A review of the best natural deodorant brands including sticks, creams and sprays, as well as vegan and zero waste options, to help you find the best natural deodorant that works for your needs.
Let me guess. Slowly but surely you’ve been switching over your beauty and personal care routine to natural, non-toxic products – but there’s one area that you haven’t quite mastered yet: DEODORANT.
I know exactly why. Deodorant is one thing you’re too scared to mess with. When you leave the house in the morning – whether you are going to the office, running errands or heading to the gym to work out – you need to be sure that you will not end up a stinking mess by the end of the day. No one wants to be that person!
Yet switching to a natural, non-toxic deodorant is totally do-able (and important!). But it’s true – it can be a bit tricky. After doing loads of research, including a reader survey, here’s one thing I know for sure: finding a natural deodorant that works is not a one-size-fits all proposal.
Why You Should Switch to a Natural Deodorant
To start, let’s talk about why you should switch deodorants in the first place. Conventional deodorants and antiperspirants contain some potentially harmful ingredients. In fact, in my deodorant survey, the primary reason given for switching to a natural deodorant was to avoid toxic chemicals.
Here’s a rundown of what you want to avoid in your deodorant:
- Aluminum – the active ingredient in many antiperspirants* – linked to Alzheimer’s and breast cancer
- Parabens – hormone disrupting chemicals often used as preservatives
- Phthalates – hormone disrupting chemicals hiding in the fragrance or other ingredients
- Fragrance** – a catch-all term for thousands of chemicals which can cause allergies or worse
- Triclosan – an endocrine disruptor and probable carcinogen
- Propylene glycol – when derived from natural gas (most common form), it is a potential allergen and a non-renewable resource
*A note about antiperspirants: Sweat is our body’s natural way of releasing toxins so stopping sweat should not be the goal at all. Instead, we want to make our skin less attractive to odor-causing bacteria – which luckily can be done with natural ingredients.
**A note about fragrance: The term fragrance is a bit tricky. When you see it on a label, it usually implies artificial fragrance chemicals but a few companies use the term even for essential oils and other natural fragrances. For example, Every Man Jack lists fragrance on the label but assured me that their scents are a mixture of essential oils only. On the other hand, Native deodorant uses some safe, phthalte-free synthetics in addition to essential oils, to make their fragrances stronger. I wish it were easier – but when in doubt – ask the company directly!
After a recent study found cancer-causing benzene in over 40 deodorants and antiperspirants, you’ll want to be sure to find a deodorant without benzene, like the ones listed here.
Effective Natural Deodorant Ingredients
Sometimes I wonder why we get so caught up in chemicals when nature creates so many hard-working ingredients. Nature-made substances including minerals, plant powders, butters and oils from nuts and seeds, and essential oils have all the anti-bacterial and sweat absorbing properties that we need to keep wetness and odor at bay.
Here are some of the beneficial ingredients you might find in your natural deodorant:
Odor neutralizing agents
- Baking soda* – raises PH of skin, making it less hospitable to bacteria growth
- Activated charcoal – acts like a magnet, drawing out odor-causing bacteria and other toxins from skin
- Magnesium – minimizes odor and treats skin problems
- Saccharomyces ferment – a vegetable based enzyme that inhibits odor
- Essential oils – naturally antibacterial and antimicrobial
*A note about baking soda: Many people rave about baking soda for odor control, yet a small number find that it causes skin rashes, bumps or other sensitivities. From what I’ve read, this is usually a temporary phase as your skin detoxes from conventional deodorants, however many brands now make baking-soda free deodorants for sensitive skin.
Wetness absorbing ingredients
- Arrowroot
- Tapioca starch or cornstarch
- Kaolin clay
Moisturizing / skin soothing ingredients
- Coconut oil
- Shea butter
- Plant oils – jojoba, sunflower
- Beeswax
- Candelilla wax – a plant-based substitute for beeswax
- Glycerin
- Aloe vera
- Propanediol (vegetable derived)
A note about deodorant formulas:
Some people complain that deodorants made with coconut oil and/or shea butter can stain your clothes. If that is a problem, you may prefer a deodorant with a base of glycerin or propanediol.
How to Find a Natural Deodorant that Works
No doubt you’d love me to tell you about the amazing natural deodorant that works for everyone. I’m sorry to tell you it doesn’t exist.
Each one of us is different – from the amount of sweat and odor we produce, to the level of activity we engage in, to our personal skin sensitivities and fragrance preferences. Many of us prefer the convenience of a stick, but some of us love to slather on a deodorant cream or do a quick spritz of a spray deodorant.
Maybe you are searching for a deodorant that is baking soda free, or one that contains activated charcoal or another specific ingredient. Maybe using a vegan deodorant is important to you, or having a zero-waste deodorant that is better for the planet.
