About a year and a half or so ago, I finally made the switch to a natural, non-commercial deodorant. I’ve been using LAVANILA Natural Deodorant, and I generally like it.
For most occasions, it’s just fine. And if I shower daily (which I try to do!), it’s fine. But if it’s a particularly hot and humid day or if I’m doing something that’s stressful, I find that it’s not enough, and I have to revert to a commercial antiperspirant. Boo.
Several weeks ago, Facebook started showing me ads for a natural deodorant that was new to me, Native Natural Deodorant. It is aluminum-free, paraben-free and phthalate-free, and it’s made from natural ingredients including beeswax (so it’s not vegan). After I saw the ad a few times, I checked out the website, and I succumbed.
You can shop the women’s scents or the men’s scents. I honestly do not know if the formulas are the same by gender or if they are different. You can buy the deodorant in:
- the regular size one at a time
- a full size pack of three scents
- a holiday pack of three holiday-oriented scents
- a travel pack of 5 travel sizes in different scents.
There are lots of different fragrances including seasonal scents (autumn scents e.g. Honey Crisp & Cinnamon etc. and Christmasy scents e.g. Candy Cane etc. are available now) as well as unscented. I chose the most popular women’s scent, Coconut & Vanilla, and I love it. Other scents include Lavender & Rose, Pear & Lavender, Lemon Cake, Mistletoe, and more “masculine” scents like Sandalwood & Lemon, Eucalyptus & Mint, and Citrus & Herbal Musk. They all sound good to me. I could smell the Coconut & Vanilla scent when I applied it, but afterwards the scent disappeared.
The deodorant is a solid stick, and it is easy to apply. Though the stick is white, it doesn’t leave any white residue under my arms or on my clothing. Yay.
So far (I’ve been using it once a day for 2 weeks or so and I wore it to a party on Saturday night) it has been effective for me, more effective than LAVANILA. It kept both wetness and odor away. By the next morning after using LAVANILA, I definitely needed to take a shower because of underarm odor. When I use Native, I don’t smell the next morning. That’s a big deal to me.
I wondered how Native deodorant works since it doesn’t use the chemicals that commercial products do. The folks at Native select natural ingredients that do the trick: “baking soda to neutralize odors, arrowroot powder to absorb moisture and acidophilus to eliminate odor-causing fungi, yeast, and bacteria.”
The full size deodorant of 2.65 oz. is priced at $12. The multipack contains 3 full size deodorants and is priced at $30, and the travel size 5 pack that contains Coconut & Vanilla, Lavender & Rose, Eucalyptus & Mint, Unscented, and Citrus & Herbal Musk is $24. Native provides free shipping and returns. After I finished purchasing, the website offered me a travel size (0.35 oz.) for $3 and I decided to go for it. Also, I found a coupon online so I save another dollar or two. While it is more expensive than commercial deodorants, I find the peace of mind using a natural deodorant to be worth it.
Because I like Native deodorant so much, I thought I better see how other people feel about it in case I am just lucky in getting great results. Native has thousands of customer reviews on their site, and the vast majority rated it 5 stars – the average rating is 4.7. I sought out the negatives from the reviews, and the major complaint was that it didn’t glide on. Well, it doesn’t glide like a gel does, but I found that once you “break it in”, the stick does glide on quite smoothly for me. One woman reported that it built up on her bra under the arms. I wear my bras two or three times (and not on consecutive days) before washing them, and so far, I have not detected any buildup. Also, no buildup on my blouses or tops.
If you have been considering switching from a commercial deodorant or antiperspirant because of concerns over the ingredients, or if you have been disappointed in the effectiveness of LAVANILA or other natural brand, I suggest giving Native Deodorant a try. Check out the Native Deodorant website, and see if you think it might suit you. BTW, if you decide to purchase a Native Deodorant and you do it by clicking on my referral link, you and I will both get a free mini deodorant 😉
Ingredients: shea butter, jojoba Oil, beeswax, baking soda, vitamin E, vegetable preservatives, acidophilus, coconut oil, maldextrin, probiotics, castor bean oil, stearyl alcohol, fractionated coconut oil, arrowroot powder.
Have you tried Native Natural Deodorant yet? Or do you have another brand that you like?
