Right off the bat, you should know that there’s no natural deodorant and antiperspirant on the market that is 100% natural.

To be recognized by the FDA as an effective topical product for reducing sweat production, cosmetic brands must use an Aluminum-based active ingredient. 

Quite simply, that’s what makes an antiperspirant an antiperspirant.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

 

 

 

How Real Antiperspirants Work

Many companies will advertise stuff like "the best natural deodorant for heavy sweaters". But deodorants simply mask body odor, while antiperspirants are the products that are designed to seep into your pores and plug your sweat ducts. That’s what has to occur to stop sweat from secreting out of your skin.

But the bar is raised for hyperhidrosis sufferers — people who have to deal with excessive uncontrollable sweating on a daily basis.

These types of heavy sweaters have hyperactive sweat glands, and they produce far more sweat than usual. In fact, they produce so much sweat that the normal traditional antiperspirants found at the drugstore simply won’t work.

Topical antiperspirants normally keep you dry by using aluminum-based active ingredients that, when combined with perspiration in your body, turn solid and plug your sweat ducts.

There are several types of antiperspirants, including:

• Conventional antiperspirants found at the drugstore
• Prescription-strength or clinical strength over-the-counter antiperspirants
• Prescription-only antiperspirants (like Drysol)

While antiperspirants for excessive sweaters work in a similar way, the compounds used in these products make all the difference.

Put simply: If you have hyperhidrosis, you’ll need to use an aluminum chloride antiperspirant to give you a chance of staying dry.

 

 

Do Antiperspirants Have Side Effects?

There’s a lot of concern (and misinformation) available about the short- and long-term side effects of using aluminum-based antiperspirants. This has led to the popularity of aluminum-free deodorants, paraben-free antiperspirants, and more “natural” alternatives.

One of the biggest concerns is that using aluminum-based antiperspirants can increase one's likelihood of getting breast cancer. However, both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society unequivocally agree that there’s no scientific evidence that links aluminum-based antiperspirants with breast cancer.

The most common side effects of antiperspirants are less extreme, yet can be unpleasant. These include skin irritation, itchiness, and dry skin.

Later on, we cover how antiperspirant brands can work to practically eliminate any of these adverse side effects.

 

Where to Find Safe 100% All-Natural Antiperspirant & Deodorant

When customers search for an all-natural antiperspirant for excessive sweating, many are looking for one which is as natural as possible — an effective and safe antiperspirant that they can apply without the risk of short- and long-term side effects, such as skin irritation and rashes.

And while you won’t find a 100% all-natural antiperspirant, you can find one that uses only the highest-quality, purest ingredients that won't cause skin irritation — one that’s packed with the best natural ingredients for improving the performance of the product.

In this post, we take a deep dive into the world of natural antiperspirant ingredients for excessive sweating.

We look at how topical antiperspirants work (plus why an aluminum-based ingredient is needed and what the alternatives are). Then, we show you how we made our products at Duradry as natural and as effective as possible.

Try Duradry’s 3-step solution that actually works to stop excessive sweating. Use Duradry PM at bedtime, Duradry AM in the morning, and Duradry Wash to deep clean and prepare your skin for total protection against hyperhidrosis. Get started today.

 

 

Are There Any Good All-Natural Alternatives?

Sometimes, you’ll find online articles recommending all-natural deodorant alternatives such as talc or baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Or even a natural deodorant that uses coconut oil to moisturize your skin, and cornstarch to absorb the sweat.

 

How to Make Your Own Natural Deodorant

If you plan on trying to make your own DIY natural deodorant, it's important to get all of the ingredients right and follow the right instruction so that it can actually work. The ingredients and instructions below are all-natural and are very simple to make — all under 10 minutes!

 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unrefined shea butter
• 1/4 cup arrowroot starch/flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
• 6 drops lavender essential oil
• 6 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 1 drop tea tree essential oil

 

Instructions

1. Put coconut oil and shea butter in a glass bowl or jar.
2. Place the bowl or jar inside a medium saucepan.
3. Add water to the saucepan until the bowl or jar is surrounded.
4. Bring the water to a boil, stirring the coconut oil and shea butter mix as it melts.
5. Once melted, add arrowroot starch, baking soda, and essential oils.
6. Place the mixture in a 3-ounce jar and allow it to cool. You can cool it at room temperature, but it will harden faster in the refrigerator.
7. When it has completely become solid, cover the jar with a lid.

