Weleda Citrus Deodorant, $12.99, couldn't be more different from my next favorite, Lavanila (see next slide), but it works almost as well. It's a simple spray with only six ingredients (alcohol, water, lemon peel oil, and three other obscure-sounding essential oils), so if you're a spray-on deodorant fan this one's for you. The spray also makes it easy to reapply -- making it my new go-to for afternoons at the beach. One word of warning: Because it contains alcohol, it does sting a little (especially on freshly-shaven skin), but in a cooling sort of way.
As for the formula, it's a solid that glides on beautifully. It's made with aloe, essential oils, and corn starch to help absorb sweat and keep you from smelling like a construction worker. The packaging is also beautiful, unlike just about every other deodorant out there -- natural or otherwise.
As for a downside, it does leave behind some white residue, but I think that's a fair tradeoff for a natural deodorant that works really well.
Kristen Bell says she loves Fat and the Moon Deodorant Cream, $12, so much she gives jars out as gifts. Obviously, I had to order it. Like my No. 1 pick, this natural deodorant comes in a tub, which isn't ideal. Still, it's surprisingly good at keeping B.O. at bay. It kept me smelling fresh almost until bedtime. I was impressed.
The blend of essential oils in Le Couvent des Minimes Everyday Deodorant, $13.50, has been used to keep people smelling fresh for well over a 100 years. (The formula originated in a convent in France in the 1800's.) And it still works incredibly well today. I don't love the slippery consistency of this roll-on -- you should plan to do your makeup while it dries -- but as far as natural deodorants go, it works great.
I'm not going to pretend it's easy to use deodorant in a jar. It's a pain in the ass. Fortunately, Schmidt's Deodorant, $9 makes the experience slightly better by providing a tiny spatula you use to scoop up the solid cream. Then, you warm it up between your fingers and rub it onto each armpit.
After I got past this 60 seconds of unpleasantness, I realized that Schmidt's is actually the best natural deodorant I've ever used -- by far. It's so good, that for the first time I can wear natural deodorant to work. In the summer. Even when I have a million important appointments. Now, if only they could figure out how to put it in a stick.
As a beauty editor I'm game to try just about anything -- but when someone asks me to test a natural deodorant, I break into a cold sweat.
It's not that I don't love natural products -- I do. But when it comes to deodorant, give me my Secret Clinical Strength any day -- because in my experience, even the best aluminum-free deodorants don't do what they're supposed to. Namely, keep us stink-free.
Recently, however, I noticed a slew of new natural deodorants hitting the shelves. With hopes that they would be better than their predecessors, I came up with a way to test the aluminum-free deodorants without having to be publicly smelly. I wore them on my morning runs during the two hottest weeks of the summer. I did a mid-way sniff test as well as a post-run smell test to see how the formulas held up. And the ones that scored the highest got an all-day tryout on weekends -- when I would be seeing my closest friends.
Not surprisingly, they didn't all make the cut. But these are the 12 best natural deodorants that made it through to round two. They're ranked in order from my least favorite to my favorite, and I spell out what makes each one special. I recommend taking a few for a test drive -- and then letting us know about your experience by writing a review on their product pages.
