Is natural deodorant really that bad?

I recall songstress Alicia Keys talking about natural deodorant on “Carpool Karaoke,” while the “Ordinary People” crooner John Legend sang about stinky people who use it. I laughed and went about my day. Like Alicia Keys’ husband Swizz Beatz, I was used to antiperspirant deodorant too.

And even though I cringe at Fat Joe interviewing himself on every single episode of “Joe and Jada,” I was tickled when he said your deodorant should have a “little cancer” in it. What woman wants to smell like “Game 7,” as Jadakiss described? John Legend may have been making solid points in his karaoke song.

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But was natural deodorant really that bad? The who’s who in hip-hop and R&B were coming down hard on the natural folks. Then, former NFL champion Ryan Clark complained about people testing out natural deodorant in July instead of January, making summer airport travel miserable. None of these people were on the same podcast or in the same room, but (minus Alicia Keys) they were all coming to a consensus. Natural deodorant was not the move.

Instead of being completely opposed to the idea, curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know: Is natural deodorant really that bad? Does natural deodorant make you stink? Instead of going for a lesser-known company that sold natural deodorant, I decided to try a popular brand that has proven itself to be especially solid: Dove.

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There is no better way to make me interested in doing something than someone telling me not to do it. I don’t mean ridiculous things like voting for Trump or touching a hot stove. Actually, I did touch a hot stove to clean up a soybean spill while I was making homemade soy milk. It took a couple of weeks for the darkened skin to go back to my usual complexion.

I also made fun of comedian Josh Johnson for getting hit in the nose by a ceiling fan, only to completely underestimate how close the fan blades were to my face when I was trying to check the light bulb size. I got knocked down like Adonis Creed fighting "Pretty Ricky” Conlan. I wore sunglasses for two weeks to cover the wound until it mostly healed and only left a small scar on the side of my nose.

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Clearly, I’m hard-headed. No one can talk me out of doing something that I already want to do, even when it comes to fashion. Long before Tank made fun of Tyrese wearing turtlenecks during “Verzuz,” I had an assortment of turtleneck and knit poncho sets that were constantly getting compliments. Then, when a co-worker said she looks at anybody funny who wears Skechers, I raised an eyebrow and bought my favorite part of Skechers in black, blue, gray and tan. Peer pressure doesn’t work on me. At all.

It doesn’t mean I don’t wear popular brands — minus a few that I think are problematic (e.g., Gucci or Prada). Name a popular brand, especially in the ‘90s during the Golden Era of Hip-Hop, and there’s a 99% chance I wore it: Karl Kani, Rocawear, FUBU, Nautica, Cross Colours, Baby Phat and so on. However, it’s not uncommon to see me wearing name brands as quickly as I’ll wear unfamiliar names. If I like it, I wear it.

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But there is one category that I don’t usually decide to go rogue on: personal hygiene. I have strong opinions when it comes to bathing legs, using face towels, washing hands and machine-washing jeans. There’s about a 98% chance you’ll see me bare-faced on a typical day (minus clear mascara and lip gloss), but that’s where it ends when it comes to “going natural.”

Still, I really wanted to know why there was such a divide when it comes to the Natural Deodorant Crowd versus the Aluminum Antiperspirant Deodorant Crowd. So, I bought a four-pack of aluminum-free deodorant and used natural deodorant for the first time this past month.