balance body exercise female
Personal Care, Product Reviews

Natural Deodorant Reviews

Sarah Miller, RD

Everyone has their own reason for trying to make their beauty regimen more “green” or “less-toxic.” My personal reasons are many but ultimately led me down the path of wanting to find a natural way to deal with my sweaty underarms. When I say I have sweaty pits, I mean sweaty. I’m definitely not one of those women who can run for miles and still smell fresh as a rose garden and look like they’ve barely done any work. Not only do I sweat heavy when I’m exercising, but my anxiety causes me to break out into sweats at all sorts of inopportune moments. Consequently I have used an anti-perspirant/deodorant combination for years. The quest to find a “cleaner” alternative was on.

TLDR

Schmidt’s Deodorant was the overall best natural deodorant I tried. Smells nice, application was easy, vegan product, no skin irritation regardless of how many times I reapply during the day.

Over the course of a year I tried a few different natural deodorants, free from aluminum and other antiperspirant ingredients. I should start by saying that there’s no such thing as a “detox” period for your sweat glands. Many brands say that their products will work better after your sweat glands have “detoxed” from antiperspirants for at least 2 weeks. I can’t find any legitimate, credible science to support this concept. The human body is incredible and can “detox” itself quite well.

Antiperspirant vs Deodorant

It’s important to keep in mind that switching from an antiperspirant/deodorant combination to a deodorant only means that your experience is going to be very different from what you’ve become accustomed to. Specifically, antiperspirants work by doing just that, they’re anti-sweat. These wonderful sticks usually use an aluminum based ingredient to help tell your sweat glands to stop producing sweat. This combined with the deodorant helps you feel dry and smell nice. Deodorant only means that there is no antiperspirant properties- you will sweat. At first, just getting used to your sweating can make you feel self conscious. You are the only one who’s noticing and honestly, it’s only because you just made the switch to deodorant without antiperspirant. Over time you will notice your sweat less and less because it will become normal again for you to be sweating. You’ll also find that reapplication becomes an important criteria for how much you like a product.

I’ve ranked each deodorant that I tried below by specific categories. Continue reading for full product reviews. Please note that all of products I tested were either vegan or cruelty free. The 2 brands that are cruelty free only but not vegan were Curie and Best Deodorant Ever- both products contain beeswax.

Best scent: Love Beauty and Planet ylang ylang scent

Best application process: Kopari

Best for reapplication: Curie white tea

Best overall: Schmidt’s

Alaffia- lavender and charcoal scent

★★

I was excited to try this brand because it’s easy to find at your local health food stores and Amazon, and it had the familiar application experience I  was used to. This was the only brand I tried that uses activated charcoal. It glides on easily without needing to be warmed against your skin and is smooth to the touch. Unfortunately for me, this product combined with my sweat smelled absolutely terrible. Nothing improved it and no amount of reapplication reduced my odor. A positive was that no amount of reapplication irritated my skin, but it also didn’t help improve the product effectiveness. Despite all of its good qualities, this one was a no for me.

Best Deodorant Ever– lavender and peppermint scent

★

LIES! This was by far one of my least favorite of the natural deodorants I tried. I was so excited because this product is local and smells so fresh without being overpowering. Product is cruelty free but not vegan. This product contains beeswax. From the moment I started to apply, I knew it was going to be a rough trial. Not only did this brand not glide on smoothly, I found it easier to just stick my finger into the stick and then rub it into my underarm area. If your nails have any length at all, you end up with product underneath them. It was also challenging to not over apply and end up with giant deodorant pills in my arm pits. The scent was fresh and nice, but after about 30 min of sitting at my computer on a summer day, I noticed a smell. That smell was me. Unfortunately this was not going to work.

Curie -white tea scent

★★★

This was a total gamble. FabFitFun had this product as part of one of their edit sales for only $5. I took a chance. I would recommend this one with reservations. Note that this one is not vegan but is cruelty free. Their ingredients include beeswax. Application was easy and similar to what I was used to using antiperspirants, and the scent was fresh. I did feel like this one required re-application throughout the day to stay fresh. The scent was clean but a little too subtle for my liking. This is one that I continue to carry in my purse to have on me “just in case” but is missing a certain something for me.

