I’d love to incorporate more sustainable, plastic-free choices in my everyday life, in a bid to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Having ditched makeup wipes a long time ago and swapped to reusable removal pads, I’ve been looking at other changes that I can make, too.
One of my vegan friends, who lives very minimalistically, loves natural deodorant, so I decided to ditch the aerosol and trial a cream alternative for a month.
I opted for the Fuss Free Shaving (FFS) original natural deodorant balm, which costs £11, plus £2.20 for delivery. Already it was more than I’d probably spend on deodorant for a whole year, as I tend to just pick up whatever is on offer every month or so.
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FFS suggest that their tin of deodorant lasts two months based on average usage, and they do have a subscription service which costs £8, so over the space of a year, it would cost around £48 for the everyday essential. The brand launched the product in a bid to help consumers reduce plastic in the bathroom, and it’s both vegan and cruelty free, as well as plastic and paraben free.
The tin itself is very nice, tactile and easy to carry on-the-go, but I did find the thread on the lid to be a little defective, as I would often cross-thread the lid or struggle to get it on and off. The tin holds 50ml of product, and can be washed out and reused to store other items around the home, too.
I love a fragrant deodorant , and the FFS cream product is scented with grapefruit, which helps brighten underarms, and peppermint oil, which offers antibacterial properties and a wonderful scent.
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Having been used to roll-ons and sprays for years, I found it unusual at first to apply my deodorant with my hands. It’s definitely less traditional, but FFS say ‘it’s no different to applying cream to any part of your body’, and I suppose they’re right.
I took a pea-sized amount of putty-like product and softened it between my fingers before applying it to my underarms. I could feel the texture change slightly to a more chalky formula as I applied it, which felt a little bit exfoliating, too.
I trialled the FFS natural deodorant for a whole month throughout March, and I found I did have to apply it more frequently than my usual brands. While it did offer some level of body odour control and sweat absorption, I did find myself reaching for it more often than I would usually.
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Most of the time it applied very well, there was just one occasion where the formula seemed to ball up rather than smooth on. However, FFS says it does need to be applied to dry underarms, so this could have been a reason for the unusual texture on this occasion.
I managed two weeks of only using the FFS deodorant before finishing off the month with a combination of both my usual spray, and the natural deodorant. I felt a little self-conscious about whether or not the FFS product was performing as well as I’d liked, so wanted extra reassurance from my trusted brand.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy using the deodorant, in fact, I love that it allowed me to be a little more tactile with my body, particularly with breast cancer running in the family, it meant I could take time to notice any abnormalities that my usual deodorant application simply wouldn’t allow for.
I loved the smell of the deodorant, as well as the addition of shea butter in the ingredients for softness. I also really appreciated the work being done by FFS to promote cruelty free, vegan and environmentally conscious products. I’d love to continue using natural deodorant in the future, but I don’t think I’m ready to give up my £1 sprays just yet.
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