This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom’s of Maine for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you're like me, you ask loads of people everyday if they're wearing any deodorant. Oh wait, is that just me? That's life in the day of a mammographer I guess! My point is, deodorant and antiperspirants are on my mind. A lot.

I'm one of those people who absolutely can't stand sweating and I have a keen nose, so I pick up on lots of smells that other people wouldn't even notice. Obviously, this means I'm an avid deodorant/antiperspirant user. Until I became vegan. Yep, "stinky hippie" is truly a real thing, but it doesn't have to be!

That being said, it was really difficult to find an antiperspirant that wasn't tested on animals and contained no animal products. So I decided to turn to a more alternative product, but I couldn't find a good combination deodorant/antiperspirant.The few I did find were too wet feeling and just seemed to make the situation worse. So, I ditched the antiperspirants and decided to just use a deodorant (oftentimes I just wear nothing, I swear on Chaos Field Roast Cheese that your body acclimates, really, but I won't go into that). Turns out I don't actually sweat that much either. Lucky me! Goodbye antiperspirants, and hello deodorants!

I've tried a few different deodorants in the past couple years, since I ditched antiperspirants. While I really liked the smell of them, they were comprised mostly of coconut oil and so they would leave big grease stains on my scrub shirts that were difficult to get out. Um...no thank you. That's how I ended up with four different deodorants in my work desk drawer...I'm happy to say that I think I've finally found the perfect deodorant!

Tom’s of Maine makes a Long Lasting Natural Deodorant that is vegan and cruelty-free. I've been using it for about a week now and confess I really like it! It goes on a little more wet than I like, but it doesn't leave marks. There have been no big oil stains on my shirts like the other brand I sometimes use. The Wild Lavender scent is absolutely lovely too. It's not too strong and I just get a small whiff of it throughout the day. You can also choose from a Natural Powder scent and an Unscented one as well.

Tom’s of Maine deodorant is natural, which means it has no aluminum, no petrochemicals, no parabens, and no artificial fragrances or preservatives. Woot, woot! It's been clinically proven to provide 24-hour odor protection using odor-fighting hops and odor-trapping zinc, which is always a good thing. I love that their packaging is completely recyclable, too. As a vegan hippie, recyclable products are important to me. It's why I spend three times the bank on Bailey's eco-friendly poopie bags. A clear conscious has a price, apparently.

Finally, say'll be saying no animal testing and animal ingredients with Tom's of Maine deodorant. If that wasn't enough, 10% of Tom’s of Maine profits go back to helping people and the planet, and they've been around for over 45 years based out of Kennebunk, Maine. All feel-good stuff, and who doesn't like that?

It's the deodorant I use everyday at work, but depending on my day's activities I'll sometimes use an antiperspirant if I know I'm going on a long run or have a social outing.

Do you use a cruelty-free deodorant? If not, maybe it's time to make the switch. When you do, here's some things you should know:

When trying a new and/or natural deodorant for the first time, know that your body might need a little time to adjust. I'd test it out for at least a week.
Natural formulas are free from chemicals and artificial ingredients that are usually found in conventional deodorants.
Make sure the scent smells good on your body. Sometimes the product smells wonderful straight from the tube, only to find out that it doesn't mesh well with your body's natural scent.

