CRYSTAL Deodorant Stick (30003), Unscented, 4.25 Ounce

I love this stuff! I have been using this brand of deodorant for years. I haven't put regular deodorant on my arms since 2013 (and I'm an active, sweaty male). So when local pharmacies stopped carrying the Crystal I got nervous. Thankfully I found this online. Let me give you a run down of how this stuff works: First, there is only one ingredient. Literally. It's just a crystal. So no nasty chemicals, no additives, nothing. Even the fancy all natural deodorants like "Tom's" can't claim that. Second, due to there being no chemicals or additives, it works differently. Instead of killing or neutralizing the smell, it blocks it. When you rub the crystal on your armpit it leaves an invisible coat of crystal. That invisible coat physically blocks the smell from being able to leave your armpit. "But I've tried this and it doesn't work!" That's because you're doing it wrong. Since you're blocking and not neutralizing the smell, you need to cover quite a bit more area than you do with normal deodorant. Otherwise the smell will seep out the sides of your layer of crystal. So here is what I do: ***First I extend the crystal all the way out. ***Next I wet the crystal, as directed by the package. But to be more specific, I quickly turn the faucet on and off. It doesn't need a lot of water, just enough to get it to glide on your arm pit as opposed to having it be dragged. ***Then, with the crystal turned sideways, I proceed to cover the underside of my arm as if I was painting with a roller brush. I know the top of the crystal is rounded and that's probably how the manufacturer intends you to use it. However, what did I say above? You need to cover a lot of area in crystal in order for it to be effective. The best way to do that is to turn it sideways with it fully extended so you can cover more area in fewer strokes. ***I then wet the crystal again and proceed to "paint" the other side. ***When I am done I dry the crystal before putting it away Let me better explain the "painting" process. With the crystal all the way extended I hold it horizontally like a rolling paint brush. Then, if I am doing my right arm, I start a FULL INCH to the right of my arm pit. I then stroke it up to about FIVE INCHES above my arm pit, then back down to five inches below my arm pit. I then slowly move in toward my chest while still moving the crystal up and down in the described pattern until I get a FULL INCH to the left of my armpit. Yes, some of your chest will be covered. Yes, area outside of your arm pit will be covered. This is to prevent any rogue smells from escaping. The bigger the blanket, the harder it is to escape. Then, before I finish, I go back over just the arm pit area a few times for good measure. I then repeat this process on the other arm. If at any point the crystal gets too dry to smoothly move up and down your arm, then put some more water on it. However, don't drown it in water as you don't want to end up spreading nothing but water. You're probably thinking that it sounds like it takes a lot of time. You would be correct. It does take double, if not triple or quadruple the time to put on regular deodorant. But it's totally worth it to avoid smearing nasty chemicals or additives on your pits every single day. Over time the crystal will shrink as it's gradually applied to your pits over days, weeks and months. Eventually it will fall out of the container. That's okay. In fact, now it's even easier to paint your arms! And you can still store it in the container. KEEP IN MIND though that the Crystal is fragile. If it's dropped it will almost certainly chip if not totally break apart. I've never made it to the very end with a crystal. My clumsy self will drop and break it eventually. But it's still worth it. ***VERY IMPORTANT*** The Crystal will not work well right away. You pits are used to years, decades of using crazy ass deodorant products. Look at it this way. Let's say your skin never really gets dry so you never wear face lotion. Now let's say for some reason you were convinced to start wearing lotion to slow down aging. After a few months of use if you don't put lotion on, your face will be dry. That's because you skin got accustomed to the lotion so it stopped producing as much oil. Same concept with deodorant. After years and decades of smearing gunk on them, your pits got used to sweating more so your body could push out all those nasty chemicals. Not using deodorant for one day isn't going to change that. You need to use the Crystal for at least 2 weeks before your body will adjust to it. I've had many friends give up on the crystal because they were too impatient. But the ones who listened to me and waited it out haven't looked back. Give this stuff a shot. Your body will thank you.

Love this stuff, been using for 30+ years. Lasts 2+ years per stick. No aluminum, no perfumes, just wet the top and rub liberally, over the whole area. The original whole body deodorant. All natural ingredients. Lasts forever Very effective.

