Exclusive: Dove Is Launching Its First Aluminum-Free Deodorant, and It's Really Good
A couple of years ago, I made one of the hardest beauty decisions of my life: I swapped out my beloved drugstore antiperspirant for a natural deodorant. While the choice to ditch my sweat-sopping antiperspirant was a tough one, I did it because I didn't want to use aluminum-laced products anymore. The thing is, though, I know I'm not alone in that mindset. Dove must have picked up on that because beginning today, the antiperspirant giant is launching its very first aluminum-free deodorant, called the Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant.
"By listening to our consumers and their interests, we realized that there were some desired products that we were not offering in our current portfolio, including an aluminum-free deodorant option," Maliha Hassan, Dove senior scientist in the department of R&D Deodorants for North America, tells Allure. "To ensure we are offering our consumers choices for their different needs, we developed an aluminum-free deodorant that is non-irritant and provides all the care of Dove with our one-fourth moisturizers."
Just as its name suggests, the Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant is a deodorant — not an antiperspirant — which means it's made entirely without aluminum. Quick science lesson: The aluminum salts in antiperspirants form a plug inside sweat glands, which inherently slows perspiration, David Bank, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, previously told Allure. Deodorants, on the other hand, rely on other ingredients to shield the smell of the underarm area.
So while that means there aren't any aluminum salts to block sweat in the Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant, there are ingredients to curb odor. Most important of those ingredients is glycerin, a moisture-locking ingredient commonly found in skin-care products. In the new Dove deo, it helps retain moisture and soothe the underarm area. Then there's the fragrance notes themselves. And with four different scent options (Pomegranate & Lemon Verbena, Cucumber & Green Tea, Coconut & Pink Jasmine, and Blue Fig & Orange Blossom), you've got options to stop the stench if that's what you're after.
My favorite of the bunch is Cucumber & Green Tea, which immediately reminded me of a certain Cucumber Melon fragrance I haphazardly misted myself with as a teen. During the testing trial, I found myself applying the deo about three times a day — which, let me just be clear, is totally normal for me while wearing other deodorants — in the morning, around lunch time, and then again in the evening before my after-work Barry's Bootcamp class.
I found that while yes, I still very much sweat (I think this is just because I'm a naturally sweaty person), I've yet to discover the dreaded mid-day stench that typically comes along with using deodorants. The only real issue (which isn't actually an "issue") I've come across is that sometimes, when I'm mid-sprint in a workout class, I'll notice sweat drizzling down my underarm unexpectedly. But honestly, that's nothing a sweat towel can't fix.
The Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant is $6 per tube and will roll out in drugstores and mass retailers, like Target, beginning January 1.
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