Why is My Natural Deodorant Suddenly Not Working Anymore?!
Have you ever fallen in love with a natural deodorant, only to notice a few months later that it doesn't seem to work as well anymore? This seems to happen to people from time to time, and there are a few reasons this could be:
You Cheated on Your Deodorant
This is the NUMBER ONE reason an effective natural deodorant will appear to stop working - you "cheated" and used a store bought conventional deodorant again. And while there are a number of reasons people may use their other conventional store bought deodorant again, and I will tell you why this can backfire!
An effective natural deodorant works by actually changing the biome in the under arm. The types and balance of bacteria colonized actually changes - and guess what, the bacteria responsible for the body odour you worked so hard to eliminate, can colonize again under the right circumstances!
Sometimes its just a matter of you using your old deodorant stick which was already contaminated with the "bad" bacteria and inadvertently recolonizing your underarm. These bacteria are the kind that love to feast on sweat and cause the telltale unpleasant odour.
The other part to this, is if you suddenly use an antiperspirant again and reblock your skin pores. As your body tries to flush out the aluminum or other products from the pores you can temporarily notice an odour again.
My best advice? Once you find a natural deodorant that works for you - stay true to it and don't try to flip back and forth. If you have flipped back and forth and notice an odour again, just commit to using only your natural deodorant again, and after a period of time you should notice the odour disappears once again.
Ok, So I Haven't Switched Back and Forth, So What Gives?!
There are a few other reasons you might temporarily notice that your natural deodorant doesn't seem to work as well. Hormone changes is the second most common reason, so whether its due to a pregnancy, menopause, or some other shift in hormones - you may suddenly notice a difference in your body odour again.
For some people this is often just a transient change and their body will readjust after a few weeks. However if you either don't notice an improvement, or you notice your skin is suddenly sensitive to the deodorant you were using, sometimes it's as simple as switching to a sensitive formulation.
Most reputable natural deodorant companies also offer sensitive deodorant formulations that are a less alkaline formula. This may be all that you need to get back on track.
The last common reason is stress! Your body has eccrine AND apocrine sweat glands, the eccrine ones secrete a clear and usually odourless sweat, while the apocrine glands release a more viscous and oily sweat during stressful times. This too is usually transient and won't be an ongoing issue once the stress is resolved.
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
So once you find a deodorant that works for you, stick with it - if you want some variety try just switching to a different scent in the same brand and formulation. The really good natural deodorant brands have so many scent varieties now, that you can switch things up while staying the same - which is a win win!
Comment below if you have any questions about making the switch to a natural deodorant!