By Jennifer Ritchie

We like to sweat, as evidenced by our commitment to 6am SoulCycle classes with Evan, but we don’t want to stink. Finding a non-toxic deodorant that actually accomplishes this -- allowing us to sweat and still smell good -- has proven to be a challenge.

This month, we went to our favorite nearby drugstore to purchase a handful of options and put them to the test.  Honest feedback below.

I’m obsessed with the smell of Schmidt’s Ylang-Ylang Calendula deodorant so I encouraged this trial.  For me, the one I have glides on fine and allows me to still perspire while masking the scent of body odor. The key word being masking.  It’s definitely not eliminated, but I’m fine with taming for the non-toxic factor.

Other’s felt similarly and differently:   

“I wanted to love this deodorant so badly! It has a cult following and the scents are great. Unfortunately, it gave me the worst rash.  Using it is how I found out I’m one of the unlucky few who can’t use a baking soda-based deodorant.”

“I’ll admit that when I first tried this deodorant, I didn’t immediately fall in love. It took a few days. I hated how it felt when I put it on. It felt rough and uncomfortable. I’ve learned that you have to wait for your body to warm up because of the coconut base. Once I started to do that, it went on smoothly. It lasted through my back to back Zumba and kickboxing classes. That’s hard to come by, especially with a natural deodorant. Now I can gladly say that I am a true fan. Plus, the Ylang Ylang one smells great!”

“I also wanted to love this deodorant, because I tend to get excited about the products I see on Instagram. However, the baking soda-based formula didn’t react well with my skin. I also wasn’t completely stink free with this brand.”

Onto Crystal mineral deodorant stick.   Shauna has been a fan for years. “I love that one stick lasted forever. It worked pretty well, although not the best for sweaty workouts. It was fine in Seattle, but moving to a warmer and sweatier place like Texas, it didn’t make the cut.”

And we tried the popular Milk + Honey for the baking soda-less option and are still in the testing phase. “The scent is great and it seems to stand up pretty well to hot weather and intense workouts. It is a really creamy formula, which isn’t my favorite. I’ve found it’s a little messy, often requiring me to wipe off extra product, and it’s difficult to not get any on your clothes.”

The last one in this bunch was Primally Pure.  “I REALLY wanted to love this brand because I use so many of their other products. I found this is natural deodorant worked best for me in terms of blocking stink (even through tough workouts) but I had the same skin issue with the formula containing baking soda and had to stop using it.”

Do you have a favorite natural deodorant?  Share it with us on Instagram!