Smelling good! Plastic-free Update #6

Reducing plastic is important to me but so is finding things that do what they say on the tin. The Clay Cure natural deodorant balm covers both these bases, it comes in a tin and does what the label says!

My search for a deodorant that is effective and easy to use is one that has lasted decades. I have tried rock-like crystal deoderants that had little impact; I have experimented with deodorant bars from Lush [one of my favourite companies] but found them messy and ineffective [but they do work for others] and I have tried doing without. The latter means I end up washing my clothes more often which uses more washing powder [in a cardboard box] and wears out my clothes more quickly, so isn’t a perfect solution.

So when I purchased a tin of The Clay Cure’s deodorant balm a couple of years ago, I wasn’t very hopeful that this would be the wonder product it is. Now I wouldn’t go anywhere without it.

For women and men, the deodorant balm comes in a small metal tin, not quite 7cm in diameter and around 2.5cm tall. It has a screw-on lid. Inside is a solid but soft deodorant, about the consistency of fridge-hardened butter [but it is vegan] [it is often softer in summer when the weather is warm]. The tin comes with a flat wooden spoon, familiar from tubs of ice-cream. You use this to scoop up a pea-size ball of the balm. Rolling this between your fingers warms and softens the balm and it is then easy to rub it in under your armpits. It disappears immediately, there is no waiting for it to dry, it isn’t greasy and it doesn’t stain your clothes.

I now buy in bulk from The Clay Cure website and, if you sign up for their newsletter, you will be notified when they have offers. There are currently eight different perfumes and a neutral deodorant. I like all of them, particularly the lavender and the lime and sage but you will have your favourite. You can find them on sale in other retailers such as wholefood shops and large farm shops.

If you buy two from their website, they are currently £8 each. I haven’t tracked how long they last but it spreads into months. There is no waste due to being packaged in a tin. This means you can get at every single bit of the balm. You are also left with a tin which is useful for storing all sorts of stuff from pins to peanuts or screws to sweets. Adding up all the plus points, this deodorant balm doesn’t feel like an extravagance.

Other easy wins in my aim to reduce our plastic footprint and stay reasonably clean and fresh smelling include solid shampoo, rather than bottles. We also always use bars of soap, rather than shower gel or liquid soap.

As usual, I have not been paid or even given any free products [I wish] to write this review. I share information about products I have found and enjoy using.