Natural Deodorant Wipes Tested & Compared

I tested and compared Lume, Dew Well, EO, Fomin, Manspot, Bliss, and Pacifica deodorant wipes.

All of these contain natural ingredients, and all had some marketing along the lines of natural/safe/plant-based etc. but most of them are not all-natural.

I will compare them on ingredients, scent, effectiveness, size of wipe, EWG rating, if they are biodegradable, and the cost.

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Summary

Lume Acidified Deodorant Wipes were certainly the most effective of all the deodorant wipes, it was almost as effective as the Lume deodorant – both of them contain acids to change the pH of your skin and slow down the growth of bacteria.

However, I didn’t like the caffeine boost, synthetic fragrance (though it’s light), EWG rating of 3, and lack of organic ingredients.

In terms of a healthy and eco-friendly choice, my top pick is EO Natural Deodorant Wipes, based on ethanol, this cleaned smelly armpits quite well, is all natural and all organic, has an EWG rating of only 1, and is biodegradable.

If you want something totally unscented I would recommend the Fomin Deodorant Wipes which are partially natural, have a fairly good EWG rating, and are biodegradable.

Comparison Table

	Lume	Dew Well	EO	Fomin	Manspot	Pacifica	Bliss
Effectiveness	5/5	2/5	3/5	2/5	4/5	Didn’t use, bc of smell	2/5
Strength of Fragrance	1/5	3/5	3/5	0/5	1/5	5/5	3/5
Natural scent?	No	Mint yes Rose no Cucumber no	Yes	Unscented	No	Partially Natural (I think)	Mix of synthetic and natural
Natural & Organic ingredients	Natural & Synthetic Not organic	Natural & Synthetic Not organic	All natural All organic	Natural & Synthetic Not organic	Natural & (Mostly) Synthetic Not organic	Mostly Natural Some Synthetic Not organic	Natural and Synthetic
Active Ingredients	Caffeine Probiotics Mandelic Acid	Tea Tree Oil	Ethanol Lavender Oil	Tea Tree Oil	Witch Hazel Tea Tree Oil Acidic formula Probiotics	Witch Hazel Probiotics	Probiotics Sensivasc-50
EWG Rating	3	One ingredient with 1-5 One with 4-6 rating	1	One ingredient with 1-5 One with 4-6 rating	One ingredient is a 6 One is a 4 One is 2-4 One is 4-6	3	4
Size, Thickness /Strength	1/5	3/5	3/5	2/5	5/5	3/5	2.5/5
Biodegradable Wipe	No (but flushable)	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Cost per wipe	Around 40 cents per wipe need one per armpit	Around 40 cents per wipe	Around 80 cents per wipe	Around 40 cents per wipe	Around 30 cents per wipe (and you could use one for both armpits)	Around 30 cents per wipe	Around 40 cents per wipe
Individually Wrapped	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

Smell

Lume – acidic smell with a slight synthetic fragrance.

Dew Well in Rose, Mint, and Cucumber – the scents in these are fairly strong. The Mint is the only all-natural scent they offer, the Rose smells quite natural smelling (though is synthetic) and the Cucumber smells more synthetic.

EO – natural scent – the ethanol plus lavender creates a kind of bite to them that is similar to the bite of eucalyptus.

Fomin – I got the unscented ones. Out of all the deodorant wipes, and comparing it to unscented diaper wipes, this is definitely the most unscented wipe I have encountered. If I cup it to my face I can get a slight cleaning product smell. I don’t pick up the tee tree oil at all, nor chamomile.

Manspot – Not clear if the fragrance is 100% natural. Very slight lavender smell, I can’t pick up the tea tree oil but overall it smells more like a cleaning product than a fragrance.

Pacifica – They say “Our scent blend with natural/and or essential oils”. It’s not clear if they mean the fragrance is partially natural i.e. synthetic fragrance with natural fragrance. These were extremely strongly scented and smelled synthetic to me, like coconut tanning oil from the 90s. The smell lingers for a long time after using or even from the trash bin. I did not actually try these on my armpits as I hated the smell.

Bliss – a bitter lemon smell, sage plus lemons. The fragrance is natural and synthetic.

For the chemically sensitive: I would try the EO wipes if you do well with alcohol and essential oil, or Fomin if you prefer unscented (and no alcohol). If those don’t work for you, I would suggest baby wipes that are 99.9% water. Those are reviewed here.

Thickness, Texture and Durability

Lume – the most effective at keeping the stink away, however, the actual wipes are the smallest on the list, fairly thin and roll up easily when using them. (Though this does make them flushable).

