Maintain great smelling armpits whilst following a vegan lifestyle? Not as impossible as you might think…
It is important to educate yourself first on why some deodorants may not be vegan before we take you through our favourite vegan deodorants that will make you want to sniff those pits.
What is vegan deodorant?
Deodorants that are made without any animal products and aren’t tested on animals are both vegan and cruelty-free. They also tend to be made using natural ingredients.
Most deodorants that you will find in your local shop probably aren’t vegan. These deodorants will most likely have been tested on animals either by the brand or a parent company that owns them. Moreover, a lot of deodorant brands use beeswax in their ingredients, which isn’t vegan.
Why choose a natural vegan deodorant?
For the animals: vegan deodorants don’t cause any unnecessary harm to non-human animals because they are made using natural plant-based ingredients and refrain from testing on animals.
For your health: many of the big deodorant brands are packed full of unnatural chemicals that actually block your pores, meaning you stop your body from doing it’s natural thing.
What ingredients are used in vegan deodorants?
Nature has a lot to offer vegan deodorant companies, which is why you’ll find so many different scents and fragrances when shopping for your deodorant. Nature also provides us with many incredible ingredients that help to neutralise smells and keep moisture at bay.
Here are some of the most common vegan deodorant ingredients:
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Tapioca starch
- Coconut oil
- Shea butter
- Lactobacillus
- Zinc oxide
- Arrowroot
- Witch hazel
- Baking powder
- + much more!
Great work, nature.
Are vegan deodorants eco-friendly?
Unfortunately, not always. Most high-quality vegan deodorants are also plastic-free and/or compostable. But there are some brands on the market that do still use plastic. These are often also cheaper and can be easily found on the high street.
The plastic-packaged vegan deodorants are still better than non-vegan perspirants, especially if you’re able to recycle them once they’re finished, but we’d still recommend looking for a more eco-friendly option.
How do you know if a deodorant brand is vegan?
Always make sure to look out for a label on the packaging that explicitly says ‘vegan’, otherwise check out whether they are cruelty-free (often with a little image of a bunny).
If you can’t find either of these things try Googling the brand name with “Is *enter brand name here* vegan?” – this should give you the information that you need to make an informed decision about purchasing that deodorant.
If you still haven’t found a suitable vegan deodorant after this, just take a look above to find a whole array of vegan deodorants you can buy online and in-store (Wild Deodorant is stocked in Sainsbury’s!)
Here are the best vegan deodorants
Wild
Buy yourself a reusable case in your favourite colour, set up a flexible subscription for your compostable refills, and enjoy their range of incredible scents. We LOVE Fresh Cotton & Sea Salt.
No bad smells here!
Read our full Wild Deodorant review here
Get 10% off Wild deodorant with discount code:
AFFXY10
AKT
A vegan deodorant balm that leaves zero stains and smells great! We’ve been using AKT for a while now and are yet to notice any bad smells coming from our armpits.
It is great for people who have sensitive skin that gets irritated when applying solid deodorant bars and applicators.
Plus, this vegan deodorant looks really elegant and sexy. Big ticks from us!
Get 10% off AKT with discount code:
VEGANSISTERSAKT10
Fussy
Fussy are very similar to Wild in that they sell a reusable case alongside compostable refills. Their case does feel a little cheaper and less sturdy than Wild though, so we are interested to see which will last longer whilst we are travelling around the world!
We do like the way their natural deodorant glides effortlessly onto our skin and are big fans of their use of Lactobacillus (to replace the friendly bacteria that are scrubbed away when we wash our pits).
Read our full Fussy Deodorant review here.
Get 12% off Fussy with discount code:
AFFVS12
SANS
SANS are here to show that you can make vegan eco-friendly deodorant that bit more eco-friendly. Similar to Wild & Fussy they use a refillable case, but theirs is made using aluminium with refills in recyclable cardboard, meaning no plastic whatsoever here!
We love how stylish it is and it is one of the easier refillable vegan deodorants to use.
Currently they only have three scents which we had mixed opinions on. We do hope to see to wider variety of scents as they grow!
Salt of the Earth
One of the OGs of the vegan deodorant world, Salt of the Earth have been keeping our pits dry & clean for years!
We love these crystals because they come plastic-free and they last for ages. Just apply to your armpits straight after the shower (whilst they are still damp) or simply moisten the crystal block and apply.
This doesn’t smell of anything so it’s perfect for those looking to stay scent-free.
Our only issue is that it hasn’t always kept us free of odour after using it for long periods of time. So we like to interchange it with other deodorants to keep those pits smelling fresh.
Nuud
Packaged inside a sugarcane tube, this deodorant contains silver which helps to neutralise your sweat. Perfect for anyone looking for scent-free protection.
We believe Nuud is like the marmite of the vegan deodorant world, some people love it and others hate it.
Whilst we don’t want to put you off trying it, it really didn’t work for us. But we know others who love it so why not give it a go?
PitROK
Up there alongside the salt crystals, PitROK has been around since we first turned vegan. For a long time, it was one of the only vegan deodorants you could buy in most high street pharmacies, like Boots.
The great thing is that it worked and smelt great, the main downside is the plastic.
Perfect if you are on the high street and don’t have access to more eco-friendly options!