 

 

Tips to Maximize the Effects of Natural Deodorants

• Wet your underarms lightly before applying natural deodorant.
• Rub the natural deodorant between your fingers before applying it to your underarms. This ensures you get an even coating on your underarms.
• Apply a natural starch powder like arrowroot powder to your underarms after applying natural deodorant.
• Apply in the morning on regular days. On hotter days or after workouts, reapply natural deodorant as needed.

 

How an All-Natural Deodorant Compares to an Antiperspirant

An all-natural deodorant simply does not work that well. The main reason is that it does not contain the key antiperspirant ingredient, aluminum-based compounds, that dissolve into the skin and, when exposed to sweat, create a gel-like substance that temporarily plugs the sweat ducts and keeps the sweat from reaching the skin's surface.

Sometimes, an all-natural deodorant even makes things worse. For example, applying too much baking soda to your skin is likely to cause skin irritation.

In the rest of this post, we’ll explain how Duradry is helping people who suffer from excessive sweating. We’re doing this with products that are packed with natural ingredients, supporting our pure, micronized, low-pH aluminum-based active ingredients that effectively prevent excessive sweating.

How We Make Duradry as Natural as Possible (without Sacrificing Performance)

I started Duradry because I suffer from hyperhidrosis, and I was fed up with topical solutions that didn’t work. I needed a solution that was affordable, easy to get hold of, didn’t require a visit to the dermatologist, and, most importantly, safe.

This meant diving into not only what ingredients were natural, but what ingredients were safe and effective to use on skin.

Below, we look at our core product line, the ingredients we use in them, and how we’re leading the call to be the best natural antiperspirant that's safe and effective.

All of our Duradry products are vegan. And none of our ingredients are tested on animals, either. We don’t use any artificial colorings, and we only source the highest-quality ingredients.

 

Duradry PM (70% Natural)

Duradry PM is our unscented Aluminum Chloride antiperspirant. You only need to use it 2 to 3 times a week, and you apply it right before bedtime so the aluminum chloride can more effectively work on your sweat glands while you’re inactive.

Aluminum chloride is one of the most effective active ingredients for fighting excessive sweating. This is because aluminum chloride can seep deeper into your sweat ducts, and do a more effective job of plugging them.

Duradry PM has a 15% concentration of aluminum chloride, which means it’s far less likely to cause any skin irritation than a prescription-only brand with a 20% concentration (such as Drysol) and you don’t need a prescription to buy it.

 

Some of the Natural Ingredients We Use That Other Brands Do Not

• Xanthan Gum: We use xanthan gum to thicken our gel and keep it from separating. We chose this ingredient because it’s been proven to moisturize the skin naturally. Many other cosmetic products use something called carbomer, which is synthetic. We don’t.
  
  
• Salicylic Acid: This is a natural exfoliant that removes the outer layer of your skin. Not only does it work as a lotion that moisturizes your skin and reduces irritation, but it’s also been shown to help boost the effectiveness of aluminum chloride.

Here’s a full list of Duradry PM’s ingredients. Ingredients listed in bold are natural or derived from natural sources.

• Aluminum Chloride
• Aqua (Water)
• Propylene Glycol
• Xanthan Gum
• Disodium EDTA
• Salicylic Acid
• Sodium Bicarbonate (i.e. Baking Soda, which we use a tiny amount of to help stabilize pH level — but not enough to cause any skin irritation)

We’ve also intentionally avoided using ethanol in our antiperspirants. Ethanol is found in many other popular brands, including Drysol.

It’s technically a natural ingredient, but it’s also really harsh on skin (especially sensitive skin). This means using ethanol can lead to irritation, so we chose to omit it from our products completely. This is also one of the reasons we made sure to provide an alternative that's gentle on the skin.

 

Duradry AM (74% Natural)

Duradry AM is our antiperspirant-deodorant stick, and roughly 74% of its ingredients are natural or derived from natural sources. 

