Ok, have tried to find a site that will talk to me about chemicals to avoid but I’m getting lost in outer space, I think I’m in a grump too so maybe I’m not in the right mood :-p What I want is to understand what’s wrong with your average deodrant and what to use instead and why.

I’ve searched on here and have seen mention of a salt (or was it crystal?) deodrant - can anyone clarify what this is please?

I’m of an average sweaty disposition I would say!

I’ll try and give the idiots guide!

One of the worst offenders with ANTI ANTIPERSPIRANTS is aluminium. This blocks your pores and prevents you sweating which is why they are fab at stopping you sweating. HOWEVER that sweat (which is basically a kinda toxin that needs to come out) will come out somewhere else so you might get sweaty feet or palms or the sweat will stay inside - not good; it’s a bit like shoving a cork up your bum to stop you going to the toilet. Aluminium is suspected in things like dementia and is a potential (nothing proved yet) caccinogen. The basic fact of blocking your pores with it, is that it alters the body’s natural function…

Many deodorants do NOT contain aluminium, because they do not claim to stop you sweating, they work by neutralising or masking the odur of sweat, so they are techincally safer.
However, deodorants often contain all sorts of other nasties like artificial fragrances.

Brands like Toms of Maine (owned by a company some like to boycott I think), Weleda and Neals Yard make decent deodorants which are basically perfumes.

YOu can sprinkle a bit of bicarb under your pits - not easy to apply but pretty effective and as you mentioned, there are crystal deodorants. Unfortunately it’s still a bit of a minefield because not all crystal deodorant stones are created equal - more info here: http://myzerowaste.com/2010/04/sniff-my-pits/

Here’s an extract of info: The crystal deodorants you see for sale in health food shops are almost without exception ammonium alum. This ammonium alum is made with waste from aluminium factories and nylon factories – it doesn’t work well and because industrial waste is never ‘cleaned’, but just used as a cheap ingredient, the synthetic alum is always contaminated and does cause allergies.

This is why lots of people use crystal deodorants then have reactions to them and think they are all rubbish; they’re in fact buying an inferior product that unscrupulous companies have jumped on the bandwagon of.

Hmmm, not sure this was the idiots guide after all LOL!

Bottom line; if you want to freshen up without the chemicals buy a ‘real’ crystal deodorant (I recommend Sally at Natural Spa Supplies http://naturalspasupplies.co.uk/) or find a brand that offer a decent deodorant or try the bicarb trick. Avoid any anti antiperspirant like the plague.

HTH!

I think that the anti-perspirants are the ones to avoid, as they clog up your armpits and don’t let your body sweat basically! Think there may have been links with parabens being found in breast tissue too but don’t know if studies have definitely linked these.
I use Urtekram Cyrstal Unscented deodorant (water, crystal, vegetable glycerin, cellulose are the ingredients and it won the Green Beauty Bible award apparently!), as it has the same ingredient as the blocks of crystal that you wet to use, but in the form of a roll-on. Just found it easier to apply and easier on my delicate armpits! (I found the rock ones can go a bit rough sometimes). The thing with these is it works on the sweat to stop bacteria growing which is what will smell, but it doesn’t actually prevent you from sweating in the first place, so if you are a heavier sweater you may feel damper than you would if wearing an antiperspirant. I have never noticed I smell since using this, even after exercise! And I started to hate the chemical smells of the conventional antiperspirants.

I use Dr Organic Manuka honey deodorant from Holland and Barrett, its very nice

I have tried the crystal ones, but I found I got a bit whiffy with them - a strange kind of spicy smell.

I have tried various ‘natural’ deodorants in the past and have had very mixed results.  However, a while ago I had a bit of irritation under my arms and used some old nappy cream to soothe it.  I noticed that it also stopped nasty niffs, so I carried on using it, assuming that if it was ok to put on babies bottoms then it was safe to use every day.  I have no idea why it works or if it is really ok - maybe you can advise Starchild?  It is Earth Friendly Baby’s organic red clover nappy cream, which contains zinc oxide, so maybe it is that ingredient that works as a deodorant, I don’t know tbh.

*Just read the information on the above link re crystal deodorants.  DH uses Pitrok crystal deodorant, but just been and checked and it say it is ammonium alum, so does that mean it is not actually ‘natural’ and safe?

