the secrets to unlocking special powers in plants and integrated this knowledge into many of their rituals and daily life practices.

For example, Neem leaves were known to treat a host of diseases, such as cholesterol and hypertension amongst the ancient Maya. Its antibacterial qualities help rid the body of toxins and impurities. Neem was also used as a natural insect repellant because many insects will not feed on the leaves (sometimes called ‘Amargita’ or Bitter due to its smell). We use Neem in our Chamomile & Neem Deodorant to help rid the body of impurities in your armpit that can cause odor.

Getting in touch with your body

This is a more holistic reason why we think natural deodorants are better - because experimenting with them and finding the right one for you allows you to get more in tune with your body and what sorts of things work for it or not. It may be silly to think of deodorant as a vessel for self-knowledge, but even in a busy daily routine, there are small ways for us to be in touch with our selves.