6 Aluminum-Free Deodorant Options without Baking Soda and Coconut Oil
Refreshed January 22, 2023 (added 7th brand)
Disclosure: I only highlight companies and products that align with Empower Palette’s values and/or I personally use. This blog may receive a commission from purchases through some or all of the links in this post (affiliate links). To shop some of the brands I love, check out the shop page. To see how much I make, visit the FAQs page.
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The truth about natural deodorants is that not all of them work well. Some work, but don’t last all day and you’ll need to reapply. Honestly, if your natural deodorant doesn’t last all day then you need a new one. Just because one brand works for a lot of people, doesn’t mean it will work for you.
Check the reviews to see how each brand is a go-to for many and a hit and miss for some.
None of the deodorants I’ve listed have aluminum.
New to natural deodorant?
Expect a detox process of your underarms for 2 to 4 weeks. Aluminum blocks your pores so no sweat can leave your armpits. When you switch to natural, you may sweat more than before. The excess sweat will stop during your detox. Also, drink more water to help flush out the toxins.
Sensitive skin?
If you have sensitive skin or get irritated by most natural deodorants, stay away from baking soda or citrus and lavender essential oils.
Baking soda: as an alkaline substance, it disturbs skin's acid mantle and microbiome and can cause rashes
Citrus and lavender essential oils: their main constituents, limonene and linalool, are allergens
Coconut Oil: it is comedogenic and may clog your pores and leave greasy stains on clothes {via Kinkō}
Stress sweat-er?
I recommend reading the reviews to see which deodorant works for you. Also, try to figure out what triggers your sweat and work on the cause of your stress.
We depend on deodorants like we aren’t supposed to sweat, but it’s very much the opposite. We need to sweat, it’s how we regulate our body temp and balance our microflora. Our underarms are like any other part of our body and they need to be treated well. So, we created a luxury, science-backed treatment that will show your sweat some respect.
— Hope Smith, Founder of MUTHA™
1 —
Curie
Female-founded by Sarah Moret
Named after Marie Curie (1800s physicist, 1st woman to win Nobel prize)
Cruelty-free
Shark Tank deal with Barbara and Mark
Sold in SoulCycle & Equinox
Sarah, Curie’s founder, started volunteering with a nonprofit called Simply the Basics, which aims to restore women living in homelessness with their dignity by providing simple (but important) hygiene products we all take for granted, such as toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, and—you guessed it—deodorant. Through stuffing hygiene kits for shelters around the city, and by helping put on Women’s Empowerment Day for homeless women, she was able to make a small difference, but wanted to do more.
We quickly realized our mission needs to include all women, even those who couldn’t afford the luxuries that are so easy to take for granted. Simply The Basics was the perfect organization to help us achieve this.
One stick of Curie Deodorant gets donated to Simply the Basics for every five sold on our website, with the goal of one day having a stick of Curie deodorant in every hygiene kit handed out across the country.
When people are able to properly care for their bodies, they have more success fighting illness, finding jobs, and surviving—even beating—homelessness.
We believe that this small act has the power to make women feel empowered, dignified, and healthy. When you choose Curie, you're supporting a brand that strives to help ALL women across the country live healthier lives.
NEW scents Coconut Nectar & Juniper Eucalyptus!
Stick Ingredients (NOT vegan) : coconut oil, arrowroot powder, beeswax, baking soda (low amount), corn starch, cocoa butter, triethyl citrate, sunflower seed wax, sunflower seed oil, elderberry extract, cucumber extract, chamomile flower extract, aloe vera, sage oil, vitamin e, sodium caproyl/lauroyl lactylate, fragrance, & lime essential oil (white tea only)
✓ Baking soda (low)
✓ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✓ Coconut Oil
Full Body Spray Ingredients (may be vegan): witch hazel, propanediol (plant-derived), organic alcohol, triethyl citrate, lactobacillus ferment, sage oil, sodium caproyl/lauroyl lactylate, water, polyglyceryl-6 caprylate, polyglyceryl-3 cocoate, polyglyceryl-4 caprate, polyglyceryl-6 ricinoleate, & fragrance
✗ Baking soda
✗ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✗ Coconut Oil
If your underarms get irritated by most natural deodorants, I recommend trying the spray deodorant first. It does not have baking soda which often irritates people. However, Curie says there is a low amount of baking soda in their sticks.
2 —
Megababe
Female-founded by Katie Sturino
Cruelty-free
Vegan
Formulated without baking soda, alcohol, parabens & goes on smooth & clear
The Geo Deo delivers the odor-fighting benefits of baking soda, without the irritation.