Thank you for the link. I tried it a few years ago and broke out, however, not sure why, I’m not allergic to any of the ingredients nor are they triggers for me. I do perspire a lot and that may have cause the rash and irritation. Anyways, I just placed an order to give it a try again. I don’t like the commercial products because of the ingredients and this was the one natural product that kept me smelling good all day and night. I loved it and always recommended it to friends because it actually works.
Leah, I hope that you will have better luck this time. I certainly don’t want you to get a rash from it! But I’m glad that you found that it worked for you. Let’s hope the irritation stays away this time. LMK. I had never heard of Native before a couple of months ago, but I recently heard they were bought by a big company that wanted to get into the “natural” personal care business – so I imagine we’ll hear about it more often.
I would love a natural deodorant but I heard they take a long time to get used to. I feel like it wouldn’t work for me
This works the first time I used it. No different from a commercial stick deodorant. If you perspire heavily, it might not work, but otherwise it should.
I have used natural deodorants since I was a teenager, and am always on the lookout for good ones! Thank you for this thoughtful review, Allison! I plan to try this brand now!
Lola Seicento recently posted…Ultra-Luxe Must-Have Haircare from Playa
I have had very good results with Native, Helen. I like Lavanila because it smelled good, but I didn’t by the next morning 🙁
I used the unscented and liked it a lot too. It did feel hard at first but as I used it I found it applied more easily. They didn’t have the huge array of fragrances before.
MarciaF recently posted…Non-caloric sweets for stockings and more: Macarons by Milk & Sass
Like the eyeshadow from Huda, this natural deo felt like it had a coating over it initially but after about 3 usage occasions, it really softened up for me. It’s so good that they have unscented, and now they have lots of permanent and season scents.
What do ya know, Facebook did something good!
Brooke Pakulski recently posted…I’m Obsessed with Our Holiday Cards from Minted
I would love to find a natural deodorant that works. I tried 1 that didn’t work at all and when applying, it felt like I was ripping my skin off and the 2nd ended up giving me a horrible rash under my arm pits that took a few months to get rid of the skin peeling/redness. 🙁 I think my arm pits are broken.
Kristi V BeginNails recently posted…Digit-al Dozen: A Snow Scene Is In My Home
That’s a bummer, Kristi. Do you know what are the ingredients that caused your rash? This ingredient list looks pretty benign, but everyone needs to know what it is that doesn’t agree with their system or skin.
I am happy with my Lavanilla though. If beeswax isn’t present in this, I would be happy to try it
That’s good that Lavanila works for you!
I need to try more natural deodorants and see if I can find one that is a pressure player. Maybe this one needs to go for a test drive.
Visit the website and read through some of the reviews. I’ve been using Lavanila for about 2 years, and it works OK for everyday, but not for a pressure situation. And I could never go a second day without a shower even if I was staying home when I used Lavanila. Native is much much more effective for me.
This is great, I’ve been searching for a natural deodorant that works!
Cindy (Prime Beauty) recently posted…Isabelle Grace Jewelry A Treasure Forever!!
I’ve had much better results with Native than with Lavanila. I think it’s worth a try.
Ooh, I so need to try this brand! I’ve been using mostly natural deodorant this year as well, but none are in bar form (they’re all pastes) and I love the sound of the scents they offer.
Bailey recently posted…Holiday Lip Lovin’ | eos for Everyone
I received a paste from a natural brand, but I couldn’t bring myself to use it. It was too messy and gloppy. The stick is so much cleaner.
Sounds nice!
I have been so intrigued by natural deodorants and the scents sound lovely too!
Babi recently posted…HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: 6 Luxury Lipsticks That Will Rock Their World!
I’ve had good luck with this one, Babi, and their scent variety is impressive!
It’s always exciting to find a natural deodorant that actually works! So many of them do nothing for me, although I used to be a big fan in the past.
Anastasia recently posted…Clean & Natural Indie Skincare Picks from Navago (Part I)
Im always skeptical of natural deoderants but thats only because I havent found one that worksfor me yet.
Katie Nystuen recently posted…Holiday Fluid Nail Art
I would love to swap to a natural deodorant! I have PCOS so only a few work for me in general. I’ll have to give this a shot!
I’m sorry to hear about the PCOS, Lisa. I don’t know how a new/natural deo like this might affect your condition, but it might be worth a try to have fewer chemicals in your life. They make full size and travel size, but I’m not sure if they sell the travel size individually. It would be great if they do