This is the post we should have written first.
It is the thing we get asked about more than anything else, and the thing most likely to make someone give up on day four.
Here is how it usually goes. You switch. Day three you smell worse than when you started. Your pits are a bit pink and a bit tender. You conclude natural deodorant is a scam invented to sell candles, and you go back.
WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON
Your antiperspirant was plugging your sweat ducts. You have taken it away, so your body is sweating normally again, and there is more going on up there than you are used to.
That settles. Usually inside a week or two.
It is not the deodorant failing. It is your armpits remembering how to be armpits.
THE IRRITATION IS A SEPARATE THING
And we will be straight with you about it, because plenty of brands are not.
Our deodorant contains sodium bicarbonate. It is in there because it deals with odour and does that job properly. It also does not agree with everyone’s skin, particularly in the first couple of weeks.
We could leave that out of this post. We would rather you heard it from us than found out on a Tuesday.
FOUR THINGS THAT MAKE THE FORTNIGHT EASIER
Less is more. Two swipes. You are not painting a fence.
Clean, dry skin only. Straight out of the shower, dried properly.
Not straight after shaving. Give it a few hours. Freshly shaved skin takes everything harder, as anyone who has ever splashed on aftershave will confirm.
If it is still angry after two weeks, stop. Genuinely stop. Some people do not get on with bicarb, and that is not a character flaw.
WHAT IT IS LIKE ON THE OTHER SIDE
No blocked ducts. No yellow shirt stains. A stick that lasts about three months.
Most people who get through the fortnight do not go back.
One tip. Start in the cooler months, not the week the heat arrives. Give yourself the easy run.
If you have got questions, flick us a message. We read them all.