Even Your Deodorant Is Luxury Now
Natural deodorants have gotten a high-end makeover. Are they worth the price tag? Depends who you ask.
The word “deodorant” does not often inspire feelings of luxury. Of all the most common skincare products, it is perhaps the most decidedly unsexy, associated with unseemly odors and, well, armpits.
And yet, a new generation of deodorants has hit the market in recent years, many of them representing a confluence of the trends most driving the beauty industry right now: gender-neutral marketing; sustainable packaging; the kind of aesthetics that are worthy of being displayed on an Instagram feed; and, most crucially, “natural” ingredients.
There is however a catch to that last trend — a quick search for “natural deodorant” reveals widespread doubt about their efficacy, with numerous articles posing the question, “Do natural deodorants work?” This is not a question to be taken lightly when you’re dealing with a product designed to prevent B.O. That same search might also introduce you to a bevy of natural deodorant brands selling sticks for $20 USD or more a pop.
You would think that a product whose ability to perform its main function is so questionable, and whose price point can easily be triple that of the conventional drugstore stock, would be an instant failure — but that’s where you’d be wrong. Instead, natural deodorants are poised to be one of the biggest skincare trends of 2020, with luxury takes on the product popping up left and right from brands like Corpus, Aesop and more. In fact, deodorant’s lack of aesthetic appeal is precisely what makes it so ripe for an injection of style and panache. And while natural deodorants have long since proliferated in health food stores and the like, the category is seeing a resurgence in high-end grooming.
“It all stems from the ‘ -free’ claims which have been around for at least a decade. It definitely feels like the ‘natural’ craze really exploded in the last three years, with all of these small brands,” say Victoria Fu and Gloria Lu, chemists who founded the site and brand Chemist Confessions to demystify the many claims around skincare.
The desire for natural deodorants specifically came as a reaction to fear around the safety of aluminum-based antiperspirants, which have long since been the standard in the mainstream deodorant brands. “The theory was that aluminum from deodorant application was accumulating in the breast and could potentially cause cancer,” Fu and Lu say.
However, that fear is unfounded. “Let us be clear, there is nothing that supports this theory,” they say.
For their part, Fu and Lu are not particularly impressed with the so-called natural options on the market, noting that the actual meaning of the terms “clean” and “natural” is so variable from brand to brand. Most use some mix of acids, essential oils and starches to combat odor and absorb moisture, but none of those ingredients are as effective as aluminum salts, despite their now maligned reputation. “The starch-based natural alternatives is kind of like putting a bandaid over a cracked dam… especially if you are more sweat-prone,” Fu and Lu say.
So why are natural deodorants so trendy? Well, a quick perusal through the drugstore will reveal that there are plenty of gains to be made in the aesthetics department when it comes to deodorants. There, you’ll find bulky plastic tubes overrun with dated logos and generic colors that suggest deodorant is such an unsightly and embarrassing product one should not even bother with stylish design. Not only that, but the traditional drugstore deodorant aisle is firmly divided along a strict gender binary; that means staid florals and powder scents for women, while men are diverted to varieties like “Power Beads” and “Black Chill” (which, what?). In short, they leave a lot to be desired.
“For us design is a big part of our lives,” says Andy Coxon. Along with Ed Currie, Coxon is the co-founder of Akt, which launched at the end of 2019 with a trio of deodorant balms. At a glance, Akt’s products are the polar opposite of the classic Speed Stick — the balms are formulated with elegant scents like neroli, cedar and vetiver and housed in recyclable aluminum packaging rather than plastic. “We want our customers to take pride in the fact they’re using a product that not only works really well and looks beautiful, but is good for them and the planet,” Andy adds.
Though stylish design is a standout part of the brand, Coxon and Currie emphasize the product’s function as well. The deodorant, which sells for £18 GBP, was inspired by their time working in theater, when they struggled to find deodorants that kept them fresh and didn’t stain their clothes. Akt’s formulation uses “a proprietary blend of plant and mineral powders called DEO-BARRIER COMPLEX™, which cleanses the skin on contact, absorbs moisture to prevent bacteria from multiplying and neutralizes odours throughout the day,” as Currie explains.
Akt of course is not the first to suggest deodorant can be stylish. Corpus launched in 2018 with a series of aluminum-free deodorant sticks based around natural fragrances and touts climate consciousness as one of its core values (the brand notes it uses solar energy to formulate its products, while it does use plastic packaging). The delectable mint green packaging and appealing scent names like Santalum and Cedar Flora — not to mention the $22 USD price point — seem purposefully designed to appeal to the Santal 33 set.