Tom’s of Maine can be connected with on Facebook

undefined

That's kind of a big deal; to be my favorite deodorant. A deodorant has to be pretty damn sweet to get that title. I might one of those obnoxiously ~~super~~ ~~moderately~~ quasi clean people. You know, always needing to have an excessive amount of shampoo lather when washing my hair (how else will I know it's clean?!) Also, I have a very keen sense of smell. I enjoy a good fragrance as much as the next person, but if it's overpowering or disagrees with me...I'll get a headache. As if that isn't enough, I am particularly persnickety about deodorant. I'm a Mammographer and that means I'm on my feet a lot during the day not to mention it's actually pretty physically demanding! There's a lot of lifting, crouching and moving about. In addition, I run for an hour each day on my lunch break. No one wants a stinky, sweaty mammographer all up their ~~breasts~~ face. Trust me. I've only permanently changed deodorants three times in my life. I first used Secret, then Dove, and most recently, Ban. I never changed the smell. It has to be a solid too, none of that goopy gel-like stuff. Ick! Wet underarms? No, thank you. It has to go on smooth and even and it can't get all encrusted in my shirts, or causing staining. It must have good scent and last all day. The list, shockingly, goes on and on. Sadly, I only discovered the cruelty inflicted upon animals from the product testing of deodorants when I went vegan. Funny how that happens, huh? I decided there was absolutely no way I would vote for animal cruelty with my wallet by purchasing from these big brand companies that were not cruelty free...no matter how stinky it made me!

I researched and researched cruelty-free deodorants and I finally settled on one brand that had pretty good reviews, compared to others. I won't name names. It was only used it a handful of times. It didn't really keep me very dry and it didn't have any deodorant power at all. So, I ended up getting Ban. I read that they don't test on animals but I still was kind of leery about the controversy over the negative health implications of using deodorant/antiperspirant with sketch ingredients. Most conventional deodorants:

We all know that cosmetic and toiletry companies around the world are pulling triclosan and parabens from their products, which is great news. As for aluminum, there happens to be a lot of controversy over it's potential to cause cancer. There hasn't been any research to absolutely support that the build of aluminium in the body from extended use of an antiperspirant causes breast cancer. Also, more research is needed to determine whether or not aluminium from antiperspirants could be contributing to alzheimer's disease.

However, as a mammographer and someone who deals with a family member with alzheimer's, I can say that using a deodorant made solely from coconut oil, carnauba wax, arrowroot powder and baking soda is no skin off my back. For more information from The National Cancer Institute regarding the toxicity of aluminium, click here.

So, if you're looking for a non-sketchy deodorant that goes on a like a typical deodorant, will keep you absolutely so fresh and so clean, and that's also vegan and cruelty-free...search no more! Without further adieu, here is my North Coast Organics Deodorant review!

North Coast Organics Deodorants

There are three varieties: Revolver, Naked and Death By Lavender.

Produce On Parade - My New Favorite Deodorant The travel size is 0.35 fl oz for $3.49 and the full size is 2.5 fl oz for $8.99. It's a little spendy, but it's not something I would go back to conventional deodorants over. I love that they come in recyclable and reusable containers. Also, the labels are printed with vegan ink on 100% Tree Free and Fair Trade Certified Paper.

Produce On Parade - My New Favorite Deodorant I expected to be a little sweatier than I would be if I was using a conventional deodorant/antiperspirant. This deodorant is not an antiperspirant and I'm okay with not that. I only noticed myself sweating a little on a few occasions. One time involved a skull radiography exam, an orbits/nasal bone exam, and when my boss informed my co-worker and I that we'd have to start working evenings and Saturdays. Bye, bye blog. Not, not really, but we should probably start a petition right?

My contact with North Coast Organics told me that he thought of the idea to start the deodorant line as an alternative for patients with cancer because they cannot use antiperspirants when undergoing radiation. What a great guy, eh? Who wouldn't want to support that?!

Bottom Line

Did I like this deodorant enough to become my coveted (or...maybe not so much) deodorant of choice? Yes, indeed! In fact, I think it's so awesome I'm going to get some for my lavender-loving friends! I can't get enough of the Death By Lavender!

I like to keep my little lavender lovely in this cute bowl with my synthetic pearls and (vegan) makeup brush. Of course, I'll need to get the regular size!

Giveaway

For 15% off North Coast Organic's wonderful products, use promo code POP2014 on their website. Also, they are generously gifting two lucky readers one travel size set of Revolver, Naked, and Death By Lavender, like you see above.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Coffee sipping to:[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/113324557" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]