When swapping to natural products, one of the most important things to switch first is your underarm deodorant. Before I switched, I had always been using a traditional roll-on, and I had known it was bad for me, but just wasn’t sure of the natural options. When I discovered how many options there were, I really kicked myself for not making the switch earlier. Many traditional deodorants contain aluminium which is linked to breast cancer as well as Alzheimer’s. Many deodorants also contain parabens, talc, propylene glycol, and triclosan. You can read about why each of these are harmful to your health here. Traditional deodorants generally are antiperspirants which are designed to actually stop you sweating. This is not good for your body – people are designed to sweat!
One of the first natural deodorants I ever tried was Schmidt’s Deodorant. This all natural deodorant comes in a range of scents, and is available in either a jar or stick form. I opted for a stick as it’s convenient to apply and was most like my traditional deodorant. The scent I chose was Lavender and Sage, and I must say, it smells beautiful! It’s a really fresh smell and it’s not too potent that it clashes with your perfume.
Since it’s not an antiperspirant, you will still sweat with this product, however the added plant based powders do help to limit this a little. I found for most days, this proved to be effective, but on a super-hot day or when I was working out at the gym, I did still sweat. When it comes to neutralising odour, it is a very effective product and I didn’t notice any unpleasant smell when I was wearing this deodorant.
Schmidt’s Deodorant is a solid product, so it’s not like the liquid deodorants that most of us are used to. It’s still applied in the same way, however you do need to rub the product into the skin a little. The product can get quite solid in the cooler months, so you do need to warm it up a little either between your hands or by applying it to the skin. I found on the really cold days, the product is very hard to twist up and I had to pop it in front of the heater for a little bit.
One thing I really did notice about using a natural deodorant were the long term after effects. Many people can have reactions when they swap from traditional deodorants to natural ones. This can include the itching and swelling of the skin as the toxin build up leaves your body. I was so lucky that I didn’t have any of these side effects, but for those that do there is a product called Detox-A-Pit, which helps to remove the toxins and makes the switch a little easier. I did notice that as I used my natural deodorant more and more my sweat started to smell less and less. I guess this perhaps has something to do with the toxins leaving the body and the body becoming healthier naturally. There are some days now where I don’t even bother with deodorant as I just find myself needing to use it less and less.
I do really like the Schmidt’s Deodorant, and I recommended it to my mum who likes it too. It’s easy to use and the stick is convenient to throw in the bag and take with you. The price on this one is $22.50 for 90grams, which sounds expensive compared to normal deodorants but I promise you it lasts longer. It’s also a lot better for you and you can’t put a price on health, right?