Tag: beauty product

Does Aluminum-Free Deodorant Actually Work?

The three contenders.

It has been over a year since I first tried Lumē Deodorant, and I’ve been using it almost that entire year (minus a few weeks as an experiment). I’ve made 4 purchases from their company, usually of discounted bundles (the only thing junk email is good for is discounts), and I’ve spent $130.52 total. I have ALSO tried a couple different aluminum free deodorants in that time to see how they rank up against my Lumē. First, HERE is my most recent review of Lumē Deodorant. 

Next, here are the other two aluminum free deodorants I tried against Lumē:

  1. Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant in Cucumber and Green Tea
  2. Native Deodorant in Cucumber & Mint

“I think, somehow, Target fills us with hope as we walk down their clean aisles, items curated to scream “TAKE ME HOME” to every basic mom, such as myself, so that when we get up to the register and they explain calmly that they are going to remove several hundred of our hard earned dollars from our bank account that we don’t blink an eye but smile vapidly and have instant buyer’s remorse.”

You had me at Dove

Dove has been my go-to for years. But will the aluminum free version work?

Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant smells good… until I sweat right through it with my stinky pits within 30 minutes of applying it. Come on, Dove. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on your regular deodorants over the years, slowly poisoning myself with aluminum. The least you could do for me is give me a natural deodorant that WORKS. Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect much after using Lumē for so long. I used the Dove 0% only a few times (just to make SURE it wasn’t a fluke). It wasn’t a fluke. Unfortunately, this deodorant did not keep my stink away.

Going Native

I was really hopeful for Native deodorant. First of all, I found it at Target. And I think, somehow, Target fills us with hope as we walk down their clean aisles, items curated to scream “TAKE ME HOME” to every basic mom, such as myself, so that when we get up to the register and they explain calmly that they are going to remove several hundred of our hard earned dollars from our bank account that we don’t blink an eye but smile vapidly and have instant buyer’s remorse. So when I saw this $12 “paraben and aluminum free” deodorant on the shelf, I thought, “why the hell not?!”

This stuff smells amazing. But does it keep away the bad smells too?

The first thing I noticed about the Native Deodorant is that it smelled super yummy. It had a distinct essential oil or extract smell rather than other deodorants with laboratory created “parfum” smells like something you throw in your gym bag to keep it from smelling like the bacteria factory it most certainly is. Native’s sharp and clean scent was sure to blast my stanky pits to kingdom come with freshness. I applied it after a shower, just like I had with the Dove, to give it a fighting chance at combating my underarm bacteria. 

“Do I have to chase my two gremlins? You betcha. Do I sweat because they raise my blood pressure? Oh, probably. But if these deodorants can’t DEODORIZE me in the most common activities of my life, I can’t make them a staple of my hygiene routine.”

Unfortunately, it also fell flat for me in terms of smell protection. Now, to test these, I wasn’t doing any strenuous exercise like I had done with the Lumē months ago when I was shoveling several cubic yards of river rock in 90-100 degree weather out in our yard. Both the Dove and the Native could hardly handle my day to day mom life. Do I have to chase my two gremlins? You betcha. Do I sweat because they raise my blood pressure? Oh, probably. But if these deodorants can’t DEODORIZE me in the most common activities of my life, I can’t make them a staple of my hygiene routine.

Hello, Lumē, My Old Friend…

So every time a new “deodorant” has failed me, I’ve found myself going back to Lumē. Just like running into the arms of an old friend who I know is going to wipe my sweat away and kill the smelly jerk bacteria that keep haunting my pits. Lumē has been there for me. And to top it off, I had a representative FROM Lumē contact me about my last review concerns and make suggestions on how I can test their product better. The best part is that their suggestions actually helped! In my last review, I stated that I wasn’t sure how long my body’s “detox” period was because my hormones and a few other factors were making that unclear. This meant that even though the Lumē was still working, it wasn’t lasting as long as it had previously and I was unsure of the cause. 

Lumē has been working overtime for me for a year. But is it still number 1?

The Lumē representative that contacted me suggested that I try a clothes detergent that had enzyme technology to fight and kill the bacteria that can build up in clothes. Honestly, I don’t know why I hadn’t tried this sooner. I knew of these detergents but was unsure if they could really help me. So, per her suggestion, I tried Pursil Liquid Laundry Detergent in the Odor Fighter variety I found at my local grocery store. It specifically boasts “Odor Fighting Technology” and has seemed to work very well for me. It hasn’t made the problem go away 100%, but it’s drastically better than it has ever been.

Since changing to an odor fighting detergent, I feel like the Lumē has had a better chance to work to its fullest potential. The only time I’ve found the Lumē to fail at all anymore is when I work up a deep sweat in my mommy fitness class. Especially during the time of the month when my hormones are most haywire, I tend to go through days of excessive sweating that is hard to mask without showers twice a day. Sheesh. Isn’t motherhood beautiful?!

Conclusion

So, in short, here’s what I’ve learned. If a deodorant doesn’t boast an aluminum free alternative that actually KILLS the bad bacteria that makes you smell in the first place, its MUCH less likely to actually work. Now, I have heard good things from people through the mommy-sphere who have had positive experiences with many “natural” deodorants. But, for me, they don’t work if they’re not getting rid of the bacteria. 