Aesop also launched a new deodorant in 2018, priced at $35 USD. The Australian brand uses a roll-on formula made with zinc ricinoleate and vetiver, which imparts a silky consistency on the skin and a earthy, woodsy smell. Like all Aesop products, it has the sort of elegant packaging that once you’ve gotten used to seeing it on your bathroom counter, makes it hard to give up.
by Humankind, meanwhile, launched its natural deodorant in 2019 and uses reusable packaging as one of its selling points; customers initially purchase a plastic case and a deodorant stick for $12 USD, and are encouraged to sign up for regular refills while holding on to the plastic case. The deodorant is available in scents like eucalyptus, rosemary-mint and coconut and lists ingredients like tapioca starch and baking soda.
Though the new generation deodorants, for the most, part eschew the strict gendered packaging of their drugstore cousins, there are exceptions. Hawthorne and Disco are some of the newer grooming brands to label their products as explicitly for men. Both include eucalyptus-based deodorants in their lineups that tout their aluminum and paraben-free formulations. Though they market their products to men, their deodorants’ minimal packaging and neutral colors are a far cry from the clunkily hypermasculine look of their drugstore competitors like Axe or Dove Men+Care.
None of these brands are the first to make natural deodorant a luxury product, however. MALIN + GOETZ launched its eucalyptus deodorant all the way back in 2009, and it’s remained a popular entry in the brand’s lineup ever since. In fact, with its simple circular packaging, eucalyptus-based scent and focus on ingredients over performance in its branding, it would seem to have set the stage for the recent crop of competitors.
Nowadays, there is a shared language to the design of the new lineup of natural deodorant sticks. Most have taken MALIN + GOETZ's cue and chosen a circular tube as their shape of choice over the squashed oval of yore. These deodorants do not need to adorn themselves in flashy branding and logos; instead the tube itself, with its soothing color, clean font and promise of a scent actually found in nature, is the branding.
As appealing as the new-gen’s deodorants may be in aesthetics, these brands do recognize it may take some convincing to get customers to give up their traditional antiperspirants (it should be noted that the FDA requires the presence of aluminum for a product to be labeled an antiperspirant, which actually prevents sweating, while products labeled deodorants merely combat smell). Hawthorne’s website for example notes a “detox” period as your underarms adjust to the lack of sweat-blocking antiperspirants, and by Humankind advises you “give your body a couple weeks to cleanse out toxins” after switching to a non-aluminum formula.
However, Fu and Lu emphasize that this idea of an “armpit detox” is entirely a myth — a myth that has nonetheless allowed a cottage industry of “armpit detox” products to pop up, such as charcoal masks, to assist in the so-called “detox” period.
Whether or not consumers find these products necessary, there is no doubt the market for odor-blocking products for the underarms is growing beyond the humble deodorant stick. Earlier this year, dermatologist Alicia Zalka launched “Anti-Odorant,” individual pads that use glycolic acid to combat the bacteria that causes underarm odor.
Akt also created a new product category for the underarms — an applicator. “We developed a really beautiful tool inspired by the Chinese practice of Gua Sha to not only apply the deodorant, but also to increase microcirculation to the lymph nodes, which helps boost your immunity, and encourage lymphatic drainage,” as Currie explains. The heavy brass applicator retails for £26 GBP and when paired with deodorant certainly makes the product into something worthy of display, rather than crammed away into a medicine cabinet. Unnecessary? Depends who you ask. Jade and quartz rollers and gua sha are already commonplace in luxury beauty stores as a face tool (you could even buy a $195 USD vibrating rose quartz roller if you so choose), so why not make it into a ritual for the rest of your body?
And that reveals the key appeal of these deodorants. They take a dull product associated with our unpleasant corporealness and turn it into something luxurious and appealing. Such a change has already taken place with toothpaste, so the humble deodorant was perhaps simply next in line. The question of whether these natural deodorants actually “work” or are worth the extra cost is, like any high-end grooming product, simply a matter of personal preference.
“It definitely feels like the ‘natural’ craze really exploded in the last three years, with all of these small brands.”
“We want our customers to take pride in the fact they’re using a product that not only works really well and looks beautiful, but is good for them and the planet.”
There is however a catch to that last trend — a quick search for “natural deodorant” reveals widespread doubt about their efficacy, with numerous articles posing the question, “Do natural deodorants work?” This is not a question to be taken likely when you’re dealing with a product designed to prevent B.O. That same search might also introduce you to a bevy of natural deodorant brands selling sticks for $20 USD or more a pop.
You would think that a product whose ability to perform its main function is so questionable, and whose price point can easily be triple that of the conventional drugstore stock, would be an instant failure — but that’s where you’d be wrong. Instead, natural deodorants are poised to be one of the biggest skincare trends of 2020, with luxury takes on the product popping up left and right from brands like Corpus, Aesop and more. In fact, deodorant’s lack of aesthetic appeal is precisely what makes it so ripe for an injection of style and panache. And while natural deodorants have long since proliferated in health food stores and the like, the category is seeing a resurgence in high-end grooming.
