11 Best Eco Friendly Deodorants – Plastic Free Deodorants

It’s been a bit of a process for me finding a decent eco friendly deodorant that is vegan, cruelty free and a plastic free deodorant. I talk about this a little in my post about natural deodorants from 2020. Since this time I had been using a himalayan salt deodorant with some success. Recently I dropped it too many times and this resulted in the uneven surface scratching me quite a bit so I resorted to the below fun picture.

This deodorant did work well for me over the Winter but only when combined with another balm deodorant as well. Salt natural deodorants do seem to work well for some people but I thought I’d just give my honest opinion about this one.

After I said goodbye to this deodorant, I decided that I should put together a list of the best eco friendly deodorants that are around currently. The options are so much better than when I originally switched to a plastic free deodorant 8 – 9 years ago.

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Why Natural Deodorant?

Ingredients To Avoid

• Aluminium
• Parabens
• Triclosan

Most conventional deodorant sprays and antiperspirants contain aluminium, parabens and triclosan. Aluminium is thought to have been linked to breast cancer Alzheimer’s disease and skin irritations. I don’t know if there’s sufficient information about that but personally the link to breast cancer seems like it could be possible to me, especially because of how close to your breasts, deodorant is usually sprayed. However, I’m no expert and this is purely my opinion.

Parabens are usually a type of preservative found in deodorants and other types of skincare products, it’s a manmade substance which can cause irritation and is thought to disrupt hormones and have the potential to cause cancer. This article goes into a lot of detail about the dangers of Parabens. As someone with quite reactive skin I do try and avoid products with Parabens in anyway.

Triclosan is an ingredient used in deodorant and antibacterial hand washes etc to kill bacteria on the surface of the skin. Some research seems to say that the risk with Triclosan is that it could mess with our hormones. I’m not an expert of course but I certainly don’t like to use anything which kills all bacteria on your skin. As with the inside of our body we have good bacteria which helps protect our immune system. I haven’t used antibacterial type of cleaners in years because of this.

Not to mention that most deodorant sprays and antiperspirants come in non-recyclable cans usually with some sort of gas like butane or propane.

This is just some of the issues with using regular antiperspirants, personally I don’t think anyone should use something that clogs your pores and stops you from sweating. I have never thought this was a good idea considering we are supposed to sweat to cool us down.

I switched to a natural deodorant 8-9 years ago and despite my struggles trying to find one that worked for me, I would never go back to using anything but a natural deodorant.

There might be some issues with eco friendly deodorant, for example some of my friends and family have passed natural deodorants onto me because they’ve had reactions to them. Fortunately for me, I haven’t had too many reactions to the natural deodorants. I do tend to avoid ones containing bicarbonate of soda because I have experienced an awful rash using those.

If I haven’t convinced you to stop using conventional deodorant, please do your own research. It’s such a complicated issue, I just personally would not want to risk using any of these potentially harmful ingredients on my skin on a daily basis.

What Is Eco Friendly Deodorant

Eco friendly deodorant is natural deodorant, therefore deodorant without the harmful ingredients mentioned above. Also eco friendly deodorants will have plastic free packaging as well, usually cardboard or in a tin that can be recycled or reused.

Which Natural Deodorant Is The Best In The UK

Awake Organics

This deodorant is an unfragranced balm plastic free deodorant in a tin, I bought the below deodorant and I used this one alongside the salt deodorant for almost a year. This one was very good for me because it’s bicarb free, however they do have an extra strength version with bicarb if you’re not sensitive to that. Currently priced at £11.00

Ingredients: ^Maranta Arundinacea (Prebiotic Arrowroot) Powder, Magnesium Oxide, *^Cocos Nucifera (Virgin Coconut) Oil, ^Cannabis Sativa (UK Hemp) Seed Oil, *+Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, “Cetearyl Olivate, Lactobacillus Ferment (Probiotic), Tocopherol (Natural, Non-GM Vitamin E), “Sorbitan Olivate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax.

(*Certified Organic, ^Food Grade, #Occurs Naturally in Essential Oils, +Fair Trade, “Ecocert Olive-derived Wax)

Earth Conscious

Earth Conscious have several options for deodorant, they stock stick deodorants, deodorant balms in tins and even a solid zero waste deodorant option. All of their deodorants contain bicarbonate of soda so not an option for me unfortunately. This brand is handmade on the Isle Of Wight in the UK which is pretty cool.

Lavender & Tea Tree Stick Deodorant is currently priced at £7, ingredients below so you have an idea of what to expect from this brand.

Ingredients: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil°, Maranta Arundinacea (Arrowroot) Root Powder°, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter°, Sodium Bicarbonate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Cera, Lavandula Angustifolia (lavender) Oil°, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil°, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool. °Certified Organic. *Naturally occurring in Essential Oils

FeGoo

This brand stocks deodorant balms in tins. This eco friendly deodorant is currently priced at £9.99 on their website.