Dew Well and EO are about the same size and thickness, no texture to them, EO rips easily, and Dew Well does not

Fomin – not too far behind in thickness, with some texture which aids in getting clean. very strong and not easy to rip at all,

Manspot – by far the thickest, most textured, and very hard-to-rip wipe. It is the easiest to clean with and you only need one (potentially one can be used on both armpits as they are that big). They do not roll up or bunch up when you are using them.

Pacifica – somewhere in the middle.

Bliss – fairly small wipe, one is needed for each armpit. Didn’t tear easily.

Environmental Working Group Rating

EWG rates products for how safe they are. I’m using the cosmetic product ratings here.

Lume – EWG Rating of 3

Dew Well – There is no EWG rating for the product as a whole. Cocamidopropyl betaine has a 1-5 rating depending on contaminants, tea tree leaf oil has a 4-6 rating, the rest of the ingredients have a 1 or 2 rating.

EO – EWG Rating of 1

Fomin – There is no EWG rating for the product as a whole. Cocamidopropyl betaine has a 1-5 rating depending on contaminants, Tea Tree Leaf oil has a 4-6 rating, the other ingredients are a 1 or 2.

Manspot – There is no EWG rating for the product as a whole. Benzalkonium chloride has a rating of 6 (and is the third ingredient), polyaminopropyl biguanide has a rating of 4, Phenoxyethanol has a 2-4 rating, Tea Tree Leaf oil has a 4-6 rating, the rest of the ingredients have a 1-2 rating or are not on EWG.

Pacifica – EWG Rating of 3

Bliss – EWG Rating of 4

Busy Glow – EWG Verified (highest rating on EWG) (I will test these soon).

Ingredients

Lume Deodorant Wipe Ingredients: Water, Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus Ferment, Glycereth-7 Triacetate, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Lactobacillus, Mandelic Acid, Caffeine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Polyglyceryl-6 Oleate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Caprylyl Glycol, Citric Acid, Alcohol, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate Sodium Benzoate, Fragrance.

Dew Well Deodorant Wipe Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Potassium Sorbate, Didecyldimonium Chloride, Chamomile Extract, Cornmint Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Citric Acid.

EO Deodorant Wipe Ingredients: Organic Ethanol, Purified Water, Organic Glycerin, Eo Essential Oil Blend [Organic Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Organic Lavandula Hybrida Oil].

Fomin Deodorant Wipe Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Citric Acid, Chamomile Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Cornmint Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Didecyldimonium Chloride, Vitamin E.

Manspot Deodorant Wipe Ingredients: Aqua, Glycerin, benzalkonium chloride, decyl glucoside, sodium citrate, Cetylpyridinium chloride, didecyldimonium chloride, polyaminopropyl biguanide, c12-14 alkyl dimethyl ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride, cornmint oil, oat kernal extract, camellia japonica leaf extract, dimethicone quaternium 17, laureth-9, citric acid, Phenoxyethanol, caprylyl gylcol, witch hazel, lavender flavors, tween 20, polysorbate 20, tea tree leaf oil, altheaea officinalis leaf extract, disodium EDTA.

Pacifica Deodorant Wipe Ingredients: aqua, saccharomyces ferment filtrate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) leaf extract, cocos nucifera (coconut) fruit powder, glycerin, avena sativa (oat) kernel extract, citric acid, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, parfum*. *our scent blend with natural and/or essential oils.

Bliss: aqua, alcohol denat., saccharomyces ferment filtrate, polysorbate 20, tocopheryl acetate, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, propanediol, tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, benzalkonium chloride, caprylyl glycol, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, citric acid, parfum / fragrance, limonene, citral, linalool.

Summary

• Lume Acidifed Deodorant Wipes were certainly the most effective of all the deodorant wipes, it was almost as effective as the Lume deodorant – both of them contain acids to change the pH of your skin to slow down the growth of bacteria.
• However, I didn’t like the caffeine boost, synthetic fragrance, EWG rating of 3, and lack of organic ingredients.
• In terms of a healthy and eco-friendly choice, my top pick is EO Natural Deodorant Wipes, based on ethanol, this cleaned smelly armpits quite well, is all natural and all organic, has an EWG rating of only 1, and is biodegradable.
• The downside is there are no ingredients to keep the sweat odor from coming back.
• If you want something totally unscented I would recommend the Fomin Deodorant Wipes which are partially natural, have a fairly good EWG rating, and are biodegradable. (Since writing, they now only offer acidified wipes, which also come in fragrance-free).

Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.