Baking soda has long been a common ingredient in deodorants because of its widely purported ability to absorb the elements of sweat that lead to stinkiness. But as consumers become increasingly aware of what's in their personal-care products, they've also become more attuned to which ingredients they're sensitive to. While many fans of natural remedies look to baking soda for a number of beauty and wellness purposes — odor neutralization among them — some have concluded that, for them, baking soda serves as more of an irritant than an aid when it's applied under their arms.
Often listed as sodium bicarbonate in ingredient lists, baking soda is not typically the deodorant ingredient that's going to cause redness or irritation. "Although there are various causes of rashes in the armpits, allergic contact dermatitis to a fragrance contained in the deodorant is one of the more common rashes dermatologists see in this location," New York dermatologist Shari Marchbein has previously told Allure. But that doesn't mean it's impossible for baking soda to be the culprit behind your bad reaction, and it's entirely reasonable to try eliminating it to see if your armpit skin feels better off without it.
To give you a headstart on your search for baking soda-free deodorant — and to save your eyes from their own irritation from reading a million tiny-print ingredients lists — we've rounded up a few of the latest and greatest.
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