Hello vs Native Deodorant, Tested & Compared By a Smelly Person

I tested and compared Hello Clean & Fresh Deodorant with Native Sensitive (baking soda-free) and Native Original (with baking soda).

I will compare them on effectiveness, smell, texture, safety of ingredients, and cost.

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Summary:

As a very smelly person, I was happy to find an aluminum-free deodorant that actually works.

However, in the future, I’m sticking with Native formula with baking soda and probiotics as baking soda works much better than any other natural deodorant ingredient for me.

For some people, baking soda irritates the skin.

As for Hello, it’s a really good bang for your buck, especially when compared to Native without baking soda.

Comparison:

Hello is less than half the price than Native, so if cost is a big factor for you, Hello can be a good choice in this category of mostly natural, aluminum-free deodorants. Hello does not come in unscented though the scents are natural (and quite strong), Native has unscented options, however, the scented versions that they do offer are partly synthetic fragrances. Both offer a baking soda-free option. They both use similar extra active ingredients like magensiusm, zinc ricinoleate (Hello) and cyclodextrin (Native). Native also offers an option with baking soda which, if you’re not sensitive to it, works much better (in my tests) than both of the baking soda-free options. This is my recommendation. Hello also tested positive for fluorine, an indicator of PFAS, which Native did not. Native scores better on EWG.

Effectiveness: In my 12-hour tests, Hello was more effective for me than Native without Baking Soda. But Native with Baking Soda was far more effective than both of those. I would not use either of the baking soda-free options again, as neither worked well enough for a re-buy (for me).

Conclusion: Hello is around half the price and worked better for me compared to baking soda-free Native, but Native scores better on eco-friendliness (based on EWG ratings), tested free of PFAS, comes in scent-free, and the Original formula (with baking soda) worked the best out of the three in my tests.

The products:

• Hello, a Colgate-Palmolive Company, makes a mostly natural, aluminum-free deodorant based on magnesium, zinc ricinoleate, charcoal, and tea tree oil.
• And Native, owned by Proctor & Gamble, also makes a mostly natural formula that is aluminum-free, made with magnesium, and cyclodextrin, and comes either with or without baking soda and probiotics.

Effectiveness

Hello

Claims: Clinically proven 24 hour odor protection; Soothes and moisturizes; Gender neutral formula; No staining.

My Test: This made it longer than Native (without baking soda) for me, it can get me through 12 hours and certainly has some effect beyond that.

Native

Claims: A couple swipes of our deodorant go a long way—odor protection for up to 72 hours to be exact.

My Test: Native (without baking soda) struggled to get me through 12 hours on many days. Sometimes I ended up with a sour smell in my armpits, some reaction between my sweat and the deodorant itself.

Native with baking soda, works really well, almost 24 hours in my tests.

Smell

Hello – They do not have an unscented version but they say they are naturally scented, unlike Native. The Clean & Fresh scent smelled like cucumber and melon to me. The scent is fairly strong, and lasts longer than essential oils do. As someone who was sensitive to scent for a long time I would have guessed this is synthetic, especially because scents based on essential oils don’t last very long and don’t have bite to them.

Native – The unscented has a sweet smell which seems to be partly the natural ingredients (like coconut) but may also be fragrance cross-contamination (in very slight amounts). The baking soda formula has a very natural food like smell (very subtle).

Ingredients

Hello Ingredients

• Maranta arundinacea root powder – arrowroot powder
• Cocos nucifera – coconut oil
• Stearyl alcohol – produced from stearic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid
• Caprylic/capric triglyceride – coconut oil
• Butyrospermum parkii – shea butter
• Copernicia cerifera – carnauba wax
• Triethyl citrate – an ester of citric acid
• Oryza sativa – rice bran wax
• Natural fragrance
• Magnesium hydroxide – active ingredient
• Zinc ricinoleate – active ingredient
• Tocopheryl acetate – synthetic vitamin E
• Charcoal powder
• Melaleuca alternifolia – tea tree leaf oil

EWG & Clean Ratings

Hello Clean & Fresh Charcoal has an EWG rating of 3, their previous fragrance-free formula had a rating of 2. Natural fragrance contributes to a higher rating on EWG due to allergy potential.

