I am sounding off on a natural deodorant brand that hit the scene in 2017. I learned about Native through a vlogging family that I watch every so often. If you know me, then you know I am a walking deodorant dictionary for natural and chemical free deodorants. You name them, I have probably tried them! Most natural deodorants are not compatible with my skin. Reading tons of reviews through the years and trying a full shopping cart’s worth of deodorants through the years, I’ve also found this to be true for other people. In my experience, quite a bit of natural deodorants are prone to causing rashes.
Native is a natural body care brand that first began selling deodorants in 2017. They’ve expanded to body washes, toothpaste and other products. Most individuals who decide to make the switch over to natural deodorants due so to avoid body hazardous agent: aluminum. It’s really tough to find good aluminum free deodorants so I was ecstatic to learn about Native. What also sold the deodorant for me were the reviews from thousands of people on their website which averages at 4.5 stars. “Not bad, Not bad,” I thought!
When you navigate to the deodorant section of the site, you’ll find them organized by classic and seasonal scents. They even offer deodorant packs for 3 full size scents for $30. One single deodorant costs $12. It appears that Native recently raised the price of their deodorants. The deodorant that I purchased in the fall of 2018 was $10.80 and with a promo code, the total was $9.60. This could be considered slightly steep for a natural deodorant, though I personally have tried some that were 3x that price.
At first, I was going to opt for a seasonal summer pack that had a few yummy fruity scents and perhaps share one with a friend or family member. Instead, I opted to go with just one. I chose a seasonal scent at the time, which was pumpkin spice latte. The deodorant shipped fairly quickly and when I opened the package to smell the scent, I was very pleased with it. It gave me a nice vision of an autumn day, sitting on your grandparents’ sofa while eating a slice of a decadent pumpkin pie.
Now, here’s where the story gets juicy! I stopped using my regular Holy Grail deodorant and used Native for about 1 month. Around the three-week mark, my underarms started to get an itch. “Uh…Oh,” I thought. It was then that I knew that Native was about to jump on the “deodorants that let me down” bandwagon. I still continued to use the deodorant for another week and the itch became more severe, ultimately leading to darkening of my underarm skin. Thankfully, through experience, I have lots of tricks to get my underarms back to normal when a deodorant that I try leads to a rash. I’ll save those holistic tricks for another article. I absolutely wanted to love Native deodorant, especially because of their seasonal scents, which are always changing. Unfortunately, I had to leave Native deodorant in the “deodorants that let me down’ bandwagon and move forward with the years of evidence that nothing really compares to my Holy Grail deodorant! God bless that brand!
What specifically in natural deodorants are causing all these rashes?
You might be thinking…”well, what is causing the rashes and breakouts that many natural deodorants cause?” After toying with this pervasive problem and thinking about chemistry, I suspect that These ingredients may be the culprit: L. ACIDOPHILUS and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). l. acidophilus is a fermented species of bacteria. Baking soda is too harsh an agent to be in deodorants due to its high pH of 9. The skin's normal ph range is 4.5 to 5.5. A highly alkaline ingredient such as sodium bicarbonate will result in moisture loss to the skin's barrier and contribute to darkening and rashes of the skin. You're essentially messing up the natural ph of your skin which leads to the raw and itchy skin.
I've also noticed rashes with deodorants that have saccharomyces ferment filtrate. This ingredient is basically fermented yeast. What you’re basically doing is populating yeast onto your underarms. Yes, it is a non-toxic ingredient but it can lead to rashes. If you notice that you have a rash after using natural deodorants with any of these ingredients, please know that they are the culprit. If you do have sensitive skin, you definitely want to stay away from body care products with fermented ingredients and baking soda.
Here is the ingredient list of native deodorant:
caprylic/capric triglyceride, tapioca starch, ozokerite, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), magnesium hydroxide, coconut oil, cyclodextrin, shea butter, dextrose, and L. Acidophilus (probiotic). Their scented deodorants include a proprietary blend of oils.
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