I Switched To Natural Deodorant For A Week & Here's What Happened

Ever since I could remember, I've been a sweaty person. Especially as a preteen during puberty (as most of us were).

After deodorant causing breast cancer became a big thing in the news, I remember my grandmother buying me natural deodorant to replace my Teen Spirit. I hated every second of it. When I used it on days that I attended school, I was super self-conscious because I knew it wasn't doing quite the job that my preferred deodorant did. I was used to my fruity-scented deodorant and I felt like the natural deodorant left me with wetness under my arms by the end of the day. Since that time in middle school, I stuck to my Dove and Secret, which have been my favorite deodorants over the years.

I've contemplated trying natural deodorant again as an adult but I kind of have PTSD from my childhood experience. I'd try it one day and be back to my holy grails the next. There was something major that I didn't understand about deodorant as a child that I now understand as an adult. Deodorant and antiperspirant are two totally different things. While deodorant is meant to mask the smell of odor under the arms (hence the name), antiperspirant is meant to control the wetness or how much you sweat under the arms. To me, this discovery was eye-opening and pushed me to try one of the natural deodorants that I had laying around.

One of the deodorants that I tried and gave up on was The Crystal Mineral deodorant stick. Not only was trying this pulling me out of my comfort zone, I decided to start the experiment around the time of a vacation. If worse came to worst, I could buy a new deodorant while travelling, but luckily for me that would not be the case. The Crystal Mineral deodorant stick is made of one ingredient and one ingredient only: mineral salt.

According to the label, one stick can last up to one year, can be used by men and women, and prevents body odor for up to 24 hours. Though it isn't an antiperspirant, I was still willing to give it a second chance. Here's how it went.

Day 1

I thought about totally giving up on my natural deodorant experiment...but I stuck through with it. To be completely honest, I made a huge mistake on day 1 and that was not reading the instructions. It explicitly says on the label that you must moisten the stone/deodorant in order to apply it. Oops! That explains why it felt like I was applying a dry stone to my underarms.

Day 2

I was so used to smell-good deodorant that I had to cocktail my regular deodorant and my Crystal Mineral Deodorant to get through the day. Sometimes, taking baby steps is necessary to get to the finish line. I missed the smell of my usual Secret clinical strength deodorant. It may be all in my head but getting a whiff of my deodorant is super gratifying and makes me feel extra fresh. Not having my deodorant scent linger was a little off-putting while using the mineral deodorant, so I decided to go half and half just one last time.

Day 3

Finally, I was able to go full on with the natural deodorant; I just had to suck it up. I must say I did not sweat nearly as much as I thought I would have. Being in the NYC cold and then Canada may have played a part, but usually heavy sweaters do contribute to my perspiration and odor.

Day 4

I cheated.

I started missing the smell of my Secret deodorant and just had to apply a little before heading out the door. After years of smell-good deodorant being a part of my body care routine, it's quite hard to break away.

Day 5 & Day 6

These two days were a breeze. Honestly, making the switch is mind over matter more than anything. After I embedded that in my head, it was much easier to stop myself from applying even a tad bit of my usual go-to deodorant.

My Final Thoughts

The one major downfall for me with trying out this natural deodorant was the fact that you have to wet the stone before you apply. For starters, I hate the feeling of any wetness under my arms and it was another step that I had to remember when getting ready in the morning. Yes, it only added a few more seconds to my routine but it makes putting on deodorant a bit more of a conscious effort.

Natural deodorant might not be for everyone but it's definitely worth trying out. With the exception of those who perspire excessively, natural deodorant may be good for those who just need to feel fresh throughout the day. If you're like me and choose deodorant based on scent, making the switch over to natural deodorant may be tough in the beginning, but with its overall health benefits, it might be worth the move. For me, it's still going to take some time to get used to the naturalness of a natural deodorant but I find myself reaching for it more and more.

Featured image by Getty Images

Have you ever tried natural deodorant? What was your experience and what brands are your favorite(s)?