Ingredients:

Maranta Arundinacea * Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil) * Shea Butterate (Shea Butter) * Olea europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil * Bicarbonate of Soda Mentha Spicata (Spearmint Oil) * Limonene**

*Organic Ingredients

Lush

Lush was the very first natural deodorant that I tried in the early days of trying plastic free deodorants. Aromaco was my favourite, it’s got a love patchouli scent, however it does leave a slight residue on clothes. Surprisingly it does actually have bicarbonate of soda in the ingredients but I never noticed any irritation so perhaps the amount is quite small. Currently priced at £6.50.

List of ingredients

Witch Hazel Infusion (Hamamelis virginiana), Propylene Glycol, Sodium Stearate, Chamomile Vinegar (Matricaria chamomilla), Sodium Bicarbonate, Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), *Citral, *Limonene, Perfume

• Natural Ingredients • Safe Synthetics*occurs naturally in essential oils.

Natural Deodorant Co

Natural Deodorant Co have changed the formula of their eco friendly deodorant since I tried it a few years ago. It’s currently priced at £12.50 on their website. I would try this one again as it uses Magnesium Oxide not Sodium Bicarbonate.

Ingredients:

Magnesium Oxide, Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Maranta Arundinacea Root (Arrowroot), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Kaolin (Clay)

Nirvana Natural

Nirvana Natural have a few different fragrances for their plastic free deodorant, I’ll discuss the Spice one as that’s the one that I’ve tried. This deodorant is currently priced at £10 on their website. This deodorant is one of the most effective that I’ve tried recently, however it does leave white marks.

Full Ingredients*Cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, ** butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), **trichilia emetica (mafura) seed butter, zinc oxide (non nano), euphorbia cerifera (candelilla) wax, zinc ricinoleate, tocopherol (vitamin E) *citrus aurantium bergonia (bergamot) fruit oil, *pogostemom cablin (patchouli) oil, piper nigrum (black pepper) seed oil, santalum album (sandalwood) oil**wildcrafted *certified organic

Spice

Nuud Organics

In case you haven’t hear of Nuud deodorant, this one’s really interesting because it’s supposed to last 3-7 days. Fully vegan, cruelty free and in sugar cane packaging. It’s currently priced at £12.50 but it is quite concentrated. This one unfortunately did not work for me.

Ingredients:

Micro Silver, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Zinc Oxide, Almond Oil, Mineral Clay, Vegetable Imulsifier, Castor Oil Extract, Vegetable Mix Inhancer, Carnauba Wax

Pit Putty

Pit Putty Is one eco friendly deodorant that I’ve seen quite a lot recently. Plastic Freedom sells the different fragrances of Pit Putty. They stock a mini version which is £3 and a full version which is currently priced at £10.

Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, Arrowroot Powder, Organic Coconut Oil, Naturally Mined Baking Soda, Candelilla Wax, Sunflower Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Cinnamon Bark Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Calendula Flower Extract

This scent is not recommended for use during pregnancy

Lavender & Lemon

Salt Of The Earth

Salt Of The Earth have a range of different plastic free deodorants, they have sprays which are bio plastic but you can also get refills for them as well which is quite cool. They have deodorant balms which are plastic free, priced at £8.95. They do also stock roll-on deodorants, however I don’t think they’re plastic free.

Ingredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Maranta Arundinacea Root Powder, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Sodium Bicarbonate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Copernicia Cerifera Cera, Bambusa Arundinacea Stem Extract, Fragrance (Parfum)*, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil & Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract. *Linalool, *Limonene, *Citral, *Eugenol, *Citronellol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Geraniol, *Farnesol.

*From natural botanical extracts and essential oils.

Lavender & Vanilla Deodorant Balm

Scence

I haven’t had the opportunity to try Scence products yet, however I did previously mention their lip balms and skincare. Scence deodorants are bicarb free which is great first of all, they have a few different fragrances but the Pure version is also essential oil free. Currently priced at £9.95 and in cardboard packaging.

Ingredients: Organic coconut oil, organic arrowroot, magnesium hydroxide, mango butter, sunflower wax.

Pure Version

Wild

Wild plastic free deodorant is really interesting, you pick an aluminium case in the colour of your choice first of all. Then you can buy the refills for the deodorant that come in compostable packaging. You can get one case and once refill to start you off for £12, this is a subscription service.

Ingredients:

Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Oryza Sativa Starch, Tapioca Starch, Stearyl Alcohol, Triethyl Citrate, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seed Wax, Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, Palmitic Acid, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Stearic Acid, Magnesium Hydroxide, Parfum, Propylene Glycol, Zinc Ricinoleate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aqua, Arginine, Citric Acid, Cetrimonium Chloride, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja Oil.

Coconut Dreams (bicarb free)

The above eco friendly deodorants are the main ones that I am aware of, however please let me know if I’ve missed some natural deodorants and I’ll get them added.

I’ve recently written a post entitled zero waste solid conditioner review, if you’re interested in other eco friendly products.

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