Natural deodorant is a scam

“I need a natural deodorant,” my friend Becky texted me. “That doesn’t make me smell… worse.”

And thus the journey began. I used natural deodorant for years. Not because I think antiperspirants with aluminum are unsafe—studies I trust say they are totally fine—but feeling like I should let myself sweat.

Once, many years ago, I got Botox in my armpits not to sweat which worked sort of, but what they don't tell you is that your body obviously still sweats and you sweat more in other places, often previously dry places. Like my upper lip was constantly dripping, and same for my lower back. I HATED it as much as I hated the one time I got a lip flip and the whole thing just put me off of Botox and I’m not sure if I’ll ever try it again.

Anyway: armpits. I used Soapwalla’s deodorant cream, which I continue to like. You have to apply it with your fingers which somehow really bothers a lot of people, but I liked that I could really rub it in. I shower, I exfoliate, I moisturize, I wear perfume, I wash my clothes: I don’t think I smell bad. But I still did sweat and that led me to Numi undershirts, which are these cropped, super light undershirts with gusseted underarms that I wear under almost everything, especially silk. It will save your clothes and your dry-cleaning budget.

I told Becky that the key is two things: