Mineral deodorant… if you’d have told me 5 years ago that I’d be rubbing a wet block of salt on my armpits to stop BO, I’d think you were having me on. But now, as someone that understands the importance of looking after our environment, and myself, I’ve made the switch.
I’ve been wanting to change to a natural deodorant for a long time but was still in the process of using up my old deodorant. I’m all for making switches for the better but once an item has been purchased I don’t see the point in throwing it away before it’s finished, you know? Then it just becomes unnecessary waste.
I debated for a bit on whether I wanted to make my own natural deodorant with essential oils and stuff, or just buying a “salt stick”/mineral deodorant from the store. Given that I barely have any free time to begin with, I went for the easy just-buy-it-in-store option.
I’m not going to lie, I was super skeptical at first… Basically you take this solid stick of mineral, wet it under a tap, and rub it on your pits. There’s no scent to it, it doesn’t appear to “rub off” onto your skin, nor does it feel like anything is on there once it’s being applied. How on earth was that going to stop stinky pits after a sweaty workout or long day at work?
I did a little bit of research to see how legit a mineral deodorant is, and apparently, the minerals in the deodorant work to kill bacteria in your sweat/on your skin. The bacteria that builds up as you sweat is typically what causes BO – but if the bacteria is dead, so is your stench!
So I went for it. My old deodorant had ran out, so I took the plunge. I had read in many places that there is typically a “cleansing” period that your body/sweat glands go through upon matching the switch to a natural deodorant. Basically it’s your sweat glands unclogging themselves of the gunk that “typical” deodorants leave behind, and with that gunk is a build up of that funky bacteria we were just talking about. People have mentioned that for the first couple of weeks of using their mineral deodorant they had some stinky pits.
I personally did not experience a cleansing period. But to be fair, I didn’t really experience body odor or the threat of BO while I was using other deodorants. I did think though that maybe it was because my old deodorant had a scent to it, but my new mineral deodorant doesn’t have a scent and I haven’t experienced any BO while using this either.
Another amazing thing about the mineral stick is that I don’t feel as though there’s a weird, waterproof/sticky residue in my underarms anymore. I always used to find that I’d have a hard time washing off the old deodorant residue in the shower, but I don’t experience any build up or leftover tackiness from the mineral stick now, it feels like I’m not wearing anything.
There are some people online that were saying their stick had lasted them a whole year before running out, that’s insane! The deodorant I used to use -though cheaper than the mineral stick – would last me no more than about 4 months. So, even though the mineral stick is more expensive than typical deodorants, it potentially could last 3 or 4 times as long, making it well worth the $4 extra (mine cost ~$8).
The only thing I will say about the deodorant is that unlike a traditional deodorant, it isn’t an antiperspirant. Antiperspirants basically “stop” you from sweating (hence why people find there’s a build up in their pores that needs to be cleansed when use has ceased). The mineral stick doesn’t stop you from sweating, it just kills the bacteria to stop you from stinking so I find that I more easily get pit stains/feel slick in my under arms. I didn’t ever really feel like my pit stains were that avoidable with my other deodorant either so I’m not overly annoyed at this! Just be aware if you are someone that feels insecure about pit stains/sweats a lot!
I know there are mineral deodorant sticks out there that come pre-scented. Mine doesn’t have a scent, which I thought I would mind but I really don’t. I’ve also heard that people use essential oils on their stick to give them a little bit of perfume with it’s use, so if you’re concerned about not having (good) scented underarms, consider an essential oil.
I purchased the “Crystal” brand for ~$8 at Shoppers Drug Mart. I looked for it (or something similar) in a couple of grocery stores with no luck, so if you’re interested, try the drug store first! Or take advantage of technology and just buy it off Amazon…
Until next time
xx