As some of you may or may not know, I don’t do reviews. I find them to many times be reiterating exactly what the product description says. And who needs that? If you can read a review, can’t you read the description on their site. Ugh.
So, I’ll be doing things sort of differently where I try things out (I won’t be trying a lot of stuff, just very specific things) and let you know my thoughts based off my needs. Since it’s my first _____ vs. ______, it may be setup differently from future posts.
Now the products. I tried out two very different deodorants in hopes to find one ideal for me. From a very young age, I noticed I sweat a lot. Like an exceedingly, unhealthy amount. And I would sweat from everywhere – the inside of my elbows, back of my knees, between my breasts, under my breasts, the bottom of my feet, my palms, my thighs, and of course, my armpits. No one in my family sweat as much as I did, so it was hard discussing or figuring out why it happened to me. I tried all female deodorants on the market (even that crystal block that was huge for a minute), until I gave up and started wearing men’s deodorant specific for athletes.
When I moved off to college, my doctor found that my anxiety triggered me to sweat more, and because my sweating caused insecurity leading to anxiety, it was an endless cycle. We thought injecting Botox in my pits was the best option, but hearing of the importance of sweat glands, I chose smelling like jock itch and sandalwood to periodic shots …until now.
Focusing solely on an all-natural option vs. non all-natural option with specific claims, I dedicated one pit to each product and noted every pro, con, and random tidbit possible.
NYR Organic – Lavender and Aloe Vera Deodorant
NYR Organic is an aluminum-free, vegan option that combines particular ingredients like ylang-ylang, alpine moss to prevent the growth of odor causing bacteria. It’s a liquid deodorant, so its cooling once it hits your skin and the scent is there, but not overpowering and spicy. I left my arms up to dry for some seconds, or when in a rush I’d stick them in front of the air conditioner. This isn’t necessary, but because any sort of moisture or wetness adds to the sweating, it needed to be dry for me.
As for all day protection, it didn’t cut it, unless I had it on hand to re-spritz. Therefore, having another bottle is definitely a must. The allotted amount of time it did protect, it kept me dry and odor free. Actually, even when I started to get a whiff of musk, my pits still stayed dry. Which is optimal, but I need dryness and no-odor.
Keep in mind, the overall protection lasted from around 9AM to 3:30 – 4:00PM. I have really long days, and usually don’t finish until around 7:00PM – 10:00PM. Sometimes, but rarely, later.
Dove – Advanced Care Deodorant in Soothing Chamomile
Dove Advanced Care claim to offer 48 hours of wetness and odor protection and is formulated with ¼ moisturizes to leave skin smooth and soft. It’s not aluminum free, is not considered vegan or organic, and is not a spray liquid. If you’re concerned with the white smudges getting on your dress, I’d let it soak in for a few minutes, but I never noticed any white residue. Applying to dry pits is clearly most sensible because it will cake up otherwise.
The scent too was light, but when we got on to day two of not reapplying the scent wasn’t there, but neither was my musk. I tested it without showering for two days (JUST to see if that’s how the 48 hours works), and again showering each day. The days I didn’t shower it actually lasted until late morning on day three, but the days I did shower it lasted a little more than the 48 hours because I began to feel wetness.
Now this isn’t a competition, but if it were, Dove would win only because it lasted all day for me. It doesn’t discredit NY Organic because reapplying deodorant is normal throughout the day, plus being able to pronounce ingredients in anything you use on your body or ingest and knowing what they actually do, is many times, more important than life inconveniences of reapplying throughout the day.
And remember, I sweat more than the average person as mentioned above. I wasn’t expecting miracles, but hoping for options other than what the industry left me with.
NYR Organic is available online for $13.50 and Dove Advanced Care is available online, most drugstores and mass chain retailers starting around $4.60. Their international distribution is unknown, but NYR Organic is sold in Ireland, United Kingdom and the States.