I can’t say that I’m the most health conscious person out there. I’m a hardcore carnivore. I’m a Coke addict (just to confirm, we’re talking glorious caffeine, not white powder). And my favorite form of cardio is a marathon day at the mall. At the same time, I recycle, buy free range eggs, walk everywhere I can instead of driving, and avoid veal and lamb (no babies in my diet!). So occasionally my better impulses win out.

My most recent attempt at positive change happened in the deodorant aisle at Walgreen’s about a month ago. I’ve been hearing rumbles about aluminum in big brand deodorants, and let’s face it, aluminum does not sound like something you should be slathering all over your armpits. So faced with the wall of choices at my drugstore, I noticed the Tom’s of Maine brand and its emphasis on a more natural personal care. Their Original Care deodorant is aluminum free and unscented, so it seemed like a good way to branch out into more healthy product use.

Picture above taken from the Tom’s of Maine website.

There are a lot of good things about Tom’s of Maine Deodorant. Their website shares every ingredient and explains the purpose of everything that goes into their products. There are no artificial preservatives, fragrances, or colors either. Original Care deodorant is also cruelty free, encourages recycling in both pre and post product use, and supports sustainable practices. All commendable, but unfortunately I’m not 100% convinced by the results.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been using Original Care for about a month and while it works just fine for day-to-day use, I would not recommend this product if you plan on doing heavy activity. When I work out or it is hot outside, I sweat profusely. At the end of an average day, I smell fine and have no issue with Tom’s, but at the end of a day of exertion I’m a little too smelly for comfort. While Tom’s of Maine does make an antiperspirant, it uses the dreaded aluminum so it might be a give and take sort of thing.

I would cautiously recommend Original Care to someone with the caveat that you know your body better than I do. If you sweat often and are concerned about B.O., this is not quite the product for you. But if you’re only a  mildly sweaty gal and don’t struggle with a…personal musk, shall we say…then you should give this natural product a try. I’m all for making positive changes in your daily life, but this one just wasn’t for me. Moving forward I will keep using the Tom’s of Maine deodorant for my run of the mill days, but I also bought some Dove deodorant for the rougher days on my itinerary.

Does anyone else out there know of a good aluminum free brand that handles B.O. better?