It takes a lot of effort to be ecco friendly. That's not an excuse for not trying but it can be frustrating! I've been trying to use fewer chemicals on my body and in my home for ages, but I've been making more effort recently. Reason being there are far more natural and plastic free products out there nowadays, so it's not quite as pricey or tricky to find what you want and be able to afford it too!
Of course it's hard to argue that you're saving the planet if the products you use have to be flown here, but one step at a time, eh?!.
I've learned a fair bit about armpits doing this, so I'll start by saying that it's worth trying a little armpit detox between going from regular deodorant to natural. Apparently a bentonite clay and cider vinegar mask is great but I used a charcoal soap scrub that I already had and charcoal is also reccomend to remove toxins.
So this is the trickiest change so far..... Deodorant. I've been on quite the journey! I saw Sophie Hagen (a comedian I like) talking about Wild Natural Deodorant and I decided to try it. The fact that she had her own discount code didn't put me off because I didn't think she would advertise a productive that didn't work. Fookin' 'ell though..... it didn't work for me! I read all about the transition period but whoa! Two week in and my armpits smelt like curry. Seriously. Onion heavy curry! Horrendous! Even taking two showers per day (which isn't very ecological is it?!) And applying more than once per day, it did nothing to stop body odor. I've never really had B.O before, not unless I've forgotten to use deodorant for a couple of days, but I know that might be from all the chemicals I've been slathering on my pits for most of my life. Wild, unfortunately, just didn't work for my body chemistry. I read this very helpful blog after the 12 days and contacted Wild who kindly refunded me. It must work for lots of other people as the reviews are mainly good. But if you wanna try wild, maybe don't jump in head first (like I did) and buy the smallest pack possible. Or better, go to ebay! I listed the unused bits of my set with the cleaned case cheap, because chucking it in the bin is a waste and not at all eco friendly. I saw a few wild sets on there so worth getting some to try on the cheap as wild don't offer samples or minis.
I think in a very real way this was just too creamy for me. Too sticky even when using a small amount. I have no gap between my body and arms so it does tend to get a bit hot and moist in my pits because of this. I think wild actually created the perfect environment for bacteria. I don't know if it was my skin type not absorbing it (I tried all different amounts!), my pits not getting any air or the fact I don't shave, but it just didn't work. It got increasingly worse until I found myself having to detox my armpits with my yes to tomatos charcoal stick! Before another week of getting them back to a happy place with the next deodorant.....
To try and get me back on track I got this little crystal. Well what a bloody genius thing this is! It's a block of natural mineral salt (potassium alum) which is not the same thing as aluminium.... the stuff that blocks pores and stops you sweating. This is just supposed to be a deodorant, not an anti perspirant but it keeps my arm pits drier than anything I've used before. I went for the crystal in a box rather than the one in a plastic caseing. Basically I rub it on my armpits as soon as i get out of the shower because it needs water to transfer to skin. Then dry it off and pop it back in it's box or put it in a little dish. I think this block will last a long time, so it's the best value deodorant I've ever come across. It's fragrance free and it turns out my natural underarm smell is pretty neutral and nice.
A note on specific use. I rub the crystal all over my pits while still wet after a shower and make sure I slide it over the whole area at least three times. Then I rinse the top, dry it on a corner of my towel and pop it back in it's lovely dish. No lid so it drys properly! Once a month I use a fine nail file to take the top layer off the crystal so it's always super fresh. My armpits dry down impressively quickly. I think they are slowly loosing the discolouration that (as it turns out) was caused by my old deodorant and it doesn't seem to stain clothing. As it's not a powder or balm it doesn't get on clothing when you pull stuff over your head. It is really brilliant. I'm so glad I tried it and I think it will be a life long buddy now. Hoping one day my partner will try it out too and we can both go plastic free!
I love the crystal but I read that the lack of chemicals in natural deodorants mean that sometimes your body gets used to them and they stop working, so apparently it's good to switch between different types. That's why I also ordered some balm to try. I got a the mini tester pack to see how I got on with a balm. Drier than wild for sure. The active one is unsurprisingly(!) the most effective of the batch. Unfortunately the company say this one shouldn't be worn everyday, just on particularly active ones, so I also tried the clean one (their regular deodorant) too. It doesn't work for me! After a few days use I sensed B.O by the end of the day. And prolonged use of the clean one gave me the curry smell again. I wonder if that's due to having more moisture under my arms because this is a balm and doesn't dry out the skin the way the crystal does. On the plus side they all smell so yummy! The nice thing about the small pots for these samples is that they're metal (good for the environment!) and the size of a lip balm so easy to take with you places. The gentle one now lives in my work bag and it's very handy in that it will work for a short term use if I have an overnight stay somewhere (or forgot to put my deodorant on in the morning before I left the house!) The regular pots are pretty hefty and are glass. For me personally, I'm not too enamored with deodorant balms. This is way better than wild as it isn't as moist and sticky, but I'm not keen on having to use my hands to get it out the post and rub it into my pits. Works ok with hairy armpits though as it doesn't clump and drys down quite well. felt similar to the Mitcham solid stick deodorants I used to use when on! If the active one was okay for daily use this might have worked better for me? Who knows?!