Hello (Sweet Coconut) Deodorant tested positive for 14 ppm organic fluorine, by Mamavation. Fluorine is an indicator of possible PFAS. Mamavation believes this may be accidental contamination as it’s not high enough to be intentionally added she says.

Hello claims they use no aluminum, baking soda, parabens, talcs, dyes, artificial fragrances, gluten, or phthalates.

Native Sensitive Whole Body Deodorant Stick:

Native has a baking soda option and a baking soda-free option. I bought both formulas.

Sensitive formula (baking-soda-free, unscented):

• Coconut Oil
• Shea Butter
• Tapioca Starch
• Ozokerite – Natural mineral wax
• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride – Made by combining glycerin with fatty acids from natural oils, like coconut oil
• Cyclodextrin – Semi-natural odor control agent
• Magnesium Oxide – Natural antiperspirant

The original formula (unscented) contains:

• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride – Made by combining glycerin with fatty acids from natural oils, like coconut oil
• Tapioca Starch
• Ozokerite – Natural mineral wax
• Sodium Bicarbonate – Baking soda, changes the pH of skin
• Magnesium Hydroxide – Natural antiperspirant
• Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil
• Cyclodextrin – Odor control agent
• Butyrospermum Parkii – Shea butter
• Glucose
• Lactobacillus Acidophilus – Probiotic

EWG & CLEAN RATINGS

Both formulas of unscented Native deodorant have an EWG rating of 1. Most of the selected options are rated 2, and a couple of options are rated a 3.

Native is talc free, dye free, baking soda free in the sensitive option, aluminum free, paraben free, and phthalate-free.

They also tested free of PFAS by Mamavation.

It’s mostly natural with the major exception being the synthetic fragrances in the scented options.

Active Ingredients Comparison

Hello – Hello contains magnesium hydroxide, a natural antiperspirant, zinc ricinoleate which neutralizes odor-causing molecules. It binds to and encapsulates odor molecules and it has antimicrobial properties, charcoal powder, which can absorb odors, and melaleuca alternifolia tea tree oil, which kills bacteria.

Native – The first option I chose has only magnesium and cyclodextrin as the active ingredients (the sensitive or full body formulas). According to the Doctorly dermatologists, magnesium acts as a natural antiperspirant. Cyclodextrin is a semi-natural compound that traps odor molecules (it’s the ingredient in Febreeze).

Their Original formula has magnesium, cyclodextrin, baking soda, and probiotics. Baking soda changes the pH of the skin to stop bacteria (works really well but can be irritating for some people) and probiotics help to provide a healthy bacteria balance.

Scent Options:

Hello – Clean & Fresh – smells like cucumber and melon to me (there is also tea tree oil in it); Sage and Eucalyptus – smells more like lemon; Coconut – smells like shea butter and coconut; Unicorn – smells like candy; Peach – a couple of people have said it doesn’t really smell like peach; Lavender – smells like lavender but one person described it like a medicine smell.

They do not come in unscented. They say they use only natural fragrances though the fragrance ingredients are not fully listed (and are quite strong).

Native – Baking soda free: unscented, coconut & vanilla, lilac & white tea, cucumber & mint.

With baking soda: Unscented, coconut & vanilla, cucumber & mint, lavender & rose, honey & white oak. Honey and white oak smells like men’s cologne to me.

Native scents are a mix of synthetic and natural scents.

Texture

Hello with Charcoal – goes on slightly gray if you over-apply, but then is clear if you rub it in, is less oily than Native and dries faster.

Native (without baking soda) – Slightly more oily than Hello and glides easier, especially at cold temperatures, goes on clear on the skin, and after two minutes you cannot feel it on the skin (assuming you did not over-apply). The baking soda formula is similar.

Cost Comparison

Hello – $4.89 on their website, free shipping over $35. If you are trying this for the first time, I would recommend getting it on Amazon which has free shipping with Prime so that you don’t have to spend $35.

Native – Around $13 both on their website and on Amazon. (It’s the same price for the original formula, baking soda-free formula and plastic-free formula).

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.