3 Tips for Making Natural Deodorant More Effective

Is your natural deodorant not quite doing the trick? Check out some of my favorite methods for making natural deodorant work better and last longer!

You know that conventional deodorant isn’t healthy for you or the planet, but you also know that natural deodorants don’t always work as well as the chemical kind. Makes sense, right? You’re not using toxic triclosan to kill the bacteria that cause body odor, and you’re not using antiperspirants that stop up your pores.

I’ll be the first to admit that toxic deodorants work better than natural ones. The good news is that there are some habitual ways to make that natural deodorant more effective. I’ve been on the natural deodorant train for a long time now, and these are the habits that I’ve developed over many years that seem to help.

1. Switch it Up

Your body gets used to natural deodorants after extended use, so don’t use just one sort. I always keep a few different tubes in my arsenal and rotate them in every few days or at least each week. Honestly, I’m not sure why this works exactly, but it’s made a huge difference for me.

2. Pit Scrub

When you’re using natural deodorant you need to be more vigilant about scrubbing your pits. There are a couple of methods that I’ve used, and both work very well:

Wash cloth. Instead of just soaping your pits with your hands in the shower, use a wash cloth to scrub them clean. You’re not looking for super harsh scrubbing. Gentle exfoliation whenever you shower is the goal here.
Soothing scrub. This is a salt scrub recipe that I use during the summer, when I’m sweating more. Even if I use this scrub in the shower the night before it makes a difference! The salt and oil exfoliate and moisturize, and the essential oils help keep that stinky bacteria at bay. I’ve noticed that when I moisturize my pits, I sweat less overall.

3. Rotate Pajama Tops

Do you sleep in any sort of PJs? If so, change that top out daily. I sleep in a tank top most nights, and I’ve noticed that using a different one each evening means less stinkiness. This means a bit more laundry each week, but a few tank tops don’t make a huge difference in my overall laundry needs.

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