Green Goo – wild rose scent

★★

This was the only aloe based deodorant I tried. I’ve found that it has enough power to keep me fresh as long as I’m not doing anything. Otherwise, this wasn’t a strong enough option. This brand didn’t cause any irritation issues though so it was okay to reapply multiple times throughout the day. Smells amazing- just like you’re in a rose garden. Because it’s aloe based it does have a bit of a sticky feeling when you first apply it, but the stickiness goes away quickly. I still use this deodorant occasionally during the winter after I’ve worked out, showered, and am just lounging the rest of the day. This brand might work well if you’re not a heavy sweater, but if you’re like me you’ll want to reserve it only for days you aren’t moving around much and the weather isn’t too hot. Or just skip it and use something else.

Kopari- original scent

★

One of the most popular brands I tried. And it smells so good that you want to keep sniffing yourself. The application process was easy, required no time heating under my arms and it glided on like butter. I tried this deodorant for some workouts at home before being confident enough to try it while exercising in a group setting. This deodorant successfully kept my smell away and I swear only made their scent stronger as my body heated up. So I’m sure you’re thinking, “well then Kopari must’ve been your favorite!” and the sad answer is unfortunately no. While my body responded well to this brand’s ability to cover my smell, my skin revolted. This product gave me a pretty gnarly rash that took a few days to start but made my underarms felt like they were on fire. To add to my pain, this meant I had to take a couple of days off of any underarm products to try and let my skin heal. Not ideal.

Love Beauty and Planet- ylang ylang scent

★

From the moment I put this on I was in love. Application was smooth and the scent was to die for. Unfortunately for me, this product also gave me an incredibly painful rash. Another no for me, but might work well for someone else’s body. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish I could use this one.

Schmidt’s- rose and vanilla scent

★★★★

I was perusing my local Costco and saw a 3 pack of the Rose scented Schmidt’s deodorant priced so well I was willing to roll the dice. You can also find this brand at most Target stores, Amazon, and other online retailers. This product required a short warming period in my underarms to help it glide on easily. Like many of the heavier deodorants, it was easy to apply too much and cause pilling in my underarms. The scent was amazing without being overpowering and was able to decently stand up to a workout. I still sweat because this is not an antiperspirant. But this product found a combination of scent and other ingredients that didn’t irritate my skin or assault my sinuses with a deluge of offensive smells. This has been my go-to deodorant ever  since. I have tried multiple scents from this brand and have had no adverse reactions to my skin. I still sometimes struggle with application and put too much on, but it’s easy to rub any excess into your skin. Additionally I’m able to successfully reapply this product throughout the day as needed without causing skin irritation. I don’t think it quite earns 5 stars though, and that’s because I have noticed my white shirts have a slightly discolored underarm area requiring a good soak in oxiclean before washing.

bowl of vegetable salad and fruits
Nutrition and Food

Protein and a Plant-Based Diet

Sarah Miller, RD

A common misconception persists that following a plant-based diet excluding most meat products will result in under consumption of protein. For the average American this is simply not the case.  Most Americans consume more protein than the recommended daily amount, especially if they allow for animal protein in their diet.

Flexitarian, pesco-vegetarian, and lacto-ovo vegetarians are probably the least likely of any eaters to have inadequate protein intake, assuming they’re also meeting their daily caloric needs. Fruit centered raw diets are generally inadequate in protein and many other nutrients. Due to their inadequacy, I won’t be commenting on the fruit centered and raw diets. It’s my professional opinion that you should re-consider your diet if you’re choosing to follow those types of meal patterns. If you need a reminder of the definitions of different types of plant-based eating, refer to my post “What do you mean you eat a plant-based diet?” for a refresher.

Do plant foods even have any protein?

Having all animal sources of protein and byproducts excluded with a vegan diet, it may require slightly more meal planning to ensure you’re meeting all of your nutrition needs. But this doesn’t mean eating has to be complicated. There are many plant foods that have protein. Soy (tofu, edamame), beans, lentils, quinoa, chia seeds, hemp hearts, and peanuts are all excellent sources of protein that are also vegan. 

The body prefers to have protein intake spread throughout the day rather than all at once at one main meal. For example, a quick way to help ensure you’re meeting your needs is to do a quick inventory of your plate/bowl whenever you sit down to eat. Make sure you have a protein, carbohydrate, and fat (mostly unsaturated) source. This can be a quick way to eyeball your plate without needing to track or measure your foods. Remember that protein doesn’t have to mean meat or eggs. Protein foods can also be tempeh, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, lentils, or even Ezekiel bread or peanut butter.

Don’t I have to eat them at the same time?

