I was recently talking about Deodorant with a good friend, who also loves natural beauty products like me.  I have been faithfully using a Sure Maximum Protection cream deodorant for years and I didn’t realise that it actually contained aluminium – an ingredient I thought was only present in spray deodorants. I should’ve checked the ingredients. 

So my search for a good Natural Deodorant began. I tried the Weleda Sage deodorant recently; it’s ok. It does remind me of roast dinners. It also gave me a massive zit on my arm pit.  Ouch. I don’t use it all the time, but it’s better than NO deodorant. I also purchased a Lush powder deodorant which I review soon – all I can say is; messy. Also, I think baking soda (an ingredient in many natural deodorants) causes a slight rash on my pits. 

Whilst aimlessly perusing TK MAXX, I spotted this deodorant for £3.99:

There was only one available in ONE scent, Refreshing Coconut.  I did a quick google and found it to be a US brand so I decided to snap it up. 

This ‘activated’ deodorant contains charcoal which is supposed to neutralise BO, coconut, neem, tea cutter, aloe vera and more.  It does NOT contain mineral oil, surfaces, aluminium etc. 

Ingredients list which I think looks pretty good:

The only ingredient that I raised an eyebrow at is Zinc Ricinoleate, since it sounds ‘metal-y’ but apparently this is just a derivative of castor oil (explanation here).

So firstly, this deodorant smells LOVELY. SO LOVELY.  It has a fresh creamy coconut smell that isn’t overly sweet, it is very lovely and I mean, who can say that about their deodorants.

The texture is definitely different to a regular stick balm. It’s not dry, it’s quite oily, as if you were about to moisturise your pits with a balm. It’s also grey because of the charcoal:

You don’t need to use too much. I did worry if the oily texture would block up my arm pits and causes spots, but so far, NO, it hasn’t done.  

Does it work?

Actually…surprisingly. YES. 5 days a week I do a tough 2 and a 1/2 hour walk with a very very heavy buggy and I am always sweating at the end of it. I do not smell when I use this and in fact, it lingers all day on your arm pits. 

I really really like this stuff. If I manage to find another scent I will definitely buy another one. The company website is here (US).