The active ingredient in Duradry AM that prevents excessive sweating is aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex GLY, which is FDA-approved as an effective antiperspirant treatment. And since our formulation only uses 20% concentration of aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex GLY, this product does not require a prescription.

 

The Natural Ingredients We Use

• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride: This is naturally derived from coconut oil and glycerin, and it's great for replenishing your skin, leaving it healthy and reducing irritation.

 

• Cetyl Palmitate: Derived from plants, cetyl palmitate is a naturally occurring fatty acid that can help moisturize and smoothen dry skin.

Here’s a full list of the ingredients we use in Duradry AM. Ingredients listed in bold are natural or derived from natural sources.

 

• Aluminum Zirconium Trichlorohydrex Glycine
• C13-15 Alkane
• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
• Caprylyl Glycol
• Cetyl Palmitate
• Ethylhexylglycerin
• Fragrance
• Hydrogenated Castor Oil
• Isododecane, Isohexadecane
• Maranta Arundinacea (Arrowroot) Root Extract
• Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil
• Sodium Caproyl/Lauroyl Lactylate
• Stearyl Alcohol
• Triethyl Citrate

 

We use sage oil for its natural antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties, in addition to its anti-inflammatory effects.

Maranta arundinacea root extract (also known as arrowroot powder) brings essential skin-soothing characteristics, and it can even absorb moisture.

Triethyl citrate, derived from citric acid, is a non-microbicidal deodorant that naturally prevents the buildup of bacteria in your underarms. This helps stop any smelly body odor from occurring.

 

How Natural Our Antiperspirants Are Compared to Other Major Brands

When we compare Duradry AM to a few other major brand antiperspirants that use aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex GLY, we see a stark difference in the supporting ingredients.

 

Sure Men Maximum Protection

Sure Men contains dimethicone, dimethicone crosspolymer, C18-36 acid triglyceride, calcium disodium EDTA, and hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde — all of which are synthetic. It also contains butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which has a chequered history as a synthetic preservative and has been the subject of a lot of controversy surrounding its toxicity.

 

Secret Clinical Strength

Secret Clinical contains cyclopentasiloxane — the ingredient we mentioned earlier which is banned in the EU. It also contains PPG-14 butyl ether, C20-40 Pareth-10, and dimethicone. These are all synthetic.

 

Dove Clinical Protection

Dove contains many of the same ingredients as Secret and Sure. For example, again, cyclopentasiloxane — but also dimethicone, dimethicone crosspolymer, and BHT. This is typical of a lot of off-the-shelf antiperspirants for excessive sweating.

 

 

Harry's Odor & Sweat Control Antiperspirant

Harry's contains dimethicone, which is synthetic and can be toxic to your body. It also contains hexyl cinnamal which can cause an allergic reaction and is also dangerous to the environment.

 

Old Spice Deodorant Antiperspirant & Deodorant

Old Spice Stronger Swagger Men contains ingredients that have been linked to harm to the immune system and cause allergies and immunotoxicity. It also contains cyclopentasiloxane which is banned in the EU, as well as dimethicone which is synthetic and can be toxic to your body as mentioned earlier.

 

Sure Original Solid Antiperspirant & Deodorant

Sure Original contains cyclopentasiloxane which is banned in the EU. Dimethicone and talc which are both considered synthetic chemicals and can cause harm to your skin.

 

Soft & Dri Clinical Clinique

Sofi & Dri contains cyclopentasiloxane and fragrances which are considered highly toxic for your body, as well as cyclopentasiloxane which is banned in the EU. These fragrances can cause allergies and skin and eye irritations.

 

Gillette Clinical Strength Antiperspirant & Deodorant

Gilliete Clinical contains cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone. Cyclopentasiloxane is banned in the EU. Dimethicone is synthetic and is found in a lot of off-the-shelf antiperspirants. It also contains fragrances that are considered highly toxic for the body.

Important caveat: We’re NOT saying these antiperspirants are dangerous. They are rigorously tested, approved by regulators, and sold by retailers. We’re simply highlighting that many brands aren’t really interested in working with natural ingredients if synthetic ones are cheaper.

