When choosing a natural deodorant, there's only a handful of ingredients that are used as a core ingredient for odour reduction. For the past year or two now, the buzz ingredient has been bi-carb soda (or sometimes called baking soda in the American brands). It is a completely natural ingredient that is perfectly safe to use, but it can be a skin irritant for some people. These people either need to stop using it temporarily, or sadly, cease using it forever. We do have a 'Detox-A-Pit' coming soon to help heal those issues, but many need to temporarily or permanently ditch the bi-carb.

This week, one of the first companies in the USA ever to use bi-carb in their formulas, Schmidt's Deodorant, have released a version of their natural deodorant stick that is bi-carb free but still works. What do they use instead? Magnesium!

While the magnesium oil, flakes and roll-on gels use magnesium chloride (which is the pure salt flake form that we put in our bath),  the  new sensitive skin sticks from Schmidt's use magnesium hydroxide. Is the milky form often called 'Milk of Magnesia' and has traditionally been used to reduce stomach acid and as a laxative (so we're not going to eat the deodorant stick ok?) and also as a deodorant, although not widely until recently. More and more brands are starting to discover the benefits of magnesium in a natural deodorant.

There are three deodorant sticks in the range. Because of the absence of bi-carb soda, all are suitable for sensitive skin, however, only one is suitable for sensitive noses. There is a fragrance free version and then two scented varieties using only essential oils as additional ingredients from the fragrance free version. There is a floral scented version using geranium and a unisex fragrance using tea tree essential oil.

They are natually effective at neutralising odour and having some impact on wetness (though they are not formulate to stop you from sweating). They are smooth and creamy in texture, easy to absorb, not greasy or sticky either. They are vegan, cruelty free and gluten free too.