The 9 Best Natural Deodorants

How to Choose a Safe Deodorant

The following are the purest of the pure natural deodorants on the market. These roll-ons, sticks and sprays don\'t contain parabens, PEGs, synthetic ingredients including hormone-disrupting fragrance and antibacterials, petrochemicals, or aluminum compounds. \r\n\r\n

Each is third-party certified. Each contains some and/or all organic and sometimes even biodynamic ingredients that are easy to pronounce and easy to understand. And each comes from brands involved with The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

1. Dr. Hauschka

If you have $23 to spare, Dr. Hauschka is the ne plus ultra of natural deodorant.

It\'s third party-certified (by BDIH), the Floral variety smells particularly great and the Fresh works well on men. The ingredients are as pure as it gets, and it\'s amazingly effective compared to other so-called natural sticks and roll-ons (thanks to, they say, odor-reducing zinc ricinoleate). Martha Stewart swears by it. Even the packaging is green - it comes in easily recyclable glass, not plastic.

2. Weleda

Totally devoid of all of the must-avoid ingredients, Weleda\'s glass-bottled deodorant sprays (rose, citrus and sage) are third-party certified by various organizations including BDIH, NaTrue and Demeter, and the company is a signer of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Pact.\r\n\r\n

Rose is said to be a natural antibacterial and in an unscientific trial seemed to be the most effective of the three Weleda offerings for those hot and sweaty summer days. The lovely scents are an added bonus. It\'s not cheap ($15), but you get more bang for your buck than with comparably pure high-end products.

3. Erbaviva

Erbaviva\'s USDA certified organic spray contains remarkably few ingredients (the Lemon Sage is just organic grain alcohol and essential oils: organic lemon, sandalwood, organic patchouli and organic tea tree oil). The Lemon Sage works for men and women alike; Jasmine Grapefruit is better for the ladies. \r\n\r\n

It\'s missing all of the bad stuff, clearly pure and quite tough. The only downside? It\'s a bit pricey ($18).

4. Aubrey Organics

This Leaping Bunny-certified spray comes from a Campaign for Safe Cosmetics compact signer. The ingredients in Aubrey Calendula Blossom Natural Deodorant Spray ($8.25) are as good as its credentials (though it would be great if more of them were organic). \r\n\r\n

It gets a very low hazard rating on The Environmental Working Group\'s Skin Deep Database. (If your natural deodorant gets a high hazard, check to see why. Brands that generically list their fragrance instead of spelling out which natural essential oils it contains always get a bad grade from the EWG because \"fragrance\" by itself could mean a synthetic, hormone-disrupting scent.)

5. Bubble and Bee

A short ingredient list of easy-to-read, easy-to-pronounce and easy-to-understand words is always a very good sign when it comes to searching for pure cosmetics. The Bubble and Bee Lemongrass and Rosemary Deodorant Spray ($8.95) contains only three things: pure grain spirits, organic lemongrass essential oil and organic rosemary essential oil.\r\n\r\n

Don\'t like spray? Try their stick. It contains five safe ingredients. They have other scents, too, including a teen-friendly Geranium Lime \'Pit Putty. \r\n\r\n

Needless to say, their EWG Skin Deep hazard ranking is low. Bonus: they\'re Compact for Safe Cosmetics signers. Spritz without fear.

6. Lafe\'s

Lafe\'s Organic Baby Mother To Be Deodorant Spray ($7.99) is so pure, the Environmental Working Group gives it a zero hazard rating. It only contains purified water, organic aloe vera extract and mineral salts. It can also be used as a foot spray. \r\n\r\n

For those interested in different scents or roll-ons, Lafe\'s offers other choices including hemp sticks and five varieties of roll-ons, as well as crystal sticks and stones. A quibble: although the company has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, they\'re currently considered \"non-compliant\" because they haven\'t yet fully listed all of their ingredients on product labels.

7. Miessence

Whichever Miessence Roll-on Deodorant ($8.95) you choose (boy-friendlier Ancient Spice, girl-friendlier Tahitian Breeze or aroma-free), all come free of the very petrochemicals and aluminum salts you want to avoid by buying a natural deodorant. \r\n\r\n

The company has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, gets a very low hazard rating on the EWG\'s Skin Deep database, is on the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals\' (PETA) \"does not test on animals\" list, and is a Biological Farmers of Australia-registered product. All very reassuring. \r\n\r\n

Even better? Style, Naturally author Summer Rayne Oakes (a 2009 Heart of Green Award winner) weighs in on its effectiveness in her book. The verdict? It\'s long-lasting.

8. Burt\'s Bees

Burt\'s Bees is owned by a big, big company (Clorox), widely available and is also Leaping Bunny-certified (with a caveat: \"Cruelty-free subsidiary of parent company that does not comply with the Leaping Bunny Standard\"). The ingredient list for the Burt\'s Bees Herbal Deodorant ($8) is perfectly natural (though there are no organic ingredients) and the deodorant is missing all of the chemicals that are best missed.\r\n\r\n

The sage/lavender/citrus blend can be considered unisex. (They also make a new-ish men\'s stick.) Although the deodorant scores well on the EWG\'s Skin Deep database, and the company is very involved with the Natural Products Association, Burt\'s Bees is considered \"non-compliant\" by the Compact for Safe Cosmetics -- it signed, but hasn\'t met minimum requirements.

9. Terressentials

This USDA Organic certified deodorant is unique in that not only does it not contain the questionable ingredients in most conventional deodorants, it\'s also \"specially formulated to help neutralize the sulfur compounds that can result from eating garlic.\" Even if you\'re not a garlic-o-phile, the organic Terressentials Organic Super Protection Deodorant roll-ons -- choose from fragrance-free, zen spice, lavender fresh, aloe vera or zesty citrus ($10) - contain baking soda, among other odor-fighting ingredients. \r\n\r\n

The company has a reputation for being extremely pure and has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, but is oddly deemed non-compliant for \"not meeting minimum requirements.\"