FAQs

So how do you apply a soft solid natural deodorant balm anyway?

Natural deodorant balms are applied differently than your traditional stick deodorants, so it can take some getting used to at first. You simply scoop a small amount onto your finger tip, and apply to the underarms, rubbing in gently - we recommend a pea sized amount or less! This amount of our natural deodorant will keep you smelling fresh all day long :)

We think applying deodorant with your fingers is great for getting to know your body and feeling for lumps or swollen lymph nodes which could indicate health issues, but for those who don't like the idea of applying with a finger, some customers have used things like: popsicle stick, makeup brush, or reusable makeup pads.

How long should it take for a natural deodorant to start working?

For some people there can be an adjustment period after switching from traditional antiperspirants to natural deodorants, however most of our customers report that our deodorants are effective right away! Traditional antiperspirants work by using aluminum to clog up your pores and stopping the sweat from coming out, but they don't foster a healthy underarm biome and people will notice that they have to reapply antiperspirants frequently to keep odour at bay. And when you think about it, the fact that they are designed to block waste products (sweat) from coming out of the body - that's more than a little alarming!

It can take awhile after stopping the use of antiperspirants for the biome (bacteria) under the arm to change. It isn't actually sweat that causes the odour, it's the types of bacteria colonized on the skin that cause the odour. Any reputable deodorant will have coconut oil as an ingredient, which is rich in bad-bacteria killing lauric acid, and will change the underarm biome to a more favourable one without odour causing bacteria.

So you might still sweat sometimes, but you won't stink!

Some tips to help the transition:

* Use the natural deodorant as directed, and as with any deodorant, don't apply to freshly shaved skin.

* Don't go back and forth between your new natural deodorant, and your old antiperspirant stick, this can recolonize the under arm with the "bad" bacteria and cause the adjustment period to be much longer!

* Some people have found that using a little apple cider vinegar wiped onto the skin under the arm for a few days, can help with balancing the bacteria on the skin a bit faster.

Most people who make the switch to our deodorants though, are happy to discover that they work for them right away!

What is the difference between your regular formula natural deodorants and your sensitive / charcoal formulas?

Both our regular and sensitive formulas work great at controlling odour, but with one important difference - Our regular formulas contain baking soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate). Baking soda is great for eliminating odour, but a small percentage of people are sensitive to it, so we made some options without it too! In our non-baking soda formulas we use other ingredients with a neutral pH to combat odour and leave you feeling (and smelling) fresh!

Why do I get a rash when I use natural deodorants that contain baking soda?

Baking soda is amazing at neutralizing odours, but it is a fairly alkaline ingredient, meaning it has a higher pH than neutral. For the vast majority of people this isn't an issue, in fact most people can use natural deodorants that contain baking soda without any issue. However, for the small percentage of people who are sensitive, we recommend using one of our non-baking soda containing deodorants, such as our charcoal formula, or our sensitive formula.

Some tips to prevent getting a rash when using a baking soda containing natural deodorant are:

* Use the deodorant as directed, and do not apply to a freshly shaved area. Shaving temporarily opens up all of the skin pores, so it's best to wait a few hours between shaving and applying the deodorant. One way to try this is shaving the night before and then applying the deodorant in the morning. 

* Less is more - our natural deodorants are extremely effective and you don't need to apply much, a pea sized amount or less is recommended.

* Sometimes changes in hormones can cause temporary sensitivities, for example pregnancy or menopause. In this case you can switch to a non-baking soda containing formula for awhile, or alternate days between using the baking soda formulas and non-baking soda formulas.

What is the difference between your vegan natural deodorant and the other ones you make?

All of our deodorants and products are cruelty free and never ever tested on animals - only willing people! However, some people prefer not to even use beeswax, so we made our natural vegan deodorant with a type of plant wax called candelilla wax instead. Same great effective formula as our regular natural deodorants, but vegan!

Which of your natural deodorant balms contain baking soda?

The deodorants we have which contain baking soda are:

* Regular natural deodorant (blue label, balanced scent with vanilla, citruses, a hint of ylang ylang, and sandalwood)

* Shine natural deodorant (bright yellow label, citrusy scent)

* Siren natural deodorant (bright pink label, floral / vanilla scent)

* Sunset natural deodorant (purple label, classic lavender scent)

* Men's natural deodorant (grey label, balanced scent but stronger and with more sandalwood)

* Zero natural deodorant (white label, unscented but just as effective!)

