natjtan Welcome back to another Beauty Finds! This edition, Meow Meow Tweet Grapefruit Baking Soda Free Deodorant cream.
I have a few requirements when it comes to cosmetics and skin care: cruelty free, natural, clean, vegan better. I do my best to avoid the nasty ingredients such as SLSs, parabens, PEGs, silicones, etc. Petrochemicals are the sneakiest with so many derivatives and aliases. I also avoid palm oil and it’s derivatives as I prefer orangutans. Coconut oil marketed as the good oil I’m also cutting down on as it can be just a damaging crop as palm oil. If I do get products with these ingredients in I try to get organic or sustainably sourced. With make up it’s a little harder so I go for cruelty free brands. I prefer products with less plastic and thankfully more brands are aware consumers don’t want unnecessary plastic (or governments are telling them less plastic). My skin type’s oily sensitive, acne prone and now wrinkles. I know nothing stops those lines, but if I can delay them then….
I think I found this in Target on holiday last year. I had been making my own deodorant for a while and wanted to try one without baking soda. While baking soda isn’t all that bad, it’s alkaline and skin’s slightly acidic. Over time this combo can leave skin more vulnerable to infections, pollution and sun exposure as the skin’s natural acid mantle and moisture barrier is damaged. I can’t remember how much it was, checking the price it was around $14 plus tax. It was for sure a holiday buy! I was drawn to it’s almost plastic free packaging too. The only plastic was the safety seal. The jar’s glass and the lid metal. Easy for recycling or repurposing. The safely seal according to their website is slowly being transitioned to a recyclable liner. The foam liner can be sent back to them for Terracycling.
I was also curious to try to to see how it was compared to my own deodorant. Arrowroot powder the first ingredient is the binder. I use cornstarch in my own as that’s what I can buy in Spain. I’ve tried searching for arrowroot to see if it makes any different but can’t find any. Magnesium hydroxide is the baking soda alternative that helps stop odor causing bacteria on the skin’s surface without impacting the dermis or absorbed by it.
If I’m honestly I only used 3/4. I know natural deodorants work differently to less natural deodorants and aren’t anti perspirants but this marked black tops, made my armpits feel sticky and didn’t last long in the terms of no smell. Yes it was summer, I was sweating, running, swimming it worked more, but I didn’t get on with it. With in a morning I had to reapply. Application’s easy. Just apply a pea sized amount massaged into each arm pit (and feet! Deodorant works on feet too!). It’s scent is nice and thanks to the shea butter and jojoba oils my skin didn’t dry out. I can get it in Spain but it’s around €14 with €4-8 shipping. Would I purchase again? No. It did however lead me to try other natural deodorants (making my own’s on hold!)