I use one of two things and am happy with them:

- I have got one of those crystals (mine works, but it was cheap and basic from a Spanish health food store so assuming it’s made of industrial waste now :-( ) - I’ve had it for about 6 years, but I don’t use it everyday. Sometimes I also dust with bicarb or Greench from Lush whilst pits are still wet.

- My favourite though is Aromaco from Lush https://www.lush.co.uk/product/35/Aromaco-Solid-Deodorant. You can see that some of the ingredients are classified as synthetic - inc Sodium Bicarb - but I’m fine with it. I know some people don’t like to use Propylene Glycol I’m not sure if this is anything more than the fact that it can irritate some people. But in terms of not stinking AND not blocking pores or using parabens this is the best solution I have come up with.

Truth be told, if I was going somewhere I thought it was terribly socially important not to be smelly and was likely to get sweaty (i.e. wedding job interview), I would use a conventional antiperspirant and not worry about it as it’s a rare occurence.

I have just made some of my own.  I found using bicarb on its own irritated my skin so mixed with coconut oil and put the mix in an old deodorant stick and it works fine.  It has a faint coconut smell when I put it on,  Seems to working so far but then it is so cold at the moment that I am not sweating much lol!

That’s crazy that people buy crystal deodrent (including myself) assuming it’s natural!!

I’m lucky and don’t bother with it unless it’s really hot weather (and then I use Tom’s of Maine).  I actually wondered if I’d lost my sense of smell the other day as I regularly go a week without a shower and don’t smell!

I generally use weleda rose deoderant.It is lovely.But think Im not a very sweaty person so might not work for all. my last perchase though was toms of maine deo as was feeling broke that week and weleda one costs £8 or £9 as appose to £3 or £4 for toms. They both seem to work ok though.

Having used lots of different ones in the past I now use Lavera Vanilla spray which works brilliantly and I love. I think in the past I’ve tried everything and eventually they all either irritate me or stop working. This one does contain alcohol so stings if you have shaved but other than that its perfect!

I used a natural crystal one (from a Thai fairtrade company) in the past and my skin started peeling off!

Uma x

We use the Weleda citrus spray and like it a lot.  The VERY BEST non-nasty deodorant I’ve ever used is this one, but it’s expensive to ship it to the UK/Europe and shipping from such a long distance probably cancels out some of the ethical benefits of buying from a small company etc. (although it might be an option to order a large amount and combine several people’s orders into one shipment):

http://www.etsy.com/listing/35641572/deodorant-cream

(If you do a Google search for that deodorant cream you’ll see lots of raves—people who use it are very devoted to it indeed ) .

Thanks for this thread - I have been happily using my pitrock assuming it was nice and natural
I’m quite intreagued by sustainable mums homemade deoderant - wondering what the ratio of coconut oil to bicarb is???

My ‘recipe’ is:

1/4 cup bicarb
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
5 tbsp coconut oil

You need to melt the oil I put in bowl and put the bowl in a bowl of boiling water.  Then I added the other ingredients.  I allowed to cool slightly before I put into to a cleaned out old deodorant stick.  This made enough to fill 1 and half Toms of Maine old cases.

I haven’t added any oils but you could add about 10 drops of essential oil if you wish.

The cups I used were american measuring cups.

Weirdly I had posted this on my blog the day the thread started!

I’ve seen the above recipe recommended in several places. You can sub cornflour for arrowroot powder, but if you’re prone to thrush, cornflour can feed it apparently.

In a pinch, I’ve mixed a bit of bicarb and coconut oil in my hand and just rubbed it in. It worked well, but I’ve been told if you use too much, the coconut oil can stain your t-shirts/make them smell rancid.

I like Lush’s Teo (I think). Oval bar with bits in, powdery, mostly made of bicarb with nice-smelling bits. I need to get more actually

Wow thankss mamas! I have ordered one from naturalspasupplies, she has a really good website and blog! Will see how I get on x x

I use the crystal deodorants which are nothing short of miracles!  Not only has one stick lasted me nearly a year but all the other herbal ones I tried before didn’t do the job - in so much as I sweat (or glow as my dad used to put it!) a lot and I can also end up with a rather ‘earthy’ scent ... which I used to be quite paranoid about because it clung to my clothes.  But I swear I’ve had no under arm scent since I started using the crystal sticks and can’t believe it’s taken me 20 years to find them.

As I understand it it is the aluminium in regular anti perspirant that can be a health risk.

Much love x