Your favorite natural deodorant probably won’t be the same as mine – and that’s OK!
Armpit Detox
Also, keep in mind that switching to a natural deodorant takes time. Your skin will need to detox for a couple of weeks as it gets rid of the toxins from your old deodorant. Here are a couple things to consider during the transition time:
- Apply deodorant more than once during the day
- Do an armpit detox to prepare your skin for natural deodorant
- Try the Underarm Bar – a charcoal based soap that boosts the power of your deodorant
- Most important – don’t give up!
Best Natural Deodorant Brands
I may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this article. Full Disclosure
Here is a list of natural deodorant brands that I have tried over the years – including sticks, creams and deodorant sprays. The list covers a range of pricing options, and includes zero-waste deodorant options, as well as vegan deodorant brands (ALL brands listed here are cruelty-free).
In terms of odor control, everything I’ve tried has worked for me – but truth be told – I’m not a super stinky person (guess I drew the lucky card on that one!)
All of these non-toxic deodorant brands have raving fans – but you’ll also find some people who say it didn’t work for them. Bottom line: it might take a bit of experimenting to find the natural deodorant that works best for you.
Download my FREE Natural Deodorant Checklist to help you shop for the natural deodorant that works best for you:
Each & Every Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: Coconut oil, tapioca starch, earth wax, magnesium
- Baking soda free formula
- Plant-based packaging made from sugar cane
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: EWG Verified
- Price: $15
My take: If you’re looking for a deodorant that goes on clear and smooth (no white residue), this is it! Love that it is EWG-Verified and is packaged in plant-based plastic from sugarcane. This is my current favorite deodorant!
BUY Each & Every
Type:A Deodorant Review
- Type: hybrid squeezable cream that goes on like a stick
- Primary ingredients: glycerin, beeswax, arrowroot, sodium bicarbonate, coconut oil, zinc
- Glycerin based formula uses minimal baking soda and is very soothing
- New Innovator formula uses spirulina and activated charcoal for increased odor protection
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: 1 – 3
- Price: $10
My take: The squeezeable tube is super easy to use. The formula works even on the hottest days and does not stain my clothes!
BUY Type:A
ATTITUDE Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: arrowroot powder, shea butter, baking soda, coconut oil, corn starch
- Plastic-free, biodegradable paperboard tubes
- Unscented version available
- All formulas are certified vegan
- Fragrance: Natural extracts
- EWG rating: 1 – EWG Verified
- Price: $11.95
My take: I was super excited when these came out because I know and trust the ATTITUDE brand. Love that the packaging is a completely plastic-free and biodegradable and the formula is excellent too. The Orange Leaves scent is my favorite!
BUY ATTITUDE (Get $10 off your first order with code WELCOME10 at checkout)
Beautycounter Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: coconut oil, shea butter, non-GMO cornstarch, baking soda, candelilla wax and beeswax
- 85% of users said it neutralized underarm odor all day
- 96% of users said it goes on dry and clear
- Refill cartridges available
- Fragrance: essential oils and natural extracts
- EWG rating: EWG Verified
- Price: $28 ($18 for refills)
My take: The ultimate combination of a luxury deodorant + eco-friendly packaging. Clean Rose is a lovely scent!
BUY BEAUTYCOUNTER (Get 20% off your first order when you sign up for the Beautycounter mailing list)
Humble Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: fractionated coconut oil, non-GMO cornstarch, baking soda, beeswax
- Unscented versions available in both regular & sensitive
- Sensitive skin version is also vegan
- Fragrance: Essential oils
- EWG rating: 1
- Price: $9.99
My take: Humble has lovely scents and in my humble opinion, has the best deodorant for sensitive skin. The Moroccan Rose scent is my favorite!
BUY HUMBLE
Wellnesse Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: tapioca starch, coconut oil, baking soda, shea butter, sunflower seed wax, zinc
- Packaged in sustainable paperboard tube
- Fragrance: Natural driftwood scent works for the whole family
- EWG rating: N/A
- Price: $14
My take: A simple but effective formula that goes on smoothly and is super eco-friendly.
Schmidt’s Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick and jar
- Primary ingredients (stick): arrowroot powder, baking soda, coconut oil, shea butter, candelilla wax
- Primary ingredients (cream): shea butter, arrowroot powder, baking soda, cocoa seed butter
- Sensitive Skin formula available that uses magnesium instead of baking soda for odor control
- Activated Charcoal version available
- All formulas are vegan
- Fragrance: A combo of essential oils and natural fragrances (but nothing artificial)
- EWG rating: 1 – 2
- Price: $9-10
My take: The cream formula is good but can be a bit hard to get out. I like the stick much better. Fav scents include: Bergamot + Lime, Rose + Vanilla and Charcoal + Magnesium.
