Green Tech Girl

I used to use conventional deodorant, but I was finding that each year, my brand (Lady Speed Stick) was ruining its scents by making them stronger and potent to the point of overwhelm. What happened to a simple baby powder smell? Yeesh. I was also getting concerned over the aluminum and other bad things, so I decided to give Tom’s of Maine deodorant a try.

I had tried Tom’s of Maine years ago and it was pretty useless. Now, however, they have added “hops” to the mix (yes, the stuff used in beer production). Apparently, this eats up bacteria, which is what makes your armpits smell.

Natural deodorants do not stop perspiration, so you have to be aware of that, but that’s a good thing. Blocking perspiration is probably not a good thing (some people think it may cause cancer)…because your toxic lymph isn’t allowed to sweat out.

The new Tom’s of Maine works surprisingly well, though you need to reapply it if you have gotten sweaty (such as through working out) because it will sweat off.

The problem I have with Tom’s of Maine is that it is damn expensive. I can get a variety of scents over at Rite-Aid, but at a whopping $5.99/pop. (It’s cheaper at Trader Joe’s, but unscented, which I don’t like.)

I found that Arm & Hammer (yes, the baking soda company) has now gotten into the natural deodorant business with its Essentials line. It advertises a product that is free of aluminum and parabens, though it appears that the scented version uses an artificial scent (I’m not sure). It also has some stuff derived from natural gas, which I suppose is technically “natural” but perhaps not in the way that some folks like. (Tom’s of Maine has this too.) Regardless, it does work relatively well and is a lot cheaper than Tom’s of Maine. It’s also probably more accessible to people who don’t live in cities like Los Angeles.

The Arm & Hammer “Fresh” scent is slightly too masculine for my tastes, so I’ll probably continue with Tom’s of Maine unless Arm & Hammer gets some new scents going.

For more reviews of natural deodorants, check out National Geographic’s Green Guide.