Who can use natural deodorant?

I like to tell customers that I call our deodorant Farmers Pits because if it's good enough to keep a farmer smelling fresh, it's good enough for you! But maybe you're still skeptical. I get it! Social pressure to smell fresh 100% of the time is huge and switching deodorants can be a scary change to make. So I'm going to be as transparent as possible here not only about how well Farmers Pits works but about the limitations of any natural deodorant.

How Deodorant Works

I've already written a pretty in depth article about how various natural deodorant types work, which you can find here: How does natural deodorant work?

But today let's simplify all that. Pretty much everything on the shelf that's sold to put on your armpits, natural or otherwise, works one of three ways (or combines several of these).

1. Stop the sweat (no sweat = no bacteria, the only way to do this is with aluminum salts)
2. Kill or prevent bacteria (a wide variety of methods both natural and not)
3. Cover or absorb odor

The big limitation of developing a natural deodorant is that only two of these methods are an option. The only way to prevent sweat entirely is with aluminum salts, which makes it not just a deodorant but an antiperspirant and are not considered a natural ingredient. If you want to wade into the science of whether or not aluminum is safe to use in deodorants, I've got an article about that too!

Since you're here reading about natural deodorant, I'm going to assume that you want to avoid aluminum, which means we're only using numbers 2 and 3. In addition to stopping odor, some of the other ingredients are there to moisturize, provide a specific texture or absorb sweat. Here's what each ingredient in Farmer Pits does:

Grass-fed tallow - moisturizes
Coconut oil - moisturizes (may have some antimicrobial activity)
Candelilla wax - prevents melting
Magnesium Hydroxide - raises the pH of the armpit (makes it more alkaline), which discourages bacterial growth
Arrowroot powder - makes deodorant feel less greasy, has some limited ability to absorb sweat
Zinc ricinoleate - odor absorber
Essential oils - covers odor and has some antimicrobial activity

Will Farmer Pits work for me?

We've tested Farmer Pits in a wide variety of heavy sweating situations and I've always been very happy with the results! It also glides on smoothly enough for unshaved pits, while being moisturizing enough for shaved pits. However, your armpits do have their own particular balance of microbes, driven by hormones, other products you use, showering habits and variety of environmental factors. This makes it hard to give a blanket guarantee that Farmer Pits will absolutely work for you.

I can give you a few tips to set you up for success.

Wear Natural Fibers

Polyester and its relatives, like nylon and other synthetic fibers have a unique ability to hold onto and encourage body odor, especially when worn next to your skin. To help your deodorant perform its best, wear natural fibers next to your skin like cotton, wool, linen and hemp.

Clean But Don't Detox

Armpit detoxes are a myth! Your armpits don't hold onto toxins, even if you've been using an antiperspirant. The sweat blocking ability of antiperspirant will linger for a few days after stopping use but any increase in body odor is likely due to changes in the microbial environment of your armpits, not "toxins".

Simply cleaning your armpits with your regular routine is typically just fine when changing deodorants. The exception is if you are experiencing body odor with your current deodorant, in which case I recommend not only a thorough scrub with something like our Charcoal Soap but if you have armpit hair, trim it! This will help you start with a fresh slate.

Laundry Time

This is another tip for those who are switching deodorants because they're experiencing body odor. Check the armpit area of your clothes for lingering odors that may need special attention to remove. Soaking clothes in warm water with washing soda (sodium carbonate) for a few hours before washing can help, as can drying clothes in direct sun (the UV light from the sun is naturally antimicrobial). Body odor can be particularly stubborn to remove from artificial fibers like polyester and nylon.

Accept the Sweat

If you're used to an antiperspirant, it may take a little while to get used to sweating again. Start by trying Farmers Pits on your days off, if you're uncertain about debuting a new deodorant with your coworkers. Remember that sweating is a perfectly normal thing that all people do, so don't let anyone make you feel bad about it. (It's also perfectly ok to decide NOT to accept the sweat and switch back to an antiperspirant, I'm not here to guilt anyone!)

Which Scent?

All scents use the same base formula, with different essential oils added. The scents I consider the strongest are lavender & geranium and cedar & thyme since they contain essential oils that have shown antimicrobial activity in lab tests (geranium and thyme) but this is probably only a slight advantage. The unscented version is not quite as strong due to the lack of essential oils but otherwise it still has the same odor fighting ingredients and I've been happy with how well it works.

Give it a try!

I hope this has given you the confidence to give Farmer Pits a try. Because whether you're editing code, mopping the floor or chasing cattle out of the neighbor's garden, Farmer Pits is made for you!