Last year, my mom had my sister and I over for dinner. As we arrived, she was elated about finally being able to give us a gift that she kept forgetting about. Guys, she had hyped up this gift so damn much that we were pretty sure she’d bought us each an easy bake oven, but she reached into her purse (first clue it wasn’t an EBO) and handed each of us… a tube of Native Deodorant.
Native Deodorant is an ultra-simplified deodorant made from minimally processed ingredients. They employ smart and clever ingredients to do the big work that commercial ingredients like aluminum, silica, and triclosan usually do. Their deodorants aren’t antiperspirants, but they do a pretty good job of controlling odors and actually might even moisturize and protect your oft-ignored underarm skin!
I’d never seen my mom this enthusiastic about a deodorant before! As a deodorant aficionado, myself, I immediately added it to my rotation. (Yes, rotation.) There was no way its maiden voyage would in a high-pressure situation – I’ve been burned before – so I used it while working on the tiny house I’m building with my boyfriend. After several hours, I was pleasantly surprised. I was sweating like sweat monster, but there wasn’t that “omg please shower me ASAP” odor that I had definitely earned.
After introducing my boyfriend to it, I am pleased and also disappointed to say that I never saw it again. It with right into his work bag and out of my life. Queue the Celine Dion.
Then, a miracle: Native actually contacted me a few months later asking if I’d ever tried their products. When I explained the traitorous thievery that took place, they offered to send me two tubes in my choice of scents. Just as I was screaming “YES” into my keyboard, they one-upped themselves by offering to give away three additional sample packs (including 3 full-size tubes) of Native Deodorant to you guys. (!!!)
Free deodorant! Yes, please! But first, an introduction…
What’s the Deal with Native Deodorant?
This is a pared-down deodorant because this company firmly believes that deodorant is best when it’s simple. Truly, if you look at the ingredients in most deodorants, you probably don’t recognize any of them. This isn’t a bad thing, by any means, but Native believes that it doesn’t have to be so complicated.
Just look at the list of ingredients on the back of my tube of Native Deodorant:
Most of those are, like, kitchen & skincare ingredients. That’s pretty cool! But Native is most proud of what’s missing from this list.
If you’ve read a lot of deodorant labels, you’ll likely notice that Native Deodorant contains no aluminum, no talc, and no silica. The formula is paraben-free, gluten-free, phthalate-free, and they are 100% cruelty-free.
(If you think “cruelty-free” is a silly label for a deodorant, let’s just say you’d be surprised at the companies that test their products on animals.)
How Does Native Deodorant Work?
If there are so few “standard” deodorant ingredients in Native Deodorant, how in the heck does it work?
Native Deodorant uses clever and ingenious ingredients that we’ve been using our whole lives… but in completely different ways. Their main players: baking soda, acidophilus (like the stuff in milk and probiotics – and naturally found in your body!) and milk of magnesia for those who have sensitive skin or are allergic to baking soda.
The whole point of deodorant is basically to adjust your skin’s pH levels to counteract the natural bacteria in sweat that causes odors. Baking soda and the probiotics are major pH adjusters. You might be one of those people who adds baking soda to their laundry (like me!). People do that because baking soda adjusts the pH of the laundry water, thereby “softening” it which allows the detergent to work more efficiently. Yes, the same stuff that controls your B.O. also makes your pancakes and bath towels fluffy.
Aluminum chlorohydrate is what most antiperspirants use as a weapon against odor and wetness. Triclosan is used in deodorants (different than antiperspirants) to stop the bacteria that causes odor from growing. Native Deodorant doesn’t use either of these, and they still have an effective, successful product!
The nice smells in deodorants are there to cover up any remaining odors that might break through the first line of defense. Native has some of the best deodorant scents I’ve ever come across, and they are all plant and flower scents that are even better for covering up odors.
A lot of people are concerned about how the aluminum in antiperspirants might affect their body. I’ve done extensive research on whether or not aluminum-based deodorants should be feared, and honestly, I haven’t found anything to be afraid of. We’re going on 40 years of people worrying about aluminum being loosely connected to some pretty serious ailments, but those claims have never been fully validated by the science community. (Sources: Cosmetic Ingredient Review, Scientific American, Cancer.gov)
That being said, there are great reasons to choose a more simplified deodorant, one of which is: skin health. I’m not saying that other deodorants will rip apart your ‘pits, but Native Deodorant will most definitely nourish and condition your skin. We take care of the rest of our skin like this, why not your underarms, too? Native Deodorant is loaded with vitamin E, jojoba oil, beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil. As long as you don’t have an allergy to any of these things, you’re about to experience some truly luxurious armpits.
Another great reason: no staining. Yes! This is a solid deodorant that won’t stain your clothes! You can blame deodorant stains on aluminum, for sure.
Native Deodorant: Available Scents
Native Deodorant comes in scents are as based-in-nature as they come. What I mean is, Native doesn’t pretend to know what rain smells like. They don’t try to tell you they you’re going to smell like an “afternoon” or a “sunset,” so they definitely won’t try to sell it to you in the form of a deodorant scent.
If you’re looking for some ultra-feminine deodorant that has skin-healthy ingredients (and no aluminum), why bother with all that “flower shower fresh” crap and just reach for lavender & rose? See how simple and perfect that is?
Combinations like coconut & vanilla are just about as neutral as they come without being… well, unscented, which Native also offers. Every quarter, Native releases two seasonal scents (one for men, one for women) that are limited edition. I was lucky enough to pinch their winter scent, jasmine & cedar, before it switched over to the equally-alluring scent, cucumber & mint. These scents are all available in the women’s section.
Jasmine & Cedar Deodorant and Lavender & Rose Deodorant
However, if you’re looking to experience some truly captivating deodorant scents (I wish you could see how serious I am about my use of the word “captivating” right now), you need to head immediately to the men’s deodorant section.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that men’s fragrances are always 500% better than the fragrances marketed to women? Like, I get that my gender typically digs flowers and Lord knows we love our spa water… but are all deodorant companies totally blind to the fact that we might like stereotypically masculine scents, too?
For example, how incredible does oakmoss & basil leaf sound in the context of your armpits? How about eucalyptus & mint? I’m not sure if this is backed by science at all, but these woodsy, musky, earthy scents seem to be way better at masking any disorderly odor than women’s baking ingredient scents.
The men’s current seasonal deodorant scent is tea tree & sage – yes, please!? Luckily, the ingredients in the men’s and women’s deodorants are exactly the same. They come in the same packaging, even, and since the packaging colors correspond with the scents, you won’t even be able to tell it’s a men’s scent by looking at it.
Native also offers a deodorant specifically for sensitive skin. This formula removes baking soda and instead uses milk of magnesia which, when combined with the many hydrating and nourishing ingredients in the deodorant, can really help with odor preventing and skin-calming (although, like everything else, it’s controversial). Even the cotton & lily scent is soothing-sounding!
Okay, here comes the fun part – are you ready?
Native Deodorant Giveaway – 3 Winners will win 3 tubes each!
Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to worry about running out of deodorant for a few months? Eliminate the risk of you hitting the gym before work only to realize that you don’t have deodorant and enter the Native Deodorant giveaway!
We’re giving away three Women’s Sample Packs of Native Deodorant to three winners! Each pack includes three full-sized tubes of deodorant in Unscented, Lavender & Rose, and Coconut & Vanilla. It’s all packaged up in a cute box, and the value of each box is $30! Free! For you, maybe!
Just fill in the widget below to enter up to 6 times.
The Nitty Gritty:
- 3 winners
- 3 tubes of Native Deodorant each
- 6 ways to enter
- US only
- All ages
- Ends at this time:
The giveaway ends on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 11:59pm.
The winners will be announced on Twitter, so be sure you’re following me, @Broke_Beautiful, and Native Deodorant, @native_cos! (It’ll also give you an entry into the giveaway – convenient, right?) Any further questions about Native Deodorant can likely be answered on the Native website, or just tweet at ’em!
Don’t forget to share this giveaway with your stinkiest friends! Good luck!