Like toothpaste and shampoo, deodorant is another one of those products that we use all the time, and so the deodorant we choose plays a big part in impacting our bodies, as well as our planet. I never used to put too much thought into my deodorant choices; I normally went for roll on over aerosol because of too many ‘this dressing room is really small and now I’m choking’ situations, but other than that I just grabbed whatever was there. Of course my lack of care around this subject changed with the zero waste choice, and so I’ve been patiently waiting it out whilst my old Dove roll on deodorant took about a zillion years to run out. But the hour finally arrived, and here we are!

Now, I know that the obvious sustainable choice is to make my own deodorant but here’s a little bit more info on my purpose behind this blog. This blog, whilst it is for everyone of course, is essentially for Londoners first, or people like them. People who lead crazy lives and spend half their time commuting and are just generally a bit knackered. People who, when given the choice, are not going to make their own deodorant, because they’ve just got a million other things going on and they can’t deal with the faff. Now I’m not saying this is good or bad, I’m just saying this is some people’s reality and I feel like, if the only choice is make it yourself, they’re just not gonna do that. So I want to be here to help people redirect their consumer choices into better options (that are often cheaper and last longer). There will always be some people that don’t want to make things themselves, and I want to help there. So, with that in mind, I actually picked up quite a few different deodorant options to try out in the coming months. I originally thought it would go in one post but then I realised there was just too much to say (look at this post already), and so I’m going to take you all through a series of me trying out different products and telling you about them, then you can make the choice for yourselves! I’ll be trying some high street products, DIY recipes and an alum bar, so you can choose whatever’s right for you. I figure if you have all the options, then it’s gonna make your life much easier amidst the chaos.

So let’s get cracking. Firstly, and I hate to be a downer here, lets briefly just look at why my original deodorant was so bad for me:

– It came in a ton of unnecessary plastic packaging. Already a giant no-no.
– It wasn’t cruelty free. Dove’s parent company is Unilever and well, let’s not get into their track record.
– It contained a TON of toxic ingredients. I don’t know if you knew this, I certainly didn’t, but most deodorants are indeed full of lots of nasty things: Parabens, Aluminiums, Triclosan… the list goes on. Whilst people may not necessarily agree with all the science (I’ve seen people arguing both that these can be linked to cancer and that that’s not true) the general consensus is that these ingredients aren’t great and the bottom line for me is if they aren’t absolutely necessary, why bother?

So yep, all things I wanted to change. I first stopped by Lush to pick up three samples of their solid deodorant bars and I’m currently a week and a half in to using the first: the solid sunflower deodorant. This one isn’t available in all Lush stores, which I didn’t know when I got the sample. It just so happens that my local lush is the giant Oxford Street store which seems to be the only place stocking this,however I’m still going to tell you about it because normally after enough time products in this store do roll out across the country, so maybe you’ll see it soon.

Before we get into the deodorant itself however I want to tell you about detoxing, because that’s where I’m at right now. I had a vague idea in my head about this before I made my switch, and the girl in store at Lush did warn me that as I changed I’d probably smell a little funky for a while, but now I’m actually experiencing it. All in all it’s not too bad and it is ultimately a good thing that’s happening, but I definitely want to mention it so you’re all prepared for it to happen to you too. Most chemical deodorants or aluminium antiperspirants are designed to clog up your sweat glands and stop your sweat getting out (did you know this? I definitely didn’t know this). When you stop applying all this crap under arms your body is going to have a field day clearing you out, you may sweat more and smell worse for a little while, but this is a good thing. It means your armpits are actually getting a chance to breathe for the first time in who knows how long, and they’re getting rid of all the nasty stuff you don’twant trapped inside your body. In order to help this process along you can try some of the ideas listed here but do rest assured that this process will end. I am honestly finding it manageable, it’s not the end of the world, and it’s only temporary. I’d rather go through this now than continue clogging my poor little body up with rubbish.

So on to the first deodorant (pictured alongside the title). Firstly I will say, I don’t think it’s the most attractive product. Not that this matters because I’m going to rub it into my armpits, but I did get some funny looks when I tried to show people this cool new thing I’d bought. Texture wise it’s like a softer bar of soap, and it’s nice and smooth for rubbing onto the ~sweaty areas~ with no fuss. Once it’s on I instantly forget about it, it doesn’t feel particularly heavy, irritating or strange in any way and to me it feels lighter than the roll on I used to use. I do also think the smell’s a bit of a grower. It’s like a citrus-soap combo, and I really wasn’t a fan when I first smelled it but now I’m really liking it. It’s definitely a nice, light scent for summer and it feels clean without being OTT. If you’re in Oxford Street I would definitely say pop in and have a look, because it’s an exclusive to that store I can’t find a full ingredient breakdown online (sad) so it’s worth doing some ingredient checking of your own. I do know there’s pressed chrysanthemums in there because I can see them, but in terms of the scent I don’t know 100% what’s going on in there. It’s a good little sample and I’m glad I’ve tried it, but I have a strong feeling that it won’t be favourite when all my experiments are over.

I’ll keep this deodorant journey updated as I keep trying my different samples but until next time, stay magic y’all.