For their part, Fu and Lu are not particularly impressed with the so-called natural options on the market, noting that the actual meaning of the terms “clean” and “natural” is so variable from brand to brand. Most use some mix of acids, essential oils and starches to combat odor and absorb moisture, but none of those ingredients are as effective as aluminum salts, despite their now maligned reputation. “The starch-based natural alternatives is kind of like putting a bandaid over a cracked dam… especially if you are more sweat-prone,” Fu and Lu say.
“It definitely feels like the ‘natural’ craze really exploded in the last three years, with all of these small brands.”
So why are natural deodorants so trendy? Well, a quick perusal through the drugstore will reveal that there are plenty of gains to be made in the aesthetics department when it comes to deodorants. There, you’ll find bulky plastic tubes overrun with dated logos and generic colors that suggest deodorant is such an unsightly and embarrassing product one should not even bother with stylish design. Not only that, but the traditional drugstore deodorant aisle is firmly divided along a strict gender binary; that means staid florals and powder scents for women, while men are diverted to varieties like “Power Beads” and “Black Chill” (which, what?). In short, they leave a lot to be desired.
“For us design is a big part of our lives,” says Andy Coxon. Along with Ed Currie, Coxon is the co-founder of Akt, which launched at the end of 2019 with a trio of deodorant balms. At a glance, Akt’s products are the polar opposite of the classic Speed Stick — the balms are formulated with elegant scents like neroli, cedar and vetiver and housed in recyclable aluminum packaging rather than plastic. “We want our customers to take pride in the fact they’re using a product that not only works really well and looks beautiful, but is good for them and the planet,” Andy adds.
Though stylish design is a standout part of the brand, Coxon and Currie emphasize the product’s function as well. The deodorant, which sells for £18 GBP, was inspired by their time working in theater, when they struggled to find deodorants that kept them fresh and didn’t stain their clothes. Akt’s formulation uses “a proprietary blend of plant and mineral powders called DEO-BARRIER COMPLEX™, which cleanses the skin on contact, absorbs moisture to prevent bacteria from multiplying and neutralizes odours throughout the day,” as Currie explains.
by Humankind, meanwhile, launched its natural deodorant in 2019 and uses reusable packaging as one of its selling points; customers initially purchase a plastic case and a deodorant stick for $12 USD, and are encouraged to sign up for regular refills while holding on to the plastic case. The deodorant is available in scents like eucalyptus, rosemary-mint and coconut and lists ingredients like tapioca starch and baking soda.
Though the new generation deodorants, for the most, part eschew the strict gendered packaging of their drugstore cousins, there are exceptions. Hawthorne and Disco are some of the newer grooming brands to label their products as explicitly for men. Both include eucalyptus-based deodorants in their lineups that tout their aluminum and paraben-free formulations. Though they market their products to men, their deodorants’ minimal packaging and neutral colors are a far cry from the clunkily hypermasculine look of their drugstore competitors like Axe or Dove Men+Care.
None of these brands are the first to make natural deodorant a luxury product, however. MALIN + GOETZ launched its eucalyptus deodorant all the way back in 2009, and it’s remained a popular entry in the brand’s lineup ever since. In fact, with its simple circular packaging, eucalyptus-based scent and focus on ingredients over performance in its branding, it would seem to have set the stage for the recent crop of competitors.
Nowadays, there is a shared language to the design of the new lineup of natural deodorant sticks. Most have taken MALIN + GOETZ's cue and chosen a circular tube as their shape of choice over the squashed oval of yore. These deodorants do not need to adorn themselves in flashy branding and logos; instead the tube itself, with its soothing color, clean font and promise of a scent actually found in nature, is the branding.
As appealing as the new-gen’s deodorants may be in aesthetics, these brands do recognize it may take some convincing to get customers to give up their traditional antiperspirants (it should be noted that the FDA requires the presence of aluminum for a product to be labeled an antiperspirant, which actually prevents sweating, while products labeled deodorants merely combat smell). Hawthorne’s website for example notes a “detox” period as your underarms adjust to the lack of sweat-blocking antiperspirants, and by Humankind advises you “give your body a couple weeks to cleanse out toxins” after switching to a non-aluminum formula.
However, Fu and Lu emphasize that this idea of an “armpit detox” is entirely a myth — a myth that has nonetheless allowed a cottage industry of “armpit detox” products to pop up, such as charcoal masks, to assist in the so-called “detox” period.
“We want our customers to take pride in the fact they’re using a product that not only works really well and looks beautiful, but is good for them and the planet.”