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.

NOTE: Salt deodorants work by killing the bacteria that cause odors under your arm. It is not an antiperspirant, it's more a natural antibacterial. You will absolutely not like this item if you are looking for something to stop you from sweating. I purchased 2 brands of salt crystal, both are identical and this review covers both from my experience. Pros: Last a long time, no odor, natural, no chemicals or additives, works great on under arm smell, lasts a couple days after applied, Cons: not an antiperspirant, some people find it ineffective, easily broken if dropped I purchased this for the first time after trying many, many different types of deodorants and antiperspirant. Between living in Florida and L.A. heat was a given, and sweat happens. I would notice that when I used most deodorants I would not sweat, and there wasn't a "sweat smell" under my arms, but there was a weird unpleasant smell that would happen sometimes. A sort of "dirty deodorant smell" that would appear towards the end of the day and the "deodorant balls" that formed under my arms (yuck) with some deodorants. I tried all sorts of brands, different scents, unscented, roll-on, stick, gel based. Most were fine, no sweat, no gross under arm sweat smell, but by the end of the day it was all the same, almost like the stuff had broken down and got funky. I have a sensitive nose, and even if no one else smelled anything, I did and it was gross. One day I was reading about using salt to kill bacteria that caused odors, and someone mentioned salt for deodorant. I was up for anything so I purchased some. I used it the day I got it, I was sure it would fail, and was actually amazed that it worked. While I did sweat in the heat, there was absolutely no odor, no sweat stains, no clumpy white stuff under my arms. The lack of smell was actually unbelievable. It took me a while to get used to feeling wet under my arms sometimes and not thinking "Oh no! I am gonna smell!" but after a while I just trusted I would not smell even while sweating. My husband, who is very manly and can kick some deodorant butt when working in the yard, tried it after a few months of seeing me use it. Let me tell you now that I really did not think it would work on him and was shocked when it did. When he uses it he can sweat like a pig, but there is no odor. Actually works better for him when he knows he is going to be sweating because most antiperspirant aren't going to stop you from sweating at the gym (or working in the yard) and fail you so why bother. The salt didn't fail and he was odor free... sweaty, but odor free. As an added bonus, I found this out a few times while camping, that if I couldn't put more salt on the next day, as long as you haven't washed it off or showered, it works just the same! I also learned on that same camping trip that if you did start smelling you could rub more salt stick under your arms and it killed the smell within moments (It was a LONG camping trip -lol-). For smelly feet folks it will work on your feet, too. Jump out of the shower, rub it on your feet and between toes if you can, and let it dry a bit before putting on shoes. Wives, get your hubby to do this and you will thank me later. When you first use it it feels like you are putting nothing on and it can be weird. There is no white or gel goop to show you everything is covered. Just make sure to wet the stick and rub it EVERYWHERE under your arms. I actually go up my arm a bit and down my side a bit, not just the center underarm. There is no such thing as using too much, so go to town. After a little while you will get the hang of it and it will be nothing. Putting it on after a shower makes it simple, I don't even dry under my arms, I just rub the salt bar while wet and make it easy. I also took mine out of the bottom part and rub it longways under my arms, it covers much more area per swipe and makes it much faster to apply. Be aware that if you drop this it can shatter and be useless. I dropped mine and had to purchase another after it broke into a million sharp pieces. Overall, I personally LOVE it. I use it everyday, and have never been let down, but I am ok with being wet under my arms on very hot occasions as long as I know I will not smell. For some people this will be a deal-breaker. It will not stop you from sweating, it will just stop you from smelling. If you are ok with that, you will absolutely love it.

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'm going to keep saying deodorant...but I actually mean deodorant/antiperspirant) So, I bought this as my last resort, can't take it anymore, it's either this or I'm done cure. My underarms have been stained very dark for as far back as my teenage years. I have NEVER EVER been able to shave all the hair from under my arms. I'd get most...but not all. didn't matter if I shaved up, or down, or side to side, or with the assistance of a mirror, or a different razor (I could go on for days). Then about...3 years ago my underarms started itching horribly. I stopped shaving, figuring that they were irritated. Didn't help. I switched soaps. Nope. I changed laundry detergents...no. This went on for months while I tried removing one thing after the other to make this itch go away. Nothing was working. And now, it's getting worse because I can't help but to scratch it and I ended up ripping open my skin pretty badly. At this point, I'm starting to get abscesses forming under the skin of my underarms. They get pretty big, some of them about the size of a golf ball under the skin. Painful. I thought, maybe it was from the underwire on my bra rubbing that area. So, I bought unwired bras (another disaster!). This went on for...a little more than a year. FINALLY I went to see my doctor. He says I have a fungal infection...which I honestly believed had to be the issue. In order to treat the 'fungal infection', I had to wash and dry the skin well and use an anti fungal cream. I was supposed to do this twice a day for 4-6 weeks and the infection would go away. I was also put on 2 weeks of antibiotics to help clear up the abscesses, which ended up taking more than 9 weeks on antibiotics to clear. So, for 8 weeks I washed the skin under my arms, then applied the fungal cream twice a day. Since I couldn't wear deodorant during this time, there were days when I had to wash and apply the cream a few times because I would sweat and the sweat would cause the cream to kinda just 'slip' away. More than once I was in a public restroom with personal cleansing wipes trying to maintain my dignity while re-applying this cream. After 8 weeks of treatment, the itch was gone. The irritated skin was gone. The fungal infection was clear. YAY! I'd wait another week or two to ensure it wasn't coming back and then, as always before this fungal problem, I'd shower, and then put on my deodorant. And about 2-4 hours later, I was tearing at my underarms again...I couldn't help it. This went on for a year. A whole year of going through treatment, and it would go away and then it would come back again pretty much right away after I resumed normal hygiene practices. I'd see the doctor, he'd say it must not have been cleared completely and extend the medication for the next round. I spent A LOT of money on meds and doctor's visits that year. Still itching. Still getting abscesses. So, this left me scratching my head. I didn't want to keep paying $100 a month for the anti-fungal medication because there was no end in sight. I got desperate. I switched brands for a month, it didn't help. I switched to a different brand...didn't help. I switched from a stick to a spray, from a spray to a gel, hypoallergenic, no scent, no dye, no perfume, no frills...no change. In between every change I'd go through the anti-fungal medication regimen to ensure that I wasn't simply turning down another option due to carrying over the previous problem. At this point, I'm pretty close to desperation. Honestly...think about it. Do you want to be in your late 20's or early 30's, knowing you've still got AT LEAST 40 years left to go and you won't be able to wear deodorant at all? I was coming to the conclusion that I'd have to go the rest