First things first: Beautycounter’s Clean Deo WORKS and I was its biggest skeptic in the beginning!

Clean deodorant is one of those things I never thought I’d be able to use.  I honestly never even wanted to try it because I sweat.  A lot.  And my armpits can stink pretty badly if I’m not wearing a strong deodorant.  Funny story, when I was in kindergarten my mom smelled something stinky in the car one day and then realized it was my armpits!  We went to the store and I picked out some deodorant and I’ve been wearing it ever since.  Since age 5!  During my tween and teen years I even used prescription deodorant because at school I would sweat through all of my tops and it was really embarrassing to have sweat rings under my arms at school at the age of 13.  My mom and I even went to Joann’s Fabric and bought sweat shields that you attach to the inside of your clothes so that you have a bit of a barrier between your pits and your clothing.  As an Army officer I even resorted to wearing panty liners in the armpits of my dress uniform so as not to activate the stink that was already in my jacket because taking off all of the military ribbons and pins to get it cleaned was way too difficult to do regularly.  Sooooo…all of that goes to say, even with strong antiperspirant and deodorant I was still a sweaty mess, and because of that I never even entertained the thought of switching to clean deodorant, even though I knew that our bodies are made to sweat and that toxins from aluminum in antiperspirants can lead to health problems.

How to Switch to Clean Deodorant

Enter Beautycounter’s newest product: The Clean Deo, which was available in minis for the holidays (pictured in this blog post…the full sized ones are much larger) and the full sized Clean Deos just launched!  As a consultant perk I was able to get my hands on the new clean deodorant in late spring and I figured that I might as well give it a shot since I had received them for free because of my consultant performance.  I was skeptical but it was the height of COVID and I wasn’t going anywhere so I figured, “why the heck not?”.  This clean deodorant is made with ingredients like corn starch, coconut oil, candelilla wax, beeswax and baking soda and is scented with natural ingredients like lavender, rose, bergamot and nutmeg.  It comes in 3 different scents (Soft Lavender, Fresh Coconut) and the refillable packages are $28 a piece (and $18 for the refills).  The minis were single use, but the full-sized products are refillable, which is a really great way to keep packaging out of a landfill and also save a little money since you only have to buy the full package once.  I don’t know if I can pick a favorite.  During the summer I wore coconut the most often, which smells like a delicious piña colada or like the tanning oil I used far too often as a teens.  The smell is absolutely heavenly!  Right now I’m using rose and really love the lavender too.  All smell fantastic and I love knowing that nothing icky is hiding under the generic “fragrance” label, which is what happens with most other personal care products.  Beautycounter specifies every single ingredient in their products, so you know what’s in it down to the very last ingredient.  And as with all Beautycounter products, if you happen to not like the product for any reason you can return for free within the first 60 days.

So how exactly do you make the switch to clean deodorant?

So how exactly do you make the switch to clean deodorant?  Well, first off, be prepared for a little bit of a detox period.  There can be a lot of buildup in your armpits if you’ve been a long-time antiperspirant user, so one thing I did to help speed things along was to use the Beautycounter Charcoal Facial Mask on my armpits before I got started.  I know this sounds crazy, but after taking a shower just spread the mask onto your pits and let it dry (I’d apply it to my face too, while I was at it).  Then just hop in the shower after 10-15 minutes and wash it all off.  This mask will absorb toxins and impurities and help detox your pits to make the transition to clean deodorant a little easier.  Do this a couple times a week for a week or two.  If you have the Charcoal Cleansing Bar you can also wash your pits with that when you shower.  I just used my regular face bar on my pits for a while then went back to my normal Beautycounter Citrus Mimosa Body Wash.

Next, be aware that it might feel a little different (for a bit) than your old antiperspirant felt.  The baking soda in the deodorant is there to help absorb sweat and neutralize odor, but until your skin is used to it you might notice a little irritation.  It didn’t really bother me much and I got through the awkward first couple of weeks really easily.  Every once in a while I’ll still use the Charcoal Mask on my pits and I think it helps eliminate some of the bacteria that likes to hang out in armpits.

These days I don’t think twice about using Beautycounter’s Clean Deo and I feel like my body has reset itself and I don’t sweat as much anymore either.  Sometimes I will reapply during the day (and I always wear deodorant after I shower, even if it’s at night) to help keep them nice and fresh, but most of the time application in the morning is all I need.  I have been SO impressed with our Clean Deo and I was the biggest skeptic out there…so if you’ve been wanting to clean up the personal care products you use on your body then I can wholeheartedly recommend trying Beautycounter’s Clean Deo.  I haven’t worn my old Secret deodorant since trying the Clean Deo and I will never ever go back!

If you’d like to learn more about the business and my favorite products, here are all of my Beautycounter blog posts I’ve written the past 2+ years.

If you decide to shop for Beautycounter products, please add me as your consultant (Katie Vail) or shop using one of my links (beautycounter.com/katievail)!  This will allow me to help with your order if you ever need any assistance.  I’m always happy to  make recommendations so feel free to send me a note if you need help choosing the right products for you!  I promise to always share things I truly love, and if I happen to not like a Beautycounter product I will never promote it.  I want to be a trusted resource for you, so authenticity is my number one priority 🙂

Katie Vail

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