 

Duradry Wash (90% Natural)

Duradry Wash helps clean your skin thoroughly, so when you apply Duradry AM in the morning or Duradry PM at night, their active ingredients get better access to your sweat glands. It works much better than your average antiperspirant soap because it cleans away the sort of soapy residue other body washes leave behind.

 

Some of the Natural Ingredients We Use That Other Wellness Brands Do Not

• Panthenol: Panthenol has anti-inflammatory properties that help prevent skin irritation. Plus, it also hydrates and smoothens skin.
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine: A naturally derived coconut-based cleanser that helps wash away residue on your skin.
• Coco-Glucoside: A natural cleanser that helps increase the foaming capacity of soap and is considered gentle enough for all skin types.

Here is a full list of ingredients in Duradry Wash. Ingredients listed in bold are natural or derived from natural sources.

• Water
• Glycerin
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine
• Coco-glucoside
• Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate
• Panthenol
• Polyquaternium-7
• Camellia Sinensis (green tea) Leaf Extract
• Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Peel Oil
• Menthol
• Disodium EDTA
• Polysorbate-20
• Citric Acid
• DMDM Hydantoin
• Phenoxyethanol
• Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
• Avocado Oil
• Grapefruit Seed Extract
• Olive Leaf Extract
• Fragrance

Green tea extract is a beautiful antioxidant that has natural skin-soothing properties, and bergamia, aloe, and vitamin-packed avocado oil keep your skin in tip-top condition.

Combined, the three products we mention above — Duradry PM, Duradry AM, and Duradry Wash, form our simple 3-step system for excessive sweating.

97% of our customers who have used this system have achieved full dryness within a week.

Duradry is available as a one-time order on a subscription basis and comes with a money-back guarantee. Click here to get started.

 

 

Final Thoughts About Natural Antiperspirant for Hyperhidrosis

There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to natural antiperspirants, and this can have dire consequences for hyperhidrosis sufferers who can’t afford to sacrifice performance when it comes to choosing an antiperspirant for hyperhidrosis.

What most people are looking for is a way to solve their excessive sweating problem without irritating their skin or absorbing any toxic or unnecessary chemicals. 

They want to minimize the number of synthetic materials that are applied to their skin, while still keeping themselves dry. 

So, we believe that antiperspirant brands should do as much as possible to use essential oils and natural ingredients to support the work of the Aluminum compounds that plug pores and stop the sweat. Unfortunately, too many big-brand OTC products still rely heavily on synthetics.

Our simple 3-step system is packed full of natural and naturally derived ingredients. From Duradry PM to Duradry AM and Duradry Wash, we emphasize naturalness in a way that the leading consumer brands don’t. 

You can get started now for just $20, and experience total protection against excessive sweating within just a few days of your first application. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Aluminum Zirconium Bad for You?

While there have been concerns about aluminum in antiperspirants, both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society agree that there is no scientific evidence linking aluminum-based antiperspirants with breast cancer.

Several less extreme but unpleasant side effects can occur with aluminum-based antiperspirants. The most common side effects include skin irritation, itchiness, and dry skin.

What's the Best Men’s Natural Deodorant?

If you need a clinical strength deodorant, Duradry AM is our antiperspirant-deodorant stick and roughly 74% of its ingredients are natural or derived from natural sources. That’s why we believe that Duradry AM is the best all-natural deodorant for men, on its own or as part of our three-step perspiration solution.

Does Natural Deodorant Work?

Homemade deodorant will help slow down the growth of the bacteria which cause body odor, but it won’t stop you from sweating. If you need to stay dry, you need an antiperspirant that effectively prevents sweating. For that, we recommend Duradry AM, the best natural antiperspirant for men.

Is Natural Deodorant Better?

Natural deodorant is neither better nor worse for your health than traditional deodorants or antiperspirants. Natural deodorant will not block sweat glands like an antiperspirant, and you may experience a period of increased body odor when switching as the bacterial balance of your underarms readjusts to your new deodorant.

Why Use Natural Deodorant?

One of the biggest benefits of natural deodorant is that it helps to eliminate unwanted odor while still allowing your body to sweat and cool you down. Sweating regulates your body temperature and also flushes out toxins. Antiperspirants clog those sweat glands, making it harder for your body to do its job.