Deodorant is one of the staple products people use to smell fresh and keep dry. Unfortunately, many deodorants these days contain harsh chemicals and other ingredients that can irritate the skin and harm the body in other ways, like synthetic fragrances, alcohols, parabens, etc. Aluminum is another controversial ingredient in deodorant, as it acts as an antiperspirant, but it's not conclusive as to whether it causes breast cancer and/or Alzheimer's. To mitigate this, natural deodorant formulas will use ingredients like baking soda, tapioca starch, and essential oils to help with smell and dryness instead of using aluminum; these ingredients will NOT plug up your sweat glands or stop sweating from occurring like aluminum does, since aluminum is the only antiperspirant on the market. If you're concerned about what you're putting on your body and want to use deodorants that have minimal ingredients, keep reading to see which brands work the best!

As I've mentioned in my post for women's deodorants, you may benefit from 'detoxing' your armpits, especially when switching to a natural deodorant. It can take a bit for the bacteria in your armpits to adjust when switching formulas, so doing a detox can prevent some of the odor-causing bacteria from growing. You can make a paste from things like bentonite clay, apple cider vinegar, or activated charcoal, let it dry on your pits for 15 minutes or so, and then rinse off in the shower or a wet washcloth. Contrary to the name, this will NOT detox the aluminum out of your system, but it will help with the bacteria instead.

Here's the 8 Best Natural Deodorants for Men:

Bend Soap Company

Bend Soap Company started with the founder's son's struggle with eczema and not being able to find products that would alleviate it, so they took matters into their own hands and made their own soap from goat milk and it got rid of their son's eczema. This started their journey to make products that didn't have any harsh ingredients, including their deodorant.

Key Ingredients: Coconut oil, Arrowroot Powder, Baking Soda, Essential Oils

Price: $6.95

Scents: The Woodsman, All Shield, Honey Grapefruit, Unscented

Dr. Squatch

One of my fiancé's favorite natural swaps is the Dr. Squatch deodorant, especially the Wood Barrel Bourbon scent. I will say that it isn't the BEST one on the market, since it does contain natural fragrance (which fragrance can be an endocrine disruptor), but the other ingredients aren't bad and you can find it at Amazon, Target, and Walmart, so it's pretty accessible, too.

Key Ingredients: Arrowroot Powder, Charcoal, Magnesium Hydroxide, Probiotics

Price: $12.59

Scents: Alpine Sage, Bay Rum, Birchwood Breeze, Coconut Castaway, Cool Fresh Aloe, Fresh Falls, Pine Tar, Rainforest Rapids, Summer Citrus, Wood Barrel Bourbon

Humble

Humble uses only 4 base ingredients in their formulas, and then adds essential oils for their scents. That's about as minimal as you can get in terms of using minimal ingredients!

Key Ingredients: Caprylic/capric triglyceride (MCT - derived from coconut), Corn starch, Baking soda, Beeswax, Essential oils

Price: $16.99 (Full size and travel)

Scents: Black Spruce, Palo Santo & Frankincense, Texas Cedarwood & Grapefruit, Unscented

Just Ingredients

Just Ingredients also keeps it simple with their ingredient list. The addition of magnesium helps with odor protection and vitamin E oil helps soothe the underarms and reduce skin irritation.

Key Ingredients: Sweet Almond Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Magnesium Oxide, Beeswax, Essential Oils

Price: $13.99

Scents: Cedarwood Spice, Coconut Vanilla, Eucalyptus Mint, Sweet Citrus, Unscented, Vanilla Mint

Magsol

Magsol, like Humble, also uses only 4 ingredients in their formula to keep you smelling fresh and keeping your body free from harmful chemicals. It also doesn't contain baking soda, which can be an irritant for some.

Key Ingredients: Almond Oil, Magnesium Oxide, Beeswax, Essential Oils

Price: $17.96

Scents: Hunter, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Sweet Orange, Lemongrass

Primally Pure

As mentioned in my women's deodorant blog post, I LOVE Primally Pure, and it's great for men, too! This is a tallow-based deodorant, which is known for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. This deodorant contains no aluminum, parabens, artificial fragrances, triclosan, propylene glycol, etc. As for its odor-reducing properties, it uses non-nano zinc oxide and kaolin clay instead of magnesium.

Key Ingredients: Arrowroot Powder, Baking Soda, Grass-fed Tallow, Non-nano Zinc Oxide, Kaolin Clay

Price: $16 for 1.7-oz, $22 for 2.5-oz

Scents: Blue Tansy, Bergamot & Eucalyptus, Charcoal, Geranium, Lemongrass, Lavender, Vanilla & Citrus, Tea Tree, Unscented

Schmidt's

Another good option that's accessible at grocery stores (Target, Walgreens, Kroger) is Schmidt's Natural Deodorant. My fiancé was also a fan of this deodorant; we were on a road trip and he forgot to pack deodorant, so we grabbed this one in a pinch and it did the trick! It does contain fragrance in it though, granted it is natural, but still something to note if you don't like seeing just plain 'fragrance' in your ingredient lists. On the plus side, there's no aluminum or parabens, and it contains magnesium hydroxide for odor protection!

Key Ingredients: Magnesium, Arrowroot Powder, Baking Soda, Essential Oils

Price: $18.98 (2-pack)

Scents: Bergamot & Lime, Cactus Flower & Pear, Charcoal & Magnesium, Clean Coconut, Coconut & Kaolin Clay, Fresh Cucumber, Fresh Fir & Spice, Fresh Rain & Birch, Lavender & Sage, Sandalwood & Citrus

Ursa Major

Last but not least on this list is Ursa Major. Their deodorant is packed full of amazing ingredients like hops, eucalyptus, aloe, and probiotic enzymes to minimize and fight odor-causing bacteria, while also soothing the skin and keeping the microbiome balanced. The addition of tapioca starch will help keep you dry. And if you prefer a spray instead, Ursa Major has that as well. Give it a try!

Key Ingredients: Tapioca starch, Baking soda, Essential oils, Probiotic Enzymes, Hops Price: $16.20

Scents: Base Layer (Unscented), Forest Fix, Hoppin' Fresh

*Disclosure: Some of the links in the article above are affiliate links, so if you are inclined to make a purchase based on the recommendations, the author will make a small commission. Thank you for your support if you so choose.*