To answer bluntly, no. Consumers are demanding more than just a natural deodorant, and are unwilling to sacrifice efficacy for natural ingredients. Companies are listening to consumers’ demands. They are now heavily investing in green chemistry and are creating natural deodorants with equally effective results as the strongest chemical deodorants. Consumers no longer have to make a sacrifice to avoid harmful ingredients.

One such natural ingredient allowing deodorants to be both natural and effective is potassium alum, a naturally occurring mineral. Deodorant companies are replacing their harmful or toxic chemical ingredients used to prevent odor with the natural mineral. And if they aren’t, they should. Potassium alum is a natural deodorant ingredient that provides very effective odor protection, and best of all, it is an equally effective alternative to synthetic active ingredients.

A common type of deodorant made from potassium alum is crystal deodorant. The name stems from the fact that the naturally occurring form of potassium alum is a crystallized mineral. In its raw form it looks similar to quartz whereas it is a colorless translucent crystal that forms in clusters. However, the preferred form of potassium alum for the commercial production of natural products, other than crystal deodorant stones, is potassium alum powder. Potassium alum powder makes it possible to formulate a variety of products that have natural odor protection, such as soaps, lotions and body sprays. The ideal choice is micronized potassium alum, because the potassium alum powder is so fine it dissolves in liquids. Potassium alum powder is obtained by crushing, grinding and milling the naturally extracted mineral crystals.

Potassium Alum Deodorant Benefits

Potassium alum deodorant can provide benefits that are unmatched by leading traditional deodorants. Potassium alum, when used in its pure state, will provide 24 hour odor protection by inhibiting the growth of odor-causing bacteria. Additionally, it is hypoallergenic, and does not include fearful ingredients like Parabens or aluminum chlorohydrate. Also, an added benefit of potassium alum deodorant is that when it is applied to the skin it is totally invisible and leaves no white streaks or oily residue.

Furthermore, potassium alum can act as a great aftershave. It provides astringent and antiseptic effects which allow it to stop the bleeding of shaving cuts and nicks while toning and firming the skin.  And, a little known secret of potassium alum is that it can also prevent razor bumps or even help remove pimples.

To begin understanding natural crystal deodorants, first it is necessary to explain why I say ‘natural crystal deodorants,’ versus just ‘crystal deodorants.’  Due to the rising demand of crystal deodorants, companies have been searching for ways to produce more with as little cost as possible.  This has led to the creation of synthetic crystal deodorant, because it is cheaper to chemically manufacture synthetic crystal deodorant than it is to extract the natural potassium alum crystal from the Earth.

For all tense and purposes this post will only focus on natural crystal deodorants.  If you would like more information regarding the difference of natural crystal deodorants and synthetic crystal deodorants, you can read the post:  What Everyone Ought to Know About Crystal Deodorant Stones.

What is it?

Lets begin by explaining the raw material of natural crystal deodorants.  Natural crystal deodorants are made from potassium alum, which is a naturally occurring sulfate mineral which typically occurs as encrustations on rocks.  It is derived from the oxidation of sulfide minerals and potassium-bearing minerals; and appears as a white to colorless translucent crystalline stone.  When it is extracted from the Earth large blocks of potassium alum crystal are shipped to crystal deodorant manufacturers, where the blocks are then cut, shaped, polished and packaged to form what we know as crystal deodorant.

As the name implies, the potassium alum stone, otherwise known as crystal deodorant, looks like a crystal, such that it is translucent, colorless and contains small fracture lines, or veins.  Below you can see a picture of a natural crystal deodorant stone made from potassium alum:

Crystal Deodorant Stone (potassium alum crystal)

What does it do?

Potassium alum has a variety of commercial applications, such as for the use of oral care products used in dental hygiene, water purification, food preservation, and as the sole ingredient of natural crystal deodorants.  Potassium alum is originally extracted from the Earth as large blocks, but it is also sold in a small crystal forms and powder to be used in a variety of commercial applications and cosmetics.  Since all forms of potassium alum are soluble in water, when the stone is wet or applied to wet skin, an invisible, fine layer of the mineral is rubbed off the stone and applied to the skins surface.  The mineral layer quickly dries, and rests on the skin as a completely topical layer.

