This Is The Only Natural Deodorant I’ll Use
The Splurge is our new weekly column dedicated to expensive beauty products that are actually worth it. This week, why we're rebuying Corpus Naturals' Deodorant, despite the $22 price tag.
I never really thought twice about the ingredients in my beauty products until my mom fought (and beat) breast cancer five years ago. Her diagnosis was the wake up call that got me to start flipping over every single skincare, makeup, and haircare product around to read their ingredient lists before buying any of them.
The controversy around antiperspirant ingredients — specifically aluminum — being linked to hormonal changes in the body and breast cancer isn't a solid fact, but enough of a possibility to make deodorant one of the first products I wanted to swap for a non-toxic option.
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There's just one problem: While there's a healthy number of aluminum-free deodorants out there, they're extremely hit or miss. To sum it up, a lot of the formulas I tried just didn't keep my natural odor under control. After a ton of trial-and-error, I gave up and went back to using the antiperspirant that had been my go-to since my mom first introduced me to the concept of deodorant in middle school.
A few years later, I decided to give non-toxic deodorants another chance when I was sent Corpus Natural Deodorant. I'll admit that I was initially drawn to the brand's deodorant because I had seen the extremely luxe mint green cylinder sticks on my Instagram feed. But, taking the time to look at what's in Corpus' formula convinced me that this deodorant is more than just a beauty product that looks good in a flat lay.
The formula is vegan, aluminum-free, and made without baking soda, a common irritant found in many natural deodorants. Instead of hard-to-pronounce chemicals, it's made with essential oils and natural enzymes that work to keep bad smells away. As for their actual scents, they could easily be mistaken for Le Labo or Byredo fragrances. The five available scents are all made without synthetic notes and are named after their ingredients (Santalum, Third Rose, Cedar Flora, No. Green, and The Botanist), which is helpful since these deodorants are primarily available online.
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To find out if Corpus is one of those rare deodorants that really works, the first time I wore it was during a cardio class. I was impressed. One important thing to note: Natural deodorants won't prevent you from sweating like an antiperspirant. So, while I got extremely sweaty during my workout (my bangs were literally shellacked to my forehead when I got out of class), I only faintly smelled Corpus' Third Rose scent, and not, well, me.
Since this initial trial, I've been wearing Corpus everyday. Even after a hectic day of running to beauty events before and after work, I've never stunk. (I've done the pit smell test, trust.) This natural deodorant hasn't left yellow stains on any of my clothes either.
Staying BO-free comes with a price — literally. At $22 a stick, Corpus is quite a bit pricer than the drugstore antiperspirant I used to buy. However, the fact that the deodorant works and gives me the peace of mind that I'm using a safer product is, in my opinion, worth the extra cost.
