What is Natural Deodorant?

If you’ve ever pondered the question “what is a natural deodorant?”, you’re not alone. 

People are starting to be more mindful about how their actions affect the environment – and their health. This even comes down to what we buy for our bathroom cabinet. We don’t want to see a load of harsh chemicals or suspicious ingredients staring back at us from the shelves, which is why so many people are making the switch to natural deodorants. 

What’s in Regular Deodorants?

If you’ve read any of our other blogs (hello there gorgeous, always a joy to meet a fan) you’ll know our stance on some of the ingredients that go into normal deodorants. Chemical deodorants, especially anything labelled as an antiperspirant, contain aluminium salts which block sweat glands to avoid perspiration. The thinking is, no sweat = no BO. 

The problem is that this stops the body from sweating out toxins, which we believe is a vital bodily function. There’s also talk online about whether aluminium can cause imbalances in the body which may contribute to illnesses. But before you have a complete meltdown over your historic deodorant use, it’s important to note that the jury is still out on whether this is true and a lot more research needs to be done.   

Another slightly suspect ingredient in mainstream deodorants is parabens. These are in a ton of cosmetic products, such as lipsticks, moisturisers and suncreams because they act as preservatives. However, some studies have shown that parabens have similar risks to aluminium, although beauty safety authorities still haven’t found them to be a problem ingredient. 

Meanwhile, many other standard deodorants use alcohol to prevent armpit odour, which can irritate the skin and dry it out. Less scary, but nonetheless not what we want for our delicate armpits. 

So, Is My Deodorant Bad For Me?

How worried should we be? Are the supposed bad ingredients in deodorant worth binning your non-natural products for?

Let’s not get carried away. While there have been some concerning studies, to reiterate there still needs to be way more research into how mainstream deodorants affect our health. 

And in the meantime, it’s our goal to give everyone a product that lets them step onto their stage (whatever yours may be) every day and perform, without having to worry about dodgy ingredients or dodgy BO smells. Besides, we think there's a very good chance you'll fall in love with our carefully crafted luxury scents, nourishing formula, and gorgeous packaging – in fact many of our audience find AKT more effective than their previous non-natural deodorants and antiperspirants.

(Sorry, we’re good at making deodorants, not being humble).

How Long Has Natural Deodorant Been Around For?

Natural deodorant, the stuff made without parabens, aluminium or any other toxins, has been a big deal for thousands of years. The Egyptians were known to place perfumed wax on their bodies – and even on top of their heads – that would melt throughout the day and give off an alluring fragrance. The Romans also enjoyed bathing in essential oils and the 17th century French aristocracy went so far as to install scented fountains at dinner parties. 

Clearly us humans have always wanted to find natural ways to cover bad body odour and smell fresh. That’s why we’ve worked so hard to come up with the best and most awarded natural deodorant in the UK.

(Avoiding nasty ingredients? No problem. Avoiding bragging? Hmmm, still working on it.)

How Does Natural Deodorant Work?

Natural deodorants work to eliminate sweat and odour using only natural, usually botanical ingredients. They aim to neutralise bad smells and minimise moisture, allowing you to sweat without smelling so bad you could empty out the entire stalls at a matineé of Hamilton. 

Now, many people feel that some natural deodorants they’ve tried don’t do enough to deal properly with BO (pre-AKT, our founders made the same unfortunate discovery). That’s why the DEO-BARRIER COMPLEX™ in AKT’s The Deodorant Balm is so key. It’s a unique blend of natural plant and mineral powders that sit invisibly on your skin, absorbing natural perspiration without blocking your sweat glands.

So if you’ve tried a natural deodorant and been disappointed, you might want to give our balms a go. They let your skin sweat, because we think it’s important for your health, but absorb moisture once it reaches your skin. 

What Are the Benefits of Natural Deodorant?

For starters, the main benefit of natural deodorant is that you can put your beautiful mind at ease knowing that natural deodorants are free of worrying ingredients. But there are also a load of other benefits that come with using natural deodorant:

• Kind to skin, even if yours is sensitive. Because there are no seriously harsh chemicals in natural deodorants, they’re really good for sensitive skin. The oils and powders are often derived from plant-based ingredients, which are naturally healing and soothing. For example, we use vitamin E – an antioxidant that protects and repairs – and coconut oil which contains fatty acids that helps calm inflamed skin.
  
  (Psst, we also have an entirely unscented version of our award-winning deodorant balm for those with extra sensitive skin!)
  
  

• No more yellow stains on clothes. These embarrassing marks happen when sweat mixes with the aluminium in conventional deodorants. There’s nothing worse than debuting a chic new white t-shirt, only to have it ruined in a matter of days by your deodorant. Why risk it? Make the switch to natural deo and say goodbye to yellow underarms.
  
  

• Works with the body, not against it. Instead of using aluminum chlorohydrate and aluminum zirconium to block your pores, aluminium-free deodorants like ours are full of natural ingredients like calendula oil, which has antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. These essential oils, powders and lotions neutralise bad-smelling bacteria and help absorb excess moisture. 

• Help maintain the good bacteria in your pits. This means happier skin and less odour — even when you’re not wearing any deodorant. 

Natural deo: better for the natural world 

It’s not just your own skin you’ll be saving when you switch to natural deodorant. 

AKT’s multi-award winning Deodorant Balm is:

• Plastic-free

• 100% recyclable

• Comes in aluminium tubes that go straight into the recycling

• Always arrives in tape-free cardboard boxes

• Lasts at least 2 months, which means less waste

• Made in the UK wherever possible

• Completely vegan and cruelty-free 

We’re on to something big here, and we want you to be a part of it. Meet our ensemble of UK-based natural deodorants and find your perfect fragrance.