Refillable Deodorant Is Now a Thing, and It's Better for the Environment (and Your Pits)

Like toothpaste pills, cordless hair dryers and magnetic falsies, refillable deodorant is one of those personal care products that sounds a bit like a Jetsons’ fever dream.

But we gave the concept by new eco-conscious brand By Humankind a test-drive, and we think there’s a case to be made for the underdogs (or, at least…our underarms).  

The new deodorant, which has a patent-pending design that lets you screw off the bottom and refill it with a new stick whenever it runs out, is shaped like those crystal roller-ball deodorants your mom always kept on her vanity, but with a more millennial look (i.e., it could double as a knickknack from IKEA).

The small cylindrical container comes in neon green, off-white, gray or black in a soft, almost suede-like matte texture, and saves an average of five pounds of plastic per year per deodorant, since the refills are wrapped in recycled-paper packaging. The compostable pod refills come in two options: unscented and eucalyptus. 

Considering it’s a millennial brand, of course it’s also GMO-, aluminum-, paraben-, phthalate- and gluten-free.

It also claims to be 40 percent better at killing B.O.-causing bacteria than leading natural deodorants…which, thank God. Our tumultuous journey to find a good, long-lasting natural deodorant has brought us to the brink on more than one occasion. 

The deodorant refill is $15—we know, kinda steep even for an all-natural, plant-based deodorant—but the matte container is free. The refills act like a subscription (for $15 each time), so customers can opt in for a new refill every two, four or six weeks, depending on how often you apply.

The brand is also hocking shampoo bars (which eliminate the waste from traditional plastic shampoo bottles) and mouthwash tablets in the same subscription/refill format, and it’s all plastic-free.

If the fact that “28,000 tons of single-use plastic are disposed into our oceans every day” doesn’t terrify you, perhaps knowing your natural deodorant is making you smell 40 percent worse than this one does will.

And to your co-worker, roommate and spin class buddies: You can all thank us later.