Geo Deo Ingredients: caprylic/capric triglyceride, tapioca starch, stearyl alcohol, shea butter, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium hydroxide, coconut oil, triethyl citrate, hydrogenated castor oil, sunflower seed oil, behenyl alcohol, polyglyceryl-3 stearate, eucalyptus leaf oil, cedarwood bark oil, zinc ricinoleate, zinc oxide, xylityl sesquicaprylate, lactobacillus ferment, silica, kaolin, oat kernel flour, chicory seed oil, sea buckthorn fruit oil, tocopherol (vitamin E), magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, peppermint oil, benzyl acetate, citronellol, hexyl cinnamal, methyl salicylate, methyl benzoate, coumarin, hydroxycitronellal, carvone, linalool, terpineol, maltodextrin, anhydroxylitol & lime oil
✓ Baking soda (low)
✓ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✓ Coconut Oil
African Black Soap Ingredients: propanediol, glycerin (vegetable), water, sodium stearate, silica, corn starch, zinc ricinoleate, fragrance, shea butter*_, sodium shea butterate, sodium palm kernelate, sodium cocoate, cocoa pod ash, grapefruit seed extract, saccharomyces ferment, polyglycerly-3 caprate, sucrose cocoate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, allantoin, tocopherol (vitamin E), & sandalwood oil
*Certified Organic Ingredient
_Fair Trade Ingredient
✗ Baking soda
✗ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✗ Coconut Oil
4 —
Kinkō
Use code EMPOWERPALETTE for 10% off
Means balance in Japanese
Female-founded by Fanny Coste and Chelsi Oestreich
Cruelty-free
Vegan
Formulated to work with your skin microbiome (no adverse effect on the friendly microorganisms that live on the skin)
See their ingredient list
The friendly microorganisms serve a very important purpose acting as our first line of defense against pathogens reducing the chance for infections. They also keep the skin barrier intact, protect it from inflammation, balance the pH of the skin, among so many other things. Your microbiome is as unique to you as your DNA.
Their fragrance is made of safe, naturally derived and sustainable aromatic ingredients, compliant with COSMOS standard.
Unscented Ingredients: water, triethyl citrate, propanediol, oryza sativa (rice) bran extract, sodium zinc polyitaconate, fructose, inulin, xylitol, silver, bisabolol, caprylic acid, xanthan gum, acacia senegal gum, kaolin, & lactic acid
Sakura Rose Ingredients: water, triethyl citrate, propanediol, oryza sativa (rice) bran extract, fragrance, sodium zinc polyitaconate, fructose, inulin, xylitol, silver, bisabolol, caprylic acid, xanthan gum, acacia senegal gum, kaolin, & lactic acid
✗ Baking soda
✗ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✗ Coconut Oil
5 —
MUTHA™
Female-Founded by Hope Dworaczyk Smith
Cruelty-free
Vegan
Why we love it:
MUTHA™ supports mothers.
Always one to act, Hope decisively chose to direct 5% of sales* from MUTHA™ to midwife and nurse education programs where maternal mortality rates are the highest. Her partner in this mission is the global humanitarian nonprofit organization International Medical Corps, who she had long championed personally. Leveraging MUTHA’s financial gifts, the IMC aids a host of critical needs from enrolling health workers in obstetric and newborn care certifications in the Central African Republic to programs in South Sudan.
By supporting MUTHA™, you won’t just be taking care of yourself—you’ll be taking care of women from Africa to Asia to ensure they can deliver their children safely. Together, we can boldly MUTHA™ the world into a better, more beautiful place.
Ingredients: maranta arundinacea root powder, caprylic/capric triglyceride, rice bran wax, shea butter, stearyl alcohol, coconut oil, avocado oil, ethylhexyl olivate, carnauba wax, zinc ricinoleate, lauryl laurate,tocopherol, salvia hispanica seed oil, bergamot fruit oil, spearmint leaf oil, morinda citrifolia leaf extract, lemon peel oil, grapefruit peel oil, lavender oil, sage oil, camphor oil, vegetable oil, glycerin, sunflower seed wax, acacia decurrens flower wax, jojoba esters, squalane, caprylyl glycol, anhydroxylitol・triethyl citrate, xylityl sesquicaprylate, polyglycerin-3, maltodextrin, water (aqua/eau), sodium caproyl/lauroyl lactylate, citric acid, citral, linalool & limonene
✗ Baking soda
✓ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✓ Coconut Oil
6 —
Ursa Major
‘The Great Bear’ in Latin
Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free
The sticks are not vegan (royal jelly from bees)
The spray is vegan
Hoppin’ Fresh Ingredients: water, propanediol, sodium stearate, tapioca starch, saccharomyces ferment filtrate, silica, kaolin, glyceryl caprylate, glycerin, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium bicarbonate, rosmarinus officinalis leaf oil, aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, cellulose gum, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, glyceryl undecylenate, mentha piperita oil, shea butter, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin E), hops extract, royal jelly extract, citrus limon peel extract, geranium maculatum oil, mentha arvensis leaf oil, calendula officinalis flower extract, matricaria flower extract, panax quinquefolium root extract, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, limonene, & linalool
*denotes organic
✓ Baking soda
✓ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✗ Coconut Oil
Sage Spray Ingredients: water, alcohol denatured*, saccharomyces ferment*, glycerin, sodium citrate, polyglyceryl-2 caprate, polyglyceryl-6 caprylate, polyglyceryl-4 caprate, sodium caproyl/lauroyl lactylate, triethyl citrate, sage oil, undecylenoyl glycine, polyglyceryl-3 caprylate, lavender flower oil*, niaouli leaf oil*, lemon myrtle leaf oil, sandalwood wood oil, geranium leaf oil*, frankincense resin extract, patchouli leaf oil, bisabolol*, & phenethyl alcohol
*denotes organic
✗ Baking soda
✓ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✗ Coconut Oil
Ingredients: coconut oil, shea butter, tapioca starch, caprylic/capric triglyceride, cyclodextrin, magnesium hydroxide
✗ Baking soda
✗ Citrus or lavender essential oils
✓ Coconut Oil
What is your go-to deodorant now?
Post a comment or question below and don’t hesitate to share this post and help create a cycle of natural deodorant 😘
& remember to allow your authentic self to empower the women around you
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