Hi Lovelies,

Welcome back! And welcome if You are new here xo

How are all of You, I hope You are good? Irish Independent inquired about the natural deodorants I recommend and then featured me in the article. I died. But now I am recovered & ready to talk more about it 🙂

Sorry to keep things under the wraps, I wasn’t sure myself until the last minute if I were going to be featured or this will be just one more thing to fall through..

I was contacted by an Irish Independent journalist on the natural deodorants recommendations. I sent her email listing the ones I swear by, as well as a short explanation on how they are different from the “regular” ones and possible detox phase should one discontinue anti-perspirants.

Since the article is under premium (paid) content, here is a quick recap of what I said and my tried and trusted products I recommended.

Natural deodorants. This is one of those products where the formulation is crucial to get it right. It is also one of the hardest things to get it right. So many natural deodorants do not work, full stop. I am saying that from 10+ years of personal and blogger experience. Too much of baking soda in the mix will give You a rash. Too little and it might not work. Some of the deodorants use magnesium instead of baking soda, but I find vast majority less effective for me. Natural deodorants are also very subjective thing too, what works for me might not work for the next person, because we might have different body ph levels due to different lifestyles, diets, activity levels, etc. If You are only switching deodorants now, there’s also detox period to consider, where Your body might be a bit more smelly due to purging all the junk, but thankfully it is not that long. There’s good new though! There are some of the natural deodorants that do work just like “regular” ones. The ones I’d recommend are:

1. NUUD 

I do not know how they do it, but this is magic, it will make You NOT SMELL for three to seven days. They use colloidal silver in it. Tried and tested on my builder hubby too. I am about to review it.

2. NATURLIG DEO 

This is Nordic Natural Beauty Awards winner and that’s how it came to my radar. I’ve worked out with this on and came back home not smelling at all. I talk about this and other Nordic Beauty Awards winners here.

3. ORGANIC ELSA’S SKIN FOODS 

This is UK brand that does vegan and waste free deodorants. They work great too.

4. ROUTINE 

I’d recommend Blackberry Betty scent, it is divine. This is baking soda free option for those of us with sensitive skin. This is a Canadian brand I’d discovered when judging for another clean beauty awards and the only one I keep repurchasing (from the ones I tested/judged).

5. SCHMIDT’S NATURALS 

Unlike all the previous deodorants I’ve mentioned, this is an actual twist up stick deodorant, so You might want to start with this if You are new to natural deodorants. Lots of scents to choose from too. I have to admit I haven’t used them since the brand sold out, but I still mention it because it is widely available.

I want to thank excellent journalist Meadhbh McGrath & photographer Frank McGrath for a great job they did.

The same day the article came out, I got a call from a national radio to do a live interview. I nearly chickened out, but Ms. Green Life In Dublin Jr told me to not be silly – it is my time to shine and I should absolutely do it. I said yes, but after initial chat with someone, I wasn’t called back, citing “overscheduling” and last minute changes. Back to normal then.

There are a few thoughts I would like to add, based on the questions I received from the journalists and the people.

1. The difference in cost.

I have to admit at first I didn’t even think about it, simply because I am so deep into my clean beauty journey (well into second decade) that I am well prepared to pay up. Simply because I know the value of organic ingredients and I am a big believer in fair trade. That question made me think that maybe there is a big price jump, but the article cites other products at very similar price points, plus the “regular” deodorants I had to check out in the shops, weren’t exactly cheap either. So I came to the conclusion that yes, there might be a price difference, but it is not that much and to me it is well worth it. As always, good and bad products can be found at any price point, so do be sure to do a bit of (online scouting) homework before You buy.

2. How did I started with natural products and what I do recommend to people to switch first. 

This is a blog post in itself, but if You want to know the short story, my own awakening to what’s in our conventional beauty products was due to Janey Lee Grace’s book “Imperfectly Natural Woman”. Till then I never paid attention to the ingredients in lotions & potions, my only concern was the cheap price and a good smell. Since learning that the products are never rigorously tested (many of us assume that) before they end up on the shelves and educating myself on what the ingredients are doing to our bodies, I threw away everything from the bathroom. Since that was so long ago, I had a real trouble finding anything that’s natural in the shops. Green beauty scene was not a thing, webshops didn’t exist and I was reduced to what I found in the health shops or DIY. This is exactly why I started my blog, to help people find the products, make it easier for them. It shows my age here, but whatever 🙂 Right now we have a opposite problem, too much choice, not enough time. The things I would recommend people to switch first would be the ones that cover large areas of the skin and stay on it for long periods of time- think body lotions, SPFs, foundation. Also deodorant, especially anti-perspirant. Leave things that You wash off (like shower gel, face wash) o the things that cover small area of the body, like mascara for a bit later. Doing what I did, aka marching into the bathroom and dumping everything in one go, is not for everyone. Repurchasing everything straight away would be pricy, You might get overwhelmed soon and not like Your new products because they feel different. So my advice is, switch Your products one by one. Finished something? Replace with natural option. And so on. Read blog reviews, watch YouTube videos, don’t be afraid to contact brands with Your questions. They should be able to answer anything with a smile. Ask them about the ingredients they use, their sourcing, points of sale and if they have samples so You could try before investing.

3. Detox phase

As I already mentioned, switching from “conventional” to natural deodorants, there’s this initial detox phase where You will smell more, instead of less. Anti-perspirants stop Your body from sweating, so all the toxins we would normally eliminate this way, stay in the body. They often contain aluminum, which is a toxin in itself. So when You will stop it, Your body will start purging all of it. It is important for You to know that, so You don’t blame Your new natural deodorant for not “working”. Detox will be different for everyone, people who eat meat, spicy foods, smoke and drink will smell more than a vegan person who does juices daily. It all depends on Your body’s ph and where we fall on the alkalinity/ acidity spectrum. There’s good new though, it is not that long and it can be helped. A couple of Epsom/ magnesium salts baths and/ or armpit detox masks with any type of clay will help so much. Products like that exist, but no need to spend on them. Clays can be sourced from the health stores and/or bulk stores for very cheap. You are welcome. You might want to time it right, on Your days off for example.

4. Diy

Remember when I told You that I was reduced to only what I was able to find in the health stores? Yup. Unfortunately for me, none of the deodorants I found there worked for me. Out of sheer desperation I started DIYing it. There are many “recipes” for DIY deodorant online, some of them more complicated than others. I poked around, simplified it as much as I could and lo behold, something I created worked like magic. One of my friends called me in amazement to praise me on my deo – she said she was moving furniture all by herself all day, NO SMELL. She was really stunned, up until then she didn’t use any natural deos and said even her non-natural ones would give her BO after so much activity. That was ten years ago and while I moved on to try other products (blogging duties), she is still happily using my DIY. I am happy to supply her as it costs next to nothing and takes minutes to whip up a batch. I talk about it and my other natural DIYs here. All super easy and cheap, pinky swear.

Please note that my DIY and also a lot of clean deodorants You’d buy in the shop or online contain soda (sodium bicarbonate) and not everyone reacts well to it. In rare cases it can give You a rash, so it is very important to patch test it before.

5. Irish brands

I am a big believer in buying local and supporting local small businesses. While I am happily doing that in many different areas in my life, I was not able to recommend Irish deodorant in the paper. If You are an Irish brand and You would like me to test drive Your products, do keep in touch. I’d love to try more Irish brands and products and talk about them.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. I appreciate You spending Your time visiting my little corner of the internet.

 

See all the products I consider my Holy Grails

 

See You here next Tuesday, my posting day.

Sending LOVE & LIGHT,

Renata.