There are many available vegan deodorants but it’s hard to find a vegan antiperspirant.
Updated September 15, 2021
Published May 22, 2017
What’s the difference between Deodorants and Antiperspirants?
Deodorants merely mask body odor with a more pleasing scent, while antiperspirants prevent or reduce sweat in the first place, reducing body odor.
Body odor is caused by bacteria on the skin breaking down our sweat into acids. Antiperspirants work by plugging the sweat pores in your armpits, and also causing them to contract.
There are several controversial claims against antiperspirants. I read up on them, and have added some information on those claims at the bottom of this post. I am still going to use antiperspirant.
So, here’s a list of the few vegan antiperspirants I’ve found. This post contains affiliate links, which means if you buy something, Double Check Vegan will receive a small commission at no cost to you.
List of Vegan Antiperspirants
Tom’s of Maine Naturally Dry Antiperspirant Deodorant*
- Active Ingredient: Aluminum Chlorohydrate 22%
- Company only uses vegan ingredients
- Tom’s itself is certified cruelty-free by PETA.
- *Colgate-Palmolive purchased Tom’s of Maine in 2006 but agreed not to test Tom’s products on animals.
- Unfortunately Tom’s discontinued the unscented version, but they have several other anti-perspirant scents to choose from: Coconut Lavender, Fresh Powder, Charcoal “Natural Fragrance,” North Woods, Mountain Spring
Jack Black Pit Boss Antiperspirant & Deodorant
- Active Ingredient: Aluminum Zirconium Tirchlorohydreax Gly
- Company does not test on animals but products are available in China where they may be required to be tested on animals.
- Company has many marked vegan products.
- In some other products, company uses beeswax, lanolin from sheep, and silk.
- Company only sells vegan shave brushes and has a FAQ about how badgers are killed for bristles in natural brushes.
Certain Dri Antiperspirant Roll On 1.2oz*
- *Parent company Clarion tests on animals
- Active Ingredient: Aluminum Chloride
- Treats excessive sweating.
- Certain Dri is certified cruelty free by PETA which means they self-report no animal testing.
ZeroSweat Antiperspirant
- Active Ingredient: Aluminum Chloride
- Treats excessive sweating.
- Company does not test on animals.
M&S Floral Collection Rose Roll-On Antiperspirant
(no longer available)
- Active ingredients: aluminum chlorohydrate, aluminum zirconium pentachlorohydrate
- Available in the UK
- From Marks & Spencer which does not conduct animal testing
- English rose scent
- Alcohol-free
Why do people avoid antiperspirants?
Several health risks have been linked to the aluminum in antiperspirants, though many of these claims have been debunked. And some consider antiperspirants “unnatural” in general. You know what’s not natural? Wearing pants in 90 degree weather!
- Breast cancer: There is a widespread fear that the the aluminum-based complexes in antiperspirants cause breast cancer. This has not been proven. You can read the full Snopes breakdown of the issue here. And Science-Based Medicine also wrote a post about it.
- Alzheimer’s: Another fear is that aluminum in antiperspirants causes Alzheimer’s disease. This idea came from some studies in the 1960’s that found high levels of aluminum in the blood of Alzheimer’s patients. Aluminum cans and pots and pans were considered more of a risk than antiperspirants, and the studies were never reproduced.
- Kidney Disease: Part of the job of our kidneys is eliminating excess aluminum from the blood stream. Most aluminum in our blood comes from food. When kidney function is impaired, kidneys cannot eliminate as much aluminum, and aluminum levels can build up in the blood. If you have kidney disease, consult your physician before using antiperspirant.
I’m always skeptical of research being influenced by powerful corporations. But having read up on these issues, I am not convinced antiperspirant is a great enough health risk to give it up. I would love to find a DIY solution to body odor because I don’t want to contribute to more plastic waste. But until I have time to figure that out, I’ll be slathering my armpits in aluminum on hot days and carrying a titanium spork, bamboo straw, cloth napkins, and thermos.
Do you have a favorite vegan antiperspirant?
Let us know in the comments. And test any other products with our free vegan ingredient checker.
Mes
October 2, 2017What about m&s antiperspirant? I know its cruelty free.
rebsy
October 2, 2017Thanks for mentioning it! It wasn’t on my radar because I’m in the U.S. I found a Rose roll-on on Marks and Spencer’s website and it is listed as vegetarian. I’m chatting now with customer service to find out if it’s vegan. If there’s a specific product you have in mind besides the Rose roll-on please post the link.
Bret
November 3, 2018Thank you!!!!!
James
August 1, 2019Thank you so much for this. I’ve switched around for years but I just ordered the Pit Boss. I’m vegan for the animals and then the earth, the rest comes third.
Lia
June 19, 2020This is exactly what I was trying to figure out almost a year after posting-thanks for doing all the work for me!!
Katie
July 21, 2020Thank you so much! It’s unfortunate to see how many people think aluminum in deodorant is terrible when they could be a lot less sweaty. I really appreciate you mentioning parent companies because they are usually not mentioned in resources for vegan products. Have you been able to find any lower waste options?
Rebecca
September 30, 2020Hi Katie, Unfortunately I have not found any lower waste options for vegan anti-perspirant but I will keep an eye out. If you find something, I would love to hear about it. I have switched for now to regular deodorant for pregnancy and breastfeeding, and to be honest, now with the lockdown, I’m not really going anywhere I have to worry about smell. For regular deodorant I am very happy with Meow Meow Tweet grapefruit which comes in reusable glass jars, and they also sell it in bulk at my local zero waste store. Here is a review I wrote of the Meow Meow Tweet stuff.
Jody Valentino
July 12, 2021Thank you for this information, I have to say this…if a company is certified cruelty free but not vegan how can it be cruelty free? They may not test there ingredients on animals but in order to get those ingredients animals had to suffer and die..I think Peta should realize that even if there is no animal testing but animal ingredients it’s not cruelty free and should not be labeled as such 🐏🐖🦝🦊🐐🐘🦍🐒🐎🐴🐄🐂🦒🦛🐀🐁🐿🦨🦦🦥🐼🐨🐻🦇🦔🐤🐣🐓🐔🦃🐾🦡🦘🐥🐦🐧🕊🦅🦆🦢🦉🐍🦎🐢🐊🐸🦜🦚🦩🐲🐉🦕🦖🐳🐋🐬🐟🐠🐡🦈🐙🐚🐌🦋🐛7/2021