Vanicream Aluminum-Free Gel Deodorant - 2 oz - Unscented Formula for Sensitive Skin

My sensitive skin does really well with these ingredients. I started reacting to other aluminum free formulas and, after trying this same brand’s facial lotion, I thought I’d give this a try.The gel is new to me. It does take a short amount of time to dry, but it’s not sticky when it does. Only a small amount is needed, even with only three slots to dispense the product (pictured). It took my body maybe a few days (maybe more?) to adjust to using this product. Once I adjusted, this product has worked better than any other deodorant I’ve tried. Also, the fact that there is no fragrance is something I didn’t know I needed. I’m very sensitive to smells as well and this is fantastic.I’ve found that storing this upright is better than on its side due to the gel component.

I have sensitive pits. They sting and burn after using the same deodorant or antiperspirant for more than a day or two, making wearing regular deodorant painful and impossible. Assuming it was the aluminum, I have tried every men's "sensitive" deodorant under the sun. Dove Aluminum-free, Dr. Squatch, Native, Tom's, Method, Arm & Hammer Essentials Charcoal, Every Man Jack, etc. Everything eventually made my armpits raw and painful after a few days.I did some research and finally found Vanicream and gave it a try, expecting the same results. Much to my surprise, it has been a month, and I have no pain after daily use. This has no aluminum, no baking soda, no nothin'. Vanicream isn't a cream at all, but rather a clear gel liquid that goes on smooth and dries before you put your shirt on, and leaves no residue or stains. It isn't sticky or flaky, or anything you hate about other deodorants. In fact, it isn't much of anything at all, with an ingredients list of only a few components. It doesn't even smell like anything, which could delight you or seem entirely pointless to you, depending on what you want out of your deodorant. If you have a strong and stinky natural body odor, this deodorant may not be for you. If you work long days and expect to smell as fresh as a daisy at the end of the day, this deodorant may not be for you.If you like your natural scent (and want to attract others with your natural scent instead of covering it up with a chemical body spray) and you have sensitive pits and just want a very basic deo to help stave off the stench for about 8-10 hours, this deodorant is for you. I believe the reason this works so well for folks with sensitive pits is because of the sodium hydroxide ingredient, which does a better job of alkalizing than sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) which is normally used in natural deodorants.

I've been struggling with some sort of sensitivity for a while and wasn't sure what ingredient was causing my lymph nodes to become enlarged and ache after using antiperspirants. I've tried aluminum free, spray, and even natural deodorants, but still was reacting to something. The only thing left was to try a fragrance free option. Relieved to say I've not had any reaction to this anti-perspirant even though it's not aluminum free, which confirms that it wasn't the problem for me. I think the smell of this product is fine, goes on smooth, however I don't like the white stuff that is formed in my armpits after an hour of putting it on, so I took off a star for that. I wish it was a gel formula, that would be perfect. As for sweat and smell protection, I'd say it works pretty well, I definitely don't stink like I do when I don't use anything, but if you smell your armpit up close you can still feel a little odor, but no one is going to do that :)Overall, this product is great, I really like it!

Update Edit: I've noticed it works better if rubbed in a bit. This isn't like most scented deodorants. It works by using antibiotic properties, not fragrance. If you rub it in well, perhaps it works in almost a long-lasting, "dry" soap kind of way. If only placing a 1-2 kind of gentle coating motion, it really doesn't work as well. So I would recommend working it into the skin with the applicator 7-10 passes worth. Dont use more product than normal, I just mean spread it around/rub it into skin.Works really great. No smell, but allows me to smell like me, just without B.O. :-)Note: I've never been much of a sweat-er, so if you're someone who gets very sweaty easily, not sure if this would still be effective for you...BUT I would still try it, if I were you, anyway. Because it's been really effective for me and it can't hurt.I've gotten NO rashes or itching from it. I've reacted to several common deodorant products in the past which is why I decided to try this one. No weird discoloration. No damage to clothing.It has lasted over a day for me, when I've forgotten to reapply the next day and didn't need a shower that morning (it was a busy day lol I have 3 young kids so sometimes shower time gets delayed!)The only thing I dislike about it is that it's a wet gel/paste texture. So it stays a bit wet and cold for a couple minutes. But you don't have to wait until it's dry to put your shirt on or anything. I just go about my day, if it gets a bit on the fabric I can't tell. Like I said, no damage to clothing. It isn't oil based. It's also not wet enough to soak into the fabric, so no weird wet underarm spots when applying.It's just really great. Sure, maybe sometimes I wish it had some fun, interesting scent like "ginger green tea jasmine ylang-ylang sugar cookie forest" or whatever, but I KNOW I would get a rash from most, or any, kind of fragrance ingredients lolTip: a lot of hippie dippy people like to say essential oils are safe for sensitive skin, but a lot of people get rashes from them. I don't understand how they are allowed to say on products with essential oils that they're sensitive or allergy safe. They just aren't. Even people who don't usually have what they consider to be "sensitive skin" sometimes react to essential oil. Just FYI. So if you DO have sensitive skin, you really should try to get fragrance free stuff. Essential oils are NOT hypoallergenic.Anyway, I love this deodorant. I hope they never stop making this because it's really the only one I've found that my skin gets along with. AND it works better than any other one I ever used. It's even better than a certain SUPER popular drugstore brand aimed at men that I was using before this. Not sure if I'm allowed to name the brand here in my review. Let's just say it's name is the name of a tool lumberjacks use ;-) I'm sure you know what I mean. Well, this works BETTER than that. At least in my experience.