January 22, 21

Natural Deodorant vs Antiperspirant: A Modern Guide

Psst! Step backstage with us and we’ll tell you a secret. 

Before we founded AKT, we didn’t actually know a huge amount about deodorants and antiperspirants, never mind antiperspirant deodorant. So you’re not alone if you’re currently wondering, what do each of them do? Is there a difference between deodorants and antiperspirants? Does it even matter?

The short answer is, yes. After years in the biz and launching The Deodorant Balm, our very own award-winning natural deodorant, we feel strongly about all things deo and are determined to clear up the confusion. 

So, deodorants vs antiperspirants. The main difference between the two is their intended purpose. Whereas deodorants focus on eliminating odour, antiperspirants aim to stop you sweating at all (and products labelled as antiperspirant deodorants try to do both). Most antiperspirants use a chemical compound called aluminium chloride, an aluminium salt that works to block your sweat ducts and prevent sweat from reaching the surface of your skin.

Do Natural Deodorants Work?


“But natural deodorants just don’t work for me”

Honestly, we’ve been there. In the dark, pre-AKT ages we too forayed into the world of natural deodorants and came out smelling… pretty terrible. 

That’s why we were so determined to make a natural deodorant that actually works, and that’s why we invented our DEO-BARRIER COMPLEX™. This unique blend of natural plant and mineral powders sits invisibly on your skin, absorbing natural perspiration without blocking your sweat glands. It genuinely works, even for excessive movers and sweaters (we did spend over three years perfecting it, after all). 

There’s a misconception that natural ingredients simply don’t have the strength or efficacy to compete with chemicals and synthetic components, but it simply isn’t true. Natural doesn’t have to mean less effective, and we shouldn’t have to sacrifice clean ingredients for clean-smelling skin.

Everyone’s body chemistry is different, but if even you’ve been disappointed with natural deodorants in the past we’d really encourage you to give The Deodorant Balm a go. It helps you stay fresh and dry all day, whether you’re gallivanting across the stage or gearing up for a chat about feelings with your other half. Awks. 

What’s the risk with normal deodorants and antiperspirants?

There’s a growing awareness of the need to really interrogate what exactly goes into the products we put on our skin, hence the ever-expanding natural body care market. 

The jury is still out on whether using chemicals like aluminium carries proven health risks (though we do know they can clog pores and cause irritation). So in the meantime, we prefer to use natural, gentle ingredients that aren’t a nightmare to pronounce. That’s why we avoid alcohol, parabens and synthetic fragrances across our entire range. 

Our perspective is that sweating is a natural bodily function that gets rid of toxins. If there’s a way to allow the body to do this without subjecting our nearest and dearest to unsavoury smells, that’s the way we want to go. 


Ingredients 101 - what’s actually in AKT deodorants?

So, if we’re not using aluminium, alcohol, parabens, fillers, synthetic fragrance or any of the other typical ingredients in mainstream deodorants, what do we use to help our customers stay sweat-free – and smelling so very beguiling?

Let’s meet the star ingredients of AKT’s award-winning The Deodorant Balm. In no particular order, the main AKT deodorant ingredients are:

Arrowroot Powder

Arrowroot powder is our main drying agent. This highly absorbent ingredient is an all-natural, white powder extracted from the root of the West Indian plant Marantha Arundinacea that absorbs and wicks away natural perspiration.

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil is an excellent antioxidant — rich in vitamins A, D and E. It also combats free skin radicals and promotes skin health.  

Shea Butter

Shea Butter is nourishing, reparative, and highly moisturising – leaving your underarms and skin feeling soft and supple.

Apricot Kernel Oil

Apricot Kernel oil is an emollient that helps soften skin. Creating a protective layer, it aids in retaining skin suppleness.

Baking soda

Also known is bicarb or sodium bicarbonate. We use a small amount of this superstar natural cleanser, commonly found in mineral springs, to help with absorbing moisture and banishing bad smells.  

Do natural deodorants work for sensitive skin?


Absolutely! Many find The Deodorant Balm works much better than mainstream deodorants and antiperspirants on sensitive underarm skin because of the gentle, mainly botanical ingredients. These include:

  • Calendula Oil: extracted from marigold flowers, this oil has antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties

  • Coconut Oil: contains fatty acids that may help heal and soothe inflamed skin 

  • Vitamin E: an antioxidant that protects and repairs skin

We’re proud to say that our entire range meets IFRA standards of fragrance – but if you do have extra sensitive skin we’d welcome you to try our fragrance-free deodorant balm, SC.00 NO NOTES. No scent, no stress, just all-day sweat absorption.

Pause for a PSA:

Now, we hate to be bossy but this is important. Whenever you try any kind of new deodorant, whether it comes out of an aerosol, a twist-up, or a nifty little plastic-free tube like ours, we always advise a patch test on a less sensitive area of skin (such as your arm or leg) to check it works for you. 

OK, lecture over. What’s next on the programme? 

AKT: the UK’s award-winning cruelty-free and vegan deodorant

‘Vegan’ and ‘cruelty-free’ certainly sound like good things, but what do they actually mean? Here’s why they matter so much to us.

Vegan deodorant

Being vegan means we don’t use any ingredients derived from animals. This may seem strange when thinking about deodorant (after all, who’s shoving bacon beneath their underarms?), but many other natural deodorants do in fact rely on animal products. These include beeswax, glycerin and lanolin – all of which are never and will never be used in our products, because we don’t agree with the processes that lead to their extraction. 

Cruelty-free deodorant

As for ‘cruelty-free’, this means that we don’t test any of our products on animals. Instead, they’re tested on real people; mainly performers, fitness professionals and dancers to really put our products through their paces. This gives us a much better idea of how our formulas perform where they’re actually meant to be used, aka human skin – and harms zero animals in the process. 

Any questions? Get in touch!

We may be biased, but we really think AKT has it all. Incredibly effective, natural, recyclable, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and plastic-free body care for those ‘Born to Perform’ – on the stage, at work, or in life. 

Still, if you’ve got any doubts or questions, we want to hear them. Whatever you’re wondering about, we’ve probably pondered on it at some point too, and likely have answers ready and waiting. 

Drop us a line at customer@aktlondon.com or see our FAQ page for more info.

Ciao for now.