I feel like I'm performing a weird ritual every time I rub this crystal on my armpits, but this honestly works better than any deodorant I've used before (and I've tried soooo many). I eventually threw out all my other deodorants once I realized they all sucked in comparison. It keeps the B.O. at bay all day and longer, doesn't leave any residue and stain clothes like other deodorants, and the product lasts forever. I have a stick I bought 6 months ago and it looks like it has barely been used! I feel like if I bought a dozen of these they would last me the rest of my life? My husband was interested in it and now has been using it and loving it as well! He usually gets smelly pretty quickly when he sweats, but this has helped to tamp down his B.O. by a LOT. And even when he gets B.O. now it doesn't smell that bad. If you are used to an antiperspirant (like I was) you will have to get used to the feeling of your armpits actually sweating again. But my sweat doesn't stain my clothes now. It was just the deodorant doing that. Also it is unscented, so I felt a little naked at first, but I realized the scents of the other deodorants were just masking any B.O. and sometimes actually making me smell worse. So, the unscented is actually a good thing. Plus if you wear a perfume, the fragrances won't mix together. Note: When you apply this, make sure your armpits are wet! I apply it right out of the shower. Otherwise it won't go on effectively and will just rub your skin raw. To reapply, I just run it under the faucet first.

When my doctor initially recommended this to me, I was skeptical to say the least. I mean, a deodorant stone? Seriously? Is that what they were passing around at Woodstock? But after using it for a little over a month now, I can honestly say it works! For the last ten years, I've dealt with armpits that were constantly red, sore and beyond itchy. Shaving only exacerbated the problem, but if I didn't shave that lovely b.o. stench would only get worse. And then there were the abscesses. One or two would pop up every few weeks under the skin and would for the most part go away, but a couple of times a year one would stick around and get bigger and bigger until it was literally the size of a golfball and painful beyond belief. Then I would have to make an embarrassing trip to the doctor to get it drained, and despite the numbing medication they shot me up with first, it still felt like someone stabbed my pit with a hot poker. I even had to have one surgically removed because it was too large for the doctor to remove in the office. That was another experience in pain I won't go into. I was given differing opinions as to what the cause was. First a doctor told me it was my deodorant and told me to switch until I found one that didn't bother me, so I tried out just about every single deodorant out there; stick, gel, spray, cream you name it I tried it, sometimes the less powerful stuff took longer to irritate me, but it always did in the end. Then the surgeon who removed that huge abscess told me to switch to an electric razor as that would irritate my skin less. I tried it, and it just irritated my skin even more. Should have known better than to listen to a man about that. Finally about two months ago, I went and saw a dermatologist for an unrelated problem on my arm, but when she got a look at my armpit, she made a comment about how irritated it looked. I explained to her what I'd been dealing with, and she just nodded and said, "Oh yeah, that's from the antiperspirant you're using. A lot of people just can't tolerate the chemicals they use." I felt like that coyote from that roadrunner cartoon, after someone dropped an anvil on its head. I mean I'd been dealing with this problem for a decade and resigned myself to another 5 or 6 decades of the same agony, but one look at my pit and you can tell me exactly what my problem is? Seriously? Then she did one better and told me how to fix it. She told me that I needed to get a deodorant stone. Okay, I admit, I scoffed a little at that, especially when she told me that it wouldn't stop me from sweating. I sweat a lot, and I'm not embarrassed to say that it reeks, bad. But she told me that using the antiperspirant was actually making my b.o. worse, because my pores were clogged and constantly infected. She said that after a few weeks of using the stone, not only would the irritation and boils stop, the odor would actually be fairly normal even when I don't use it. She also recommended using an antibacterial soap like Dial to wash my armpits to get rid of the bacteria that was causing the odor and then switch back to my normal body wash after a couple of weeks. Again, I was extremely skeptical, but I was willing to give it a try. I'm so glad I did. For the first week, I washed my armpits twice a day with Dial and applied the stone immediately afterwards as instructed. This is important because it won't work otherwise, it has to be directly on the skin. I could not believe the difference. I didn't realize just how much I hated that perfume smell regular deodorant puts out, and the more you sweat the more powerful it smells. This stuff doesn't smell at all. You just smell like you and it's awesome. It also doesn't leave residue on your clothes. No yellow stains on the sleeves like someone rubbed cheese on them, and no dark stains after you wash them either. Now I only wash my pits when I shower in the morning, and I apply the stone right after and I'm good to go all day. I don't even sweat anymore than I used to and it doesn't stink. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to sit down and stretch my arms over my head without having to endure that overpowering girly flowery powder puff smell. There's no oily, or congealing feeling to it either like there was when I was using antiperspirant. It just feels completely natural. It's been five weeks, and I haven't had a single abscess, which is a miracle for me. And that itchy, irritated feeling is gone too. Also, this stuff can be applied to other places on the body as well, not just the armpits. I'm trying to convince my brother to use it on his feet, because odor eaters isn't cutting it. Bottom line: the proof is in the pudding, or in this case the armpit. This stuff works and it works well. You do have to spend a lot more time applying it than you do with normal deodorant. Two or three swipes on the underarm isn't going to do it. You have to apply it generously over a large area, and again you have to apply it immediately after washing the area otherwise it will not work. But when applied correctly, it's a pit-saver.

