My Experience with Natural Deodorant

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I don’t know about you but I have heard a lot about natural deodorant lately. I have read a lot of blog posts about people using it and I have seen it at Whole Foods and Target. I’ve always been curious about it but never really interested enough to buy any. I have used regular antiperspirant deodorant since I was about 11 years old and never questioned it. I never thought about what was in it or what it was doing to my body until recently.

With the rise in talk about natural deodorant I decided to do a little research of my own and then see if it was something I wanted to try. What I found was that most deodorants labeled antiperspirant contained aluminum. I really didn’t think much about it because like I said earlier, I have been using it for the past 20-ish years. As I’m sure most of you out there know aluminum literally prevents us from sweating but what I wanted to know is how it works. Sure it stops me from sweating and feeling gross but what happens to the sweat?

Aluminum works by blocking the pores under your arm and not letting the sweat out of your body. Instead all of that sweat (and toxins) is staying in your body and building up. Eeeewwwww. Aluminum is also a known neurotoxin that is linked to both breast cancer and Alzheimer’s. I have a family history of Alzheimer’s so this is what really scared me.

So what can we do to prevent the aluminum buildup? Switch to a deodorant that doesn’t have it. Duh.

One of the things I worried about the most before switching was sweating a lot and smelling myself. I distinctly remember my Neenee (grandmother) tell me that if you can smell yourself then other people have been smelling you for three days. This is something I have always remembered and take pride in smelling nice. LOL! But here’s the thing, I have always used an aluminum based antiperspirant deodorant and so I’ve never really smelled myself before so I really didn’t even know what smell to look out for. Now there’s some food for thought for you.

After much internet stalking research on about a million different kinds of natural deodorant I finally settled on the Schmidt’s brand to try. What made me try Schmidt’s first? Well, let’s see…

1. Schmidt’s products are 100% vegan and cruelty free.
2. Schmidt’s doesn’t test on animals and is certified by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics
3. Schmidt;s products are 100% free of aluminum, parabens, propylene-glycol, phthalates, gluten, and artificial fragrance.
4. Schmidt’s products have a strong natural fragrance that comes from essential oils or non-synthetic isolates.
5. Schmidt’s doesn’t use any artificial colors or dyes in their products.
6. Schmidt’s has amazing customer service and they go above and beyond to help you and answer any questions you might have about their products!!

Now before I continue with this post please know that I am not a vegan nor do I use only vegan products but I figured if I was going to try the whole natural deodorant thing then I was going all in. I also love products that smell amazing and I have heard that most natural deodorants don’t have the best smells but the Schmidt’s products that I have tried so far have been highly fragranced and I love that it’s all natural as well!

I purchased my very first stick of Schmidt’s Rose + Vanilla Deodorant from Amazon, my go-to shop for everything these days. HA! I can honestly tell you that I have gotten soooo many compliments on the way it smells and have been asked by people I work with if I have on a new perfume, nope! It’s just my new deodorant. So if you like the smell of roses then you will love this.

First things first I got the stick and didn’t read anything about application. I just opened it and started twisting the stick. I’m not going to lie when I tell you it was hard to twist and I got a little worried and then it finally started to move! I noticed it looked a little gritty but wasn’t too worried about it. I swiped it on like normal (7-8 swiped under each arm) and went on about my day.

The first thing I noticed was that the deodorant stained my white cami. The Rose + Vanilla deodorant is a brownish color and it was all over my shirt. Dang it. The next thing I noticed was the next day when I went to apply it my arms were really red and burned a little but I applied as normal. Mistake!

The next day it hurt too bad to even use and that’s when I reached out to Schmidt’s. Turns out I was using it all wrong. Of course. OOPS!! Here’s what I learned from that experience…

1. When using a stick of natural deodorant you need to warm it up before using it. With the stick all you have to do is twist it up and hold it under your arm for 3-5 seconds and then it glides on like butter.
2. You only need 2-3 swipes and that will last you all day. Less is definitely more.
3. Your underarms will go through a detox period where they may “breakout” or even turn a dark color. All you have to do for this is exfoliate under your arms and then use a light moisturizer after and you will be as good as new.

The super amazing people at Schmidt’s explained all of this to me and then sent me a stick of their sensitive skin formula deodorant just in case it was a sensitive skin issue (it wasn’t, LOL). I got the Jasmine Tea flavor and y’all it smells amazing! Even after a sweaty workout!! It’s smoother than the regular formula and glides on super easy after warming it up.

And speaking of sweaty workouts I have found that I really don’t sweat that much under my arms anyway so all those yeas of using an antiperspirant was wasted. I also found that my “natural smell” isn’t that bad. I could definitely smell myself in the beginning of using it but only when I lifted my arms up and it wasn’t a bad smell, just different.

Since using both sticks in the regular and sensitive formula I also ordered and tried the jar formula of the Rose + Vanilla flavor and I honestly think it’s my favorite. It still smells amazing and comes with a tiny spatula! You just scoop a tiny, pea sized amount out and swipe it under your arm. Wait a 305 seconds for it to warm up and then use a finger to spread it around and you are good to go. I didn’t think I would like the jar at all so I was surprised at how much I love it!!

I have been using Schmidt’s natural deodorant for a couple of weeks now and I believe that I am a convert for life!! I really love this stuff and if you have been thinking about making the switch then I encourage you to try Schmidt’s!!

So there you have it, my natural deodorant journey. The good, the bad and the stains. HA!

Have you tried natural deodorant??
Did you like it??

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