4 Best Deodorants, Evaluated and Reviewed
We worked out, socialized, and sweated in new-to-us deodorants from Salt + Stone, AKT, and others to see which ones are best at combating odor
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There dwell among us those lucky folks who don’t stink when they sweat. I am not one of them, especially after the birth of my first child, when my hormones went haywire and what had been the manageable warm-weather body odor status quo became a year-round situation. The situation has not improved now that I’m pregnant with baby No. 2.
- Products We Tested: AKT The Deodorant Balm Lume Whole Body Deodorant Mando Whole Body Solid Deodorant Stick Native Deodorant Nécessaire The Deodorant Gel Old Spice Aluminum-Free Deodorant for Men Salt & Stone Deodorant Saltair Skincare Deodorant Secret Aluminum Free Deodorant
- Plus: Our Testers How We Tested The Difference Between Deodorant and Antiperspirant Why Use Deodorant Instead of Antiperspirant?
Best Everyday Essentials
Bar soaps, towels, toothbrushes, and other bath products are among the household basics that can make your days easier, more comfortable, and safer.
For me, at least, there was: I was sold. Read on to learn which deodorant persuaded me to leave behind my antiperspirant and which one smelled so terrible I don’t know how it passed quality control.
A note about our partnership with SkinSafe, a partner organization that uses Mayo Clinic data to assess the number of allergens in many personal-care products: Although we didn’t factor this into our results, we included data from SkinSafe. It awards “scores” to products according to how many of the 11 most common allergens they contain. Higher scores align with fewer allergens. This information is most relevant to people with allergies or sensitive skin, such as folks with eczema. If you don’t have any allergies and don’t tend to react to skin care products, you don’t need to worry too much about this score.
Meet the Testers
Photos: Lisa Fogarty, Cesar Carroll, Angela Lashbrook (Consumer Reports) Photos: Lisa Fogarty, Cesar Carroll, Angela Lashbrook (Consumer Reports)
César Carroll is a senior market analyst at CR. He typically wears aluminum-free deodorants and works out most days of the week.
Angela Lashbrook is a senior writer at CR. She isn’t loyal to any one deodorant type (or wasn’t before working on this article, anyway), though she does swipe her underarms with Noxzema Anti-Blemish pads daily. She does yoga several times a week and goes on long walks most days.
Lisa Fogarty is a senior writer at CR. She usually wears antiperspirant (with aluminum) and goes to the gym six times a week. She also stars in videos below in which she discusses all the deodorants from this evaluation