Which of your natural deodorant balms are baking soda free?

The deodorants we currently have that are baking soda free are:

* Charcoal natural deodorant (dark grey label, classic lavender scent)

* Sensitive natural deodorant (light yellow label, balanced scent with vanilla, citruses, a hint of ylang ylang, and sandalwood) 

Do your deodorants contain any parabens or aluminum?

We are proud to say that our natural deodorants don't contain any aluminum, parabens, synthetic fragrance or plastics. Even our tins are made of tinplate, and are aluminum free.

Our deodorants are made with safe, simple, and effective ingredients, in fact they would be safe enough to eat, but - we prefer if you just put it on your underarms instead!

Do you have any products that are scent free?

Yes, although we use essential oils and natural flavouring oils in all of our products rather than synthetic fragrances, we recognize that some people are sensitive even to essential oils. We have a few different unscented products that would be suitable for people with sensitivities to scent:

* Zero natural deodorant (regular formula, but unscented

* Freedom Butter (moisturizing body butter thats is scent free)

* Charcoal body / shave bar

We also have plans to continue to expand our unscented options and create unscented lip balm, shampoo bar, and conditioner bar in the future!

How long do your tins of deodorant last?

All of our natural deodorant varieties come in 50 g tins, and three varieties also have a smaller 30 g compact tin option (regular, sensitive, men's). The 30 g compact tins of natural deodorant last 6-8 weeks with recommended use once a day, and our 50 g tins of natural deodorant will last 3-4 months with recommended use once a day.

We are currently working on an optional subscription program that would automatically ship new product out at the customer's preferred interval, and provide a bit of a savings incentive - stay tuned!

Is your packaging eco-friendly?

We do our best to package our products with no plastic (or as little plastic as possible) and in minimalist packaging. Most of our products are packaged in tinplate tins, or glass bottles - and aside from the droppers or spray pumps we do not use plastic. We don't believe in packaging our tins or bottles into a secondary (and unnecessary) cardboard box. We are always seeking to reduce waste, and our carbon footprint. Rather than using flashy branded boxes or packing paper, we tend to reuse a lot of the packaging we have gotten from supplies or ingredients delivered to us - it may not be as pretty as branded packaging, but it's what inside that counts anyway right? ;)

I am new to shampoo and conditioner bars, how do you use them?

Our shampoo bars are a solid bar, that lather up really easily into a rich and moisturizing lather. You can use them a couple of different ways - either by lathering in your hands and applying the lather to you hair, or you can rub the bar directly onto your hair! After washing hair with the lather, you simply rinse well just like you would with any other shampoo. For best results we recommend using the bar in a soap sack like this one, you can lather the bar right in the sack, rinse it off, and then hang to dry without ever taking it out of the soap sack. 

Our conditioner bars do not lather, so you will rub the wet bar directly onto your wet hair until the hair starts to feel that moisturized "slip" you feel with any conditioner. For short hair just rub the wet bar against the hair, and for long hair you can sandwich the bar and your hair together between your hands and rub them together vigorously. Depending on your hair type you can leave the conditioner in for a few minutes, or rinse right away - it will leave your hair soft and shiny with some bounce!

Bonus - these bars travel extremely well and we often bring them on camping trips!

How long do your shampoo and conditioner bars last?

Our shampoo bars last about 6-8 weeks or more with regular daily use by one person, and our conditioner bars last about 3-4 months with regular daily use by one person. That being said, they might last longer depending on if a person washes their hair less frequently than daily. You only need a little bit of lather / or conditioner to cleanse and condition the hair!

Are your tins recyclable or refillable?

Our tins are fully recyclable, and tinplate is one of the most widely and easily recycled materials around, but we think that refilling or reusing tins is the best option when possible!  We are currently in a few refilleries, and actively working on expanding into refilleries across Canada so that our customers anywhere can easily bring their tins in for refills. We make all of our products in larger bulk refills because we think this is the future of sustainability!

If you have a favourite refillery in your city or town and want to see Pickle & Bee carried there, let them know about us, and let us know about them so we can reach out to them :)

If you own a refillery, we would be happy to send our refillable product list - please reach out through out retailer form on the retailer page here.

Do you have a tin return program?

If you are local to Regina, Saskatchewan or surrounding area (or travel to Regina) please contact us at info@pickleandbee.ca to enquire about options for returning tins :)