Natural deodorant is something I started using 2 years ago when I became a mother and became passionate about using products (even beauty and baby products) that used only clean, non-toxic ingredients. I have always been passionate about eating clean, nutrient dense foods, so why wouldn’t I do the same with the ingredients I put on my skin?
I’ve come to the realization that deodorant is an especially sensitive topic. Recently, conventional aluminum based deodorants have gotten a lot of buzz around and their possible links to breast cancer or even Alzheimer’s.
Because of the risks associated with many deodorants on the market, I decided to switch to using natural deodorant and have received SO many questions from friends and family. Does it really work? Which brand should I use? WHY should I use natural deodorant? So, I wrote this post to answer all of these questions!
The Benefits of Using Natural Deodorant
I use Primally Pure’s Charcoal Deodorant and it is the ONLY brand that I have found to actually work, smell nice, and have great ingredients. Their charcoal deodorant is my favorite because it pulls OUT toxins in our body (it’s used to get alcohol or poison out of the blood when someone overdoses) instead of lathering on more chemicals, like a conventional deodorant.
Meet Bethany McDaniel, Founder of Primally Pure
I reached out to my good friend and Founder of Primally Pure, Bethany McDaniel, to explain why everyone should use natural deodorant and answer any questions you might have about switching to a natural deodorant.
Primally Pure is an uber clean and EFFECTIVE skincare and beauty brand. They are passionate about natural ingredients and creating non-toxic products you can feel good about using. Let’s get started!
What motivated you to create your own deodorant?
As much as I wanted them to work, they just didn’t do the trick. In the midst of my search for the perfect natural deodorant, I read something about the powerful odor-busting effects of coconut oil + baking soda. I filled up two tiny little jars with baking soda and coconut oil and would dab my finger in the coconut oil jar and smear it on my pits followed by the baking soda. It worked great!
When I urged my husband to adopt my new method of odor control, he was not about to give up the convenience of a stick for dabbing and smearing his pits with coconut oil and baking soda. I couldn’t exactly blame him – it wasn’t the most convenient process.
I decided to try my luck at formulating a natural deodorant stick. It took me over a year of research, experimentation, and testing on friends and family members before I finally came up with a stick that both my husband and I LOVED. And it wasn’t just us who loved it – all of my testers did too! After a ton of encouragement from friends and family, I started selling it on our family farm’s website along with a few other natural skincare products I had been working on, and BAM! Primally Pure was born.
What ingredients in traditional deodorant should we avoid and why?
This study found parabens in 99% of breast cancer tissue sampled. There are so many chemicals in a drugstore deodorant but these are just the worst offenders.Does natural deodorant work as well as conventional deodorant?
It depends. Not every natural deodorant is created equal and there are a number of different pitfalls that can occur when using natural deodorant including odor, irritation (usually caused by high levels of baking soda found in most natural deodorants), and more.
Our deodorant is different because it actually works! Through years of trial + error, we’ve formulated our new deodorant with the perfect amount of baking soda – enough to combat odor but not enough to cause irritation for the vast majority of people. The results? Fresh-smelling and perfectly nourished pits.
The one caveat with all natural deodorant is that you will sweat more.
Most conventional deodorants contain aluminum, which interferes with the body’s natural and necessary process for overall health – sweating!
Sweat helps to rid the body of toxic buildup. But antiperspirants block that cleansing, detoxifying function completely. And instead, they add to the problem of toxic buildup in our bodies. Thankfully, you can bring balance back to your body (especially to those pits and sweat glands) with good-for-you ingredients by choosing a natural, effective alternative to conventional chemicals.
What are the benefits of using natural deodorant?
Deodorant alone may not seem like that big of a deal. However, when you think about all of the assaults our bodies go through daily in terms of toxins we’re exposed to in the foods we eat, air we breathe, water we drink, etc., it’s important to do what we can to lessen our toxic load by making changes in the areas we do have control over.
Switching to a natural deodorant is one of the most powerful changes one can make, as our armpits are extremely absorbent and easily take in what we apply. The biggest benefit of using natural deodorant is less toxic burden on the body. After making the switch, you may be extra sweaty as your body rids itself of toxins. This should normalize soon enough. And once it does, you may find that you sweat even LESS than you did before.
What are some of the key ingredients in Primally Pure’s deodorant?
Primally Pure Charcoal Deodorant (our most popular one!) also contains activated coconut charcoal, which absorbs 1000x its weight giving it a detoxifying boost while also deodorizing and disinfecting.”
Is natural and organic deodorant the same thing?
Can men and children use your deodorant?
What should people be prepared for when they make the switch from conventional to natural deodorant?
So….do you use natural deodorant?
I hope that this interview explains and de-myths some of the things you hear out there about natural deodorant. Especially that you CAN SMELL GOOD.
Thank you so much to Bethany for taking the time to answer all of my questions! If you have any additional questions at all I want to hear them, as well as if you’ve had any experiences with natural or conventional deodorant you want to share! DM me on Instagram, email me, or comment below! This can be such a taboo topic, but it doesn’t need to be…so let’s talk about armpits! (haha)