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My Honest Review: Lash Boost by R&F

Full disclosure: This review DOES NOT make me any money. I am reviewing this product only as a consumer and do not stand to profit from any promotion of the product. I do NOT sell this product.

Any woman who has been pregnant before has noticed changes with her body. It wasn’t until I had given birth to my first child that I began to notice many things about my body that had changed and were still changing. Of course, carrying a baby inside your body will change your shape and the way some things function, but there are other changes, sometimes subtle, that you don’t notice right away.

Months after I had given birth to my son, I started to notice my hair changing. I was in denial for weeks that it was falling out. I had heard other moms talk about losing their hair, so I knew it was a possibility, but I didn’t believe it would happen to me. I thought having thick hair would save me from that. As I slowly started to lose my hair, I also noticed that my eyelashes had thinned out to a point that not even mascara could help. So, I started to look for options.

I had heard about eyelash extensions and other options similar to that, but I wasn’t willing to resort to that until I had exhausted all of the options I could do at home. I knew that eyelash extensions were only temporary and had to be done by a professional esthetician. This wasn’t a great option for me as a new mother. I didn’t have enough time in my days to leave the house for appointments like that. I wanted an option that I could do at home by myself.

“I wanted an option that I could do at home by myself.”

For months, I saw advertisements from a friend showing before and after pictures of women who had tried a product called Lash Boost from Rodan & Fields. This product was specially formulated to grow your lashes out as naturally as possible. Of course, I’m always skeptical of products coming from direct sales companies like Rodan & Fields. I, myself, have been a part of a couple MLM (multi-level marketing)/DS (direct sales) style companies in the past. Some companies sell really great, quality products and others do not. I had heard a lot of good things about R&F products, but I was still skeptical.

A friend of mine who is a consultant for R&F was running a deal on the Lash Boost so I figured it was a good time to try it. I had no idea how much it would cost, and when I found out the reality of the price tag, I almost backed out. It is expensive! That was my first impression. And because I had never purchased any other products from R&F, I had no basis for estimating the price to start with. But realistically, if growing my lashes out was important to me, Lash Boost still ended up being cheaper than going the route of eyelash extensions. The first tube I purchased was an experiment because I didn’t know if it would work or how long the tube of product would last me.

The Lash Boost product comes in a skinny, silver container, about the size of a mascara tube. When I first got it, I thought “this stuff better work for this price!” Initially, I felt kinda disappointed because I had paid so much for such a small tube. It turned out that that tube lasted me about 2 ½ months. So, once I did the math, it turned out that the value of the product wasn’t as bad as the initial sticker shock. Thankfully, R&F gives you control over when your next product shipment is purchased and shipped. This meant that I was able to push out the purchase of my next tube for a couple months. Not having to pay the full price every month was a bonus. You also save a bit on the product by signing up as a recurring customer. Of course, those types of “discounts” are always factored into the price of the product anyhow, but it was nice to have a discount as long as I could stay on top of the reorder date.

Now that I had my product, I was ready to try it. I had no idea how long I could expect to try it until I saw results. I also had no guarantee that it would work for me at all, but it was worth a try. I told myself that I would give it a month, and if I saw no results, I would stop using it.

“I told myself that I would give it a month, and if I saw no results, I would stop using it.”

After a month of trying Lash Boost, I did see results. I was surprised at how well it had already been working. Initially, the only issue I had with it was that it left the skin on my eyelids a little red where I placed the product at night. It looked like I was wearing a dark pink eyeliner. I was a little concerned at first, but after using the product for a month, the redness started to go away. This may sound concerning to some of you but there was no swelling, pain, or other signs of a bad reaction other than the skin redness, so I was willing to risk it.

Top image was before using Lash Boost. Bottom picture was after 3 months of daily use- mascara used to highlight lash length.

I continued using the product and continued to see results. My eyelashes grew in length and thickness. I finally started to feel less like a hot mess mom and more comfortable in my own skin. Lash Boost worked so well, in fact, that I rarely felt like I needed mascara to accentuate my eyes, but when I did use it, the mascara did a great job of highlighting my already long lashes. It was nice to finally feel like I didn’t need to wear false eyelashes when I wanted to dress up. It was nice to feel proud of my own lashes. It helped me feel pretty, and I’m not ashamed to admit that.

As I write this, I have been using this product for a little over a year now. I did notice that after about 6 months of using Lash Boost, my lashes had reached what I consider to be their max length and thickness. Anything after that has been just staying consistent with the product to keep the look intact. There was a period of time after I had given birth to my second baby when I was too tired to remember to apply the products during my bedtime routine like usual. I did begin to notice a decrease in length and thickness of my lashes during that time. Once I noticed that, I made sure to continue my evening applications, and it seemed that my lashes recovered quickly, and I was able to regain my max lash length and thickness.

My most current results. Mascara used to highlight lash length.

Overall, I have been happy with this product. I love my results and have had to exert minimal effort to attain them. Once I factored the cost into my beauty regimen budget, it wasn’t as shocking as it was at first. Thankfully, other things in my regimen became more affordable, so the tradeoff evened out in the long run. In a future post, I will review the skincare products I have been using from another company and how their value is the best I’ve come across in my many years of trying various products.

I give Lash Boost from Rodan & Fields 4 out of 5 Bear Tracks!