BUY Schmidt’s
Schmidt’s on Thrive Market ($7.99)
Pretty Frank Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick, cream and spray
- Primary ingredients (stick): shea butter, baking soda, coconut oil, beeswax, arrowroot
- Primary ingredients (cream): shea butter, arrowroot, baking soda, coconut oil, candelilla wax
- Primary ingredients (spray): witch hazel, alcohol, safflower oil, aloe leaf
- Baking soda free versions available
- Creams and sprays are vegan (sticks contain beeswax)
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: 1
- Price: $10.99 – $12.99
My take: Loved this brand when it was called Primal Pit Paste!
Buy Pretty Frank
Pretty Frank at Thrive Market ($9.99)
Myro
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: Propylene glycol (vegetable derived), aloe vera, Saccharomyces Ferment, glycerin, corn starch
- Plastic case is refillable with deodorant pods
- Fragrance: essential oils and naturally derived ingredients
- EWG rating: N/A
- Price: Starter kits $10 and up
My take: LOVE that this product is refillable and the product glides on super smooth! Pillow Talk is my favorite scent!
BUY Myro (Myro on Amazon)
Earth Mama Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: coconut oil, corn starch, candelilla wax, baking soda, beeswax, magnesium, arrowroot, calendula
- Formulated especially for sensitive skin, pregnancy and breastfeeding, yet effective for everyone
- Perfect blend of baking soda and magnesium makes it fine for extra sensitive skin
- Certified organic by NSF
- Fragrance: essential oils (unscented also available)
- EWG rating: 1
- Price: $10.99
My take: Love the subtle scents and soft feel of this deodorant. The mini sizes are great for travel!
Buy Earth Mama
Thinksport Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: Coconut oil, candelilla wax, beeswax, corn starch, arrowroot, baking soda
- All ingredients rated either a “0” or a “1” by EWG’s Skin Deep database
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: 1 (Unscented is EWG Verified)
- Price: $6.99
My take: Great budget option
BUY Thinksport
Cleo + Coco Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: cocoa butter, coconut oil, beeswax, baking soda, activated charcoal
- Sensitive skin formula without baking soda available
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: N/A
- Price: $14
My take: The wax mold at the bottom of the deodorant stick allows you to hold on for a mess-free application – a brilliant zero waste invention!
BUY Cleo + Coco
Pit Putty Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick, cream, spray
- Primary ingredients (stick): arrowroot, coconut oil, baking soda
- Primary ingredients (cream): arrowroot, shea butter, coconut oil, sunflower oil, baking soda
- Primary ingredients (spray): witch hazel, coconut oil, sunflower oil, rice enzymes
- Sensitive skin formula without baking soda or coconut oil available
- USDA Organic certified
- Vegan
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: N/A
- Price: $10.95
My take: I love their deodorant cream! It goes on super smooth and the Geranium Lime scent smells amazing. The best organic deodorant cream around.
BUY Pit Putty
Kaia Naturals Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: propanediol (naturally derived), glycerin, candelilla wax, saccharomyces ferment, magnesium, activated charcoal
- Uses activated bamboo charcoal and natural fermentation for odor control
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: 3
- Price: $24
My take: Loooove this deodorant! Smells beautiful (especially the rose scent) and goes on so smooth….but it’s a bit more expensive.
BUY Kaia Naturals
Native Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: coconut oil, arrowroot powder, baking soda, shea butter
- Sensitive skin version (Cotton & Lily scent) is baking soda free
- Just came out with plastic-free deodorant in a cardboard tube in select scents
- Offer fun seasonal scents – get on their mailing list to find out!
- Fragrance: proprietary blend of essential oils, natural extracts and some phthalate-free synthetics (I wish they were more transparent about their fragrance ingredients)
- EWG rating: 1 – 3
- Price: $12
My take: This deodorant glides on super smooth. Some of the scents are too strong for my liking but Cucumber & Mint is nice because it is made with only natural extracts and is a softer scent.
BUY Native
Meow Meow Tweet Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick and cream
- Primary ingredients: coconut oil, arrowroot, magnesium hydroxide, cocoa seed butter, shea butter (baking soda in original version only)
- Low waste packaging: cardboard stick and glass jar
- Many certified organic and fair trade ingredients used
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: 2
- Price: $14
My take: Love the biodegradable, push-up paper tube!
BUY Meow Meow Tweet
Soapwalla Deodorant Review
- Type: Cream
- Primary ingredients: shea butter, cornstarch, baking soda, sunflower seed and jojoba oils, kaolin clay, glycerin
- Sensitive skin formula available (baking soda free)
- Vegan
- Comes in glass jar
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: N/A
- Price: $18
My take: This was the first deodorant cream I ever used and I loved the creamy consistency and the essential oil fragrance.