How does it work?

When the human body sweats it is basically just releasing salt and water through sweat glands in the skin. Contrary to popular belief, sweat does not have a distinctive smell of its own. The smell associated with sweat is actually caused by bacteria on the skin that eats sweat and excretes waste; and it is the bacteria waste that produces a foul odor.  And, yes, everyone has bacteria on their skin, and it is perfectly normal.  The bacteria on our skin ordinarily does not produce a noticeable smell, but when sweat is present the bacteria begins to rapidly grow and produce an increasing amount of odor.

Potassium alum is a natural anti-microbial that inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria.  As an anti-microbial potassium alum adjusts the pH of the skins surface and creates an environment where bacteria cannot grow.  Therefore, odor is prevented, and the body is able to maintain its proper course of eliminating toxins through sweat, as well as controlling body temperature, all without odor.

How it differs from traditional deodorants and antiperspirants?

Firstly, natural crystal deodorants are just that, natural.  And that is the main difference.  There are no added chemicals or fragrances.  And, as previously mentioned, natural crystal deodorants allow the body to sweat, but without odor.  Traditional deodorants use chemical rich fragrances to mask odor and cover up the bad bacteria smell.  Antiperspirants block the skin from releasing sweat, thereby inhibiting the bacteria growth process. All antiperspirants have an aluminum-based compound as their main ingredient, such as:

• Aluminum chloride
• Aluminum zirconium tricholorohydrex glycine
• Aluminum chlorohydrate
• Aluminum hydroxybromide
• Aluminum hydroxide (ATH)

The aluminum ions are drawn into the cells that line the sweat gland at the top layer of skin. When the aluminum ions enter into the cells, water passes in with them. As more water flows in, the cells begin to swell, squeezing the sweat ducts closed and preventing sweat from escaping.

Natural crystal deodorants have become very popular in the last few years. The natural deodorant is made from potassium alum, which is a naturally occurring mineral salt found in quarries throughout the world. Potassium alum’s appearance can be described as a translucent crystalline stone that contains veins like those found in marble.

Potassium alum has many commercial applications, as well as varying natural benefits, but for the purpose of crystal deodorant, it prevents odor by stopping odor causing bacteria produced in sweat from growing. Therefore, it is quite different from traditional deodorants which use heavy fragrances to mask odor, or antiperspirants which use chemicals to clog pores and block sweat.

When potassium alum is used for deodorants it is commonly referred to as alum stone, crystal deodorant or deodorant stone, however they remain one and the same. And, it acts as a very effective odor preventing deodorant.

However, many people don’t know that synthetic deodorant stones do exist. Synthetic (non-natural) deodorant stones are chemically manufactured by synthesizing aluminum hydroxide with acid. And the final product looks very similar to the natural potassium alum stone. But, you can observe the difference between the synthetic stone and the natural stone – the synthetic stone is almost completely opaque, due to the presence of aluminum hydroxide, and the natural stone is translucent.

Natural Crystal Deodorant Test

Remember, just cause the label says it is natural, does not mean that it really is. The term natural is unregulated and over used. So, be careful what you believe. The best judge of crystal deodorants is your own eye.

Here’s a quick way to test if the deodorant stone is natural. Examine to see if the stone is translucent or opaque. Before purchasing, hold the stone in your hand, and if you can see your fingers and colors on the other side, then it is mostly likely natural. If you cannot make out objects or colors when holding the stone, it is most likely synthetically made.

Now, lets put what we now know to use. Take for example the crystal deodorant made by L’Occitane; it has a high price tag, listed at $21, and claims to be made from natural mineral salts, but when I closely looked at the product I was left unsure. The crystal deodorant stone appears very opaque (shown below), compared to the Tade crystal deodorant previously reviewed. So, in my eyes there is clearly a big difference.

L’Occitane Crystal Deodorant:

In a previous post, the Tade deodorant stone passed the natural test, and you can compare the visual difference of the two stones.

In conclusion, just cause the label claims to be natural, or made from potassium alum, it in fact does not mean it actually is 100% natural. I will continue to review crystal deodorants, and try my best to inform the reader of my investigation. In future posts, I will compare products side-by-side, examine benefits, and test their natural claims.