Aromaco from Lush was always going to appeal to me. It's a block that you rub on, it's plastic free and many people swear by it. It's relatively cheap by Lush standards, this block was cut fresh for me and cost around £3. The sticking point for me immediately is the scent. Wow it is pungent! If you like patchouli you won't blink an eye, but if you don't then you might actively dislike the very strong smell. So first application and I was surprised by how soft this was. Texture-wise it reminded a lot of the wild deodorant.... I ended up having to rub it in with my hands like a balm. I wasn't expecting that because I watched some reviews of people using this before buying it and some said you should hold it against your skin to warm it up so it glides on easily. I didn't need to do that, it went on super quickly and thickly!
The scent didn't give me a headache but it was very noticeable everytime I moved my arms. The problem for me is that patchouli just isn't in my personal sphere of perfume notes! Basically it fights against my hair and skin products and my perfume. And wins most of the time! But oddly it started to grow on me as the first day went on. It reminds me of old school lush products. The stuff that always smelt like the 60s. Hippy smells! I love Karma products from Lush and that has patchouli in it (along with a fizz that makes me think of jaffa oranges and cola!). What I can say is that I think this would be a wonderful smell on more masculine folk..... it would be a bit like a cologne and deodorant in one.
Lush the Greench powder deodorant had to be on my list to test. I love lush and much prefer the idea of rubbing a bit of dry powder into to my pits rather than a balm! I also liked the sound of the herbal smell so I had to try it out. The other thing that appealed to me with this was that it should be easy to use anywhere that gets sweaty. And for many plus size women, that's more than just the armpits! I don't know if people use it for under-boobs and other areas and if it's gentle enough to do so, but I thought it might work! I was sooooo excited about the Greench! I read some reviews and they were interesting. When I bought it I tried a bit on my hands and suddenly knew exactly what the reviewer who said she smelt like a roast chicken meant! The thyme really comes through and my hands did have a savoury sorta vibe, so I was a bit worried about what my armpits would smell like after putting this on them!
So then, first application. It felt wonderful on my skin! I loved how it made my dry armpits feel silky and smooth. And the smell? There wasn't really much of a smell. Certainly no roast chicken for me! I was really into this one at first. My pits felt good. I did sweat, but not much. I didn't have much of an aroma for most of the day so I was excited that this might be my 2nd effective natural deodorant! The plastic bottle wasn't ideal but I know Lush use recycled plastic and there is a lot of product in here considering how little you need to use per day (it will last for quite some time I think!) However, by the end of the day I could definitely smell some B.O. Not loads, but enough to notice if I gave my pits a good sniff! By the morning there was a proper funk. Interestingly though, it was a very different sort of smell to the curry like hell I experienced with the more balmy natural deodorants. It was a nice musk. The sort of musky sweat that's full of pheromones and is oddly comforting! I'm torn on this one. I wanted it to work but as a deodorant it wasn't very effective. I didn't know if I should just keep going with it to see if I just needed to get used to it. One day doesn't seem like a fair fight really. God who knew my armpits would be this hard to please?!
My final thoughts are thus; sticky, balmy, natural deodorants don't work for me. I suspect that a powdered deodorant would work eventually if I detoxed and retrained my armpits, but frankly I don't have the inclination to go through another transition period when it comes to B.O. I wish I'd started with the Greench rather than suffering through wild, then the natural deodorant co. A month of curry pits put me right off trying again for a while!
I'm super happy with my salt of the earth crystal. Now look..... I am hyper aware that many people give up regular deodorant to avoid aluminium and may think that a more natural equivalent like potassium alum will still block pores (because it definitely works as an anti perspirant compared to the other things I've tried) BUT it is honestly the easiest transition. It's been used for many years all over the world as a deodorant and it's definitely more body safe than store bought deodorants. Even better is that you can buy just the crystal. Zero plastic, zero waste. It's a fiver and it's probably going to last for a year!
So that's my recommendation. Salt of the earth deodorant crystal. The plastic free one! It doesn't need a plastic holder I promise you. The second in line (if you can take the time to transition!) is the Greench from Lush. It felt lovely and I suspect when my body got used to it I wouldn't have b.o by the end of the day. And I do feel like the more musky smell from this one was a good sign as it didn't make me wrinkle my nose or feel paranoid. It felt like a cleaner sweat if that makes sense?
I hope this is helpful to someone out there trying to go a bit less toxic!
UPDATE!
Just a heads up, I finally found a natural spray deodorant that contains Potassium alum (and therefore works!). Salt of the earth make sprays but they come in plastic bottles. To be fair they also make really big refills to save you buying a new little spray every time, but still.... tons of plastic waste. Cowshead comes in a glass bottle. I have to say that this is easy to use and effective, but it's also very masculine smelling to my nose - It must be the ceder-wood?! The scent didn't work for me but it's now in the bathroom and my partner is using it, the fragrance suits him much better than it does me!