BUY Soapwalla
Alaffia Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: glycerin, saccharomyces ferment, shea butter, aloe vera, arrowroot, activated charcoal
- Non staining, goes on clear
- Baking soda free
- Fragrance: essential oils and natural fragrance
- EWG rating: 2 – 3
- Price: $7.19
My take: Goes on clear even though it contains activated charcoal. Love the affordable price and that I can find it at my local co-op.
BUY Alaffia
Every Man Jack Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: propanediol (vegetable derived), aloe vera, witch hazel
- Some certified organic ingredients
- Fragrance: a proprietary blend of essential oils (nothing artificial)
- EWG rating: 3-4 (higher rating because they list fragrance, but all of their fragrance comes from natural sources and is paraben-free)
- Price: $8
My take: This has been my go-to deodorant for my 2 teenage boys. It works! We love the Citrus scent.
BUY Every Man Jack
Piper Wai Deodorant Review
- Type: Cream and stick
- Primary ingredients: tapioca starch, coconut oil, shea butter, baking soda, activated charcoal, essential oils
- Formulated for sensitive skin with just enough baking soda to be effective but not cause irritation in most people
- Vegan
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: 3 (some of the essential oils have higher ratings)
- Price: $13 – $15
My take: Don’t be thrown off by the grey color – it goes on clear and does not stain your clothes. Also the blend of 11 essential oils smells fantastic!
BUY Piper Wai
EO Deodorant Review
- Type: Spray
- Primary ingredients: Organic ethanol and essential oils
- USDA Certified Organic
- Portable deodorant wipes also available
- Fragrance: essential oils
- EWG rating: 1
- Price: $6.99
My take: If you like a spray, I highly recommend this one.
BUY EO Deodorant
EO Deodorant at Thrive Market ($5.49)
Tom’s of Maine Deodorant Review
- Type: Stick
- Primary ingredients: Propylene glycol (vegetable derived), aloe vera, hops, sunflower seed oil
- Readily available and affordable
- Fragrance: Essential oils, plant oils and other natural fragrance ingredients
- EWG rating: 2 – 3
- Price: $5
My take: Tom’s was my deodorant of choice for many years. You can’t beat the price and you can find it everywhere!
BUY Tom’s
Have you found a natural deodorant that works for you? Share your favorite brand in the comments!
RELATED: 4 Good Reasons to Buy Natural, Non-Toxic Products for Home & Life
Erika Voeller says
This is super, super helpful! I’ve tried TOMS and Schmidt’s, and have been wanting to try Native for some time. I’m glad I made the switch to all-natural deodorants.
Micaela says
Native is quickly becoming my favorite! Hope you like it!
Katherine says
This is such a wonderful resource! I’ve tried a few natural deodorants, but haven’t yet found one I love. Thanks for doing the legwork! Off to try a few more 🙂
Micaela says
It might take a while to find the best one for your body and lifestyle – but it’s worth the effort!
Hayley says
I’ve been buying natural deodorants left and right, trying to find one i love. This is a great guide.
Micaela says
Your body takes a couple weeks to detox when you make the switch – so hang in there!
Jenn says
Great recap. I didn’t realize that you could have natural deodorant that is an antiperspirant too. I’m going to have to try some of these.
Micaela says
Actually – they aren’t truly antiperpirants because they do not stop you from perspiring – but rather, they help absorb wetness!
Amber says
What a great comprehensive post! Making the switch to natural deodorant is definitely quite the task. I made my own for a while, but now that I have a baby ain’t nobody got time for that! I just tried Schmidt’s and I’m loving it!
Charlie says
I also love Meow Meow Tweet deodorants. Work extremely well. Have baking soda free options, too.
http://www.meowmeowtweet.com
Micaela says
I’ve been wanting to try that brand!
Bev says
I recently started using Primal Pit Paste after getting it for me MightyFix from MightyNest one month and I think it’s great! It totally works and I like that it feels dry right when I put it on. Also a huge fan of Tom’s of Maine deodorants.
Courtney @ Wholesome Houses says
I love this post! I feel like I have tried several different deodorants. Several of them caused me to break out (I think that is a baking soda allergy). One of my faves is Piper Wai, but I also like a couple of alcohol-based sprays. One of the most effective (and nontoxic) things that works pretty well is Milk of Magnesia!
Micaela says
Milk of magnesia as deodorant? I’ve never heard of that one!
E. Duncan says
I have a medical condition that causes me to sweat profusely all over, horrible situation for a woman! Regular deodorants do not work for me. I just recently took a chance on Dr. Teal’s stick deodorant and I. LOVE. It! It is very thick, such a lovely scent, and all natural ingredients (near as I could tell). I still sweat all over, but at least there isn’t that embarrassing odor. I love Dr. Teal’s Epsom salts in my bath, but had never thought to try the deodorant. Am very pleased, and it’s not expensive.
Micaela says
I’m so glad you found something that worked for you!