There is an old myth from the 1970s that persists today involving complementary protein combining at meals, for example beans and rice, because individually they’re incomplete proteins. The misconception is that the only way to have your body get all of the required amino acids (building blocks of protein) is to consume these foods that have complementary proteins at the same time. Most plant-based sources of protein are incomplete, meaning they don’t on their own contain all of the essential amino acids. But the human body is actually an amazing recycling center. The body can use the amino acids and recycle them into other amino acids and proteins, regardless of whether or not the foods providing the amino acids were consumed at the same time. This is another reason that having variety in your diet is helpful for meeting your nutrition needs.

Now more than ever there is a consumer demand driving innovation in the food industry to create delicious vegan options. I encourage you to try new products and see what items work for you.  Stay tuned for a follow-up post about alternative meat products and other hot vegan grocery items!

Nutrition and Food, Recipes

Frozen Pumpkin Spice Bites (vegan)

Sarah Miller, RD

Ingredients

  • 5 pitted medjool dates
  • 1/4c shredded coconut
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4c canned pumpkin
  • 1.5 tsp pumpkin spice (feel free to have a heavy hand if you love PS)
  • 3 tbsp blanched almond flour

Instructions

  1. Put all ingredients into your blender.
  2. Blend for ~45-60 seconds or until combined. The texture should be sticky but have no full pieces of dates left.
  3. Using a 1.5 tbsp scooper, place individual scoops onto parchment paper.
  4. Place in freezer for ~60minutes.
  5. Remove bites and let stand for 3-5minutes to warm slightly before eating. Can’t wait? Eat it right out of the freezer!

Tips

  1. You’ll want use a high powered blender for this. I recommend a blendtec– I use the twister jar.
  2. Makes ~5 bites.
Nutrition and Food

What do you mean you eat a plant-based diet?

Sarah Miller, RD

Plant-based nutrition or plant-based diet is a phrase that has been generating a ton of buzz for the past couple of years. But what does it mean to say someone eats plant-based?

There are quite a few variations of eating a plant-based diet. Let me start by saying the word diet is not used in the common way of meaning “restricting calories to lose weight.” When I say “diet” in this context, it is merely to serve as an identifier for a way of eating. When you really think about it, everyone is on some sort of “diet” because everyone eats. Some plant-based diets that you’re probably already familiar with include vegetarian or vegan. But even within these names there are nuances that make them different. Saying that you’re eating plant-based doesn’t necessarily mean that you never eat meat or fish, either. Here’s a quick way to find which category works for you:

TypeDefinitionAvoidsAdequacy of diet
Pesco-vegetarianEats mostly plants, also allows fish/seafood, eggs, dairyAll land animals including cows, fowl, etcComplete adequacy with minimal meal planning required
Lacto-ovo vegetarianEats mostly plants, allows dairy and eggsAll land animals, animal biproducts (gelatin, collagen), fish and seafoodComplete adequacy with some meal planning required
Ovo-vegetarianEats mostly plants, allows eggsAll land animals, dairy products, animal biproducts (gelatin, collagen), fish and seafoodComplete adequacy with some meal planning required
Lacto-vegetarianEats mostly plants, allows dairyAll land animals, eggs, animal biproducts (gelatin, collagen), fish and seafoodComplete adequacy with some meal planning required
VeganEats mostly plantsAll animal products or products made by animals (ex: honey), avoids biproducts from animal products (ex: whey or casein in protein powders)Requires meal planning to ensure full adequacy. May also require supplementation of specific vitamins/minerals due to inadequacy in diet 
Fruitarian (subset of veganism)Eats exclusively or mostly fruit, usually raw. Some include nuts/seeds or may include only fruit that has fallen from plantAll animal products. Depending on individual, may also avoid nuts/seeds. Usually avoids grainsInadequate for all age groups and unsuitable for children due to dangerous deficiencies resulting from long term adherence and growth/development risk for children
FlexitarianEmphasis on eating mostly plants, allows occasional meat and/or fishLimits intake of meat/fish but doesn’t restrict any specific animal products or byproductsComplete adequacy with minimal meal planning required 

You can see that the context of being plant-based can mean whatever you want it to. The big picture of eating plant-based means that the majority of the food that you consume is in it’s whole state with minimal processing. Another way to think about it is that if you choose to remain flexitarian but also want to be more plant-based, add more vegetables to that dinner plate and make your meat portion smaller. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process! Whether that means you’re flexitarian or vegan, the health and environmental benefits of eating more plants and less meat are well established. 

Stay tuned for more information on how to start a plant-based diet and some of the benefits you have to look forward to.