Good product, easy to apply. Works well with no smell. Only drawback is that stick is subject to breakage if dropped, as it is brittle. (Stick can break away from its plastic holder, which is a nuisance.) That is the only reason for 4/5 stars. Would recommend.

By far my favorite deodorant because it is one that actually WORKS and I don’t have to worry about toxins. I prefer the stick to the roll on; it lasts longer and doesn’t leave wetness for longer than a minute or so and is less likely to cause irritation. There will be no marks on your clothes and you really get the bang for your buck with how long these last! Like any deodorant that works well, if you use it more than once a day or on irritated skin it may sting or irritate. When used normally, you shouldn’t have any issues if you don’t have highly sensitive skin. Works just as well as others I’ve used that caused me sting on a daily basis, whereas this does not when used properly. It’s the best non-toxic deodorant stick out there for the average guy or gal. Try it for yourself!

OK. First of all, let me say for new people who read these reviews. Make sure that you read reviews from people who had used this deodorant for at least some time, because everyone's first impression after using this product for a week or so is, "Oh, wow!" And that is when they may leave their overwhelmingly positive reviews. But unfortunately the effects of this deodorant diminish over time. Let me give you my experience: I am a guy in my 30's. I bought mine about 6 months ago. In July. I got a roll-on type bottle that comes with this weird whitish rock in place of an expected roll-on ball. The application was also very unusual. One needs to apply a little water on your skin (I actually moisten the rock itself) and then spread it over your armpits area. The effects were amazing -- the first time I used it I had no smell for over 24 hrs! I could not believe it. I started regularly using it every day. (My routine is to take a shower before going to bed, then apply this deodorant. Then when I wake up before work, lightly clean my armpits with baby-wipes and apply it again.) The euphoria of this product didn't last long though. In about couple months I started noticing some new odor coming from my armpits. And I mean seriously new odor. After about 4 months, its effect could hardly last for 6 hours. Now, it's about 3 PM and I feel completely disgusted with myself, I feel sticky in my armpits and I could feel the smell. So the bottom line is that I need to go back to a conventional, aluminum-laden deodorant :( But before that I plan to give this rock one more chance and buy another (brand new) bottle to see if it's going to change the picture. What I noticed is that the rock I have kinda smells when I open it. I'm assuming that it accumulated bacteria from my countless applications over 6 months so that may contribute to its current poor performance. (Note that cleaning the rock has a short lasting effect. It smells clean but if you leave it overnight -- without applying it to your armpits -- the smell returns in the morning. And I'm talking about weird smell -- interestingly, not the same BO as I may get off my armpits.) PS. For those who are curious about how this product works -- the rock contains this compound (the official description refers to it as "Mineral Salts") that kills (some) bacteria that live in your armpit area that in turn cause all that "wonderful" smell. Unfortunately by eliminating some bacteria, it gives room for others to spread. Plus some bacteria may evolve resistance (or if you don't like word "evolution," "produce resistance") to this "Mineral salts", so what we're doing over time is that we're changing the "bacterial family" that resides in our armpits, so over time this deodorant will lose its efficiency because bacteria will become immune to it. So here's biology 101 for you... UPDATE: It's been awhile since I stopped using this product. My current alternatives (Aug. 2015), are actually two: After I take a shower in the morning I use this "Aluminum Free Mom (Milk of Magnesia) Deodorant": http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GGLJ2KQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00 Then at lunch, I quickly clean up using wet baby wipes and spray on this "Crystal Rock Deodorant Body Spray": http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007768ZCA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00 It seems to last me through the (work) day, until about 6 PM.... but barely.

I was extremely skeptical of this product at first. However, I was also desperate to find something to replace my deodorant that was discontinued. For my whole life I've used normal deodorant- like Dove for example. Aluminum free ones too. The one I loved stopped being made. I'm very sensitive to smells and I also take medication that makes me sweat. I bought so many replacements but the smell was always too strong or it didn't work. I saw this and thought - I've already spent so much, this isn't very expensive lets give it a go. It's AMAZING. You do need to give your body like 2 weeks to adjust, but it's worth it. It feels like you are putting on nothing, it's weird. No more film clogging up your pores. No smell. No slimy texture. No deodorant stains in clothes. I can take my meds, clean my house, go work out - no smell! IF there is a smell, it's so slight and is usually gone by the time I've stopped sweating. It's crazy. I honestly can't believe it works so well, but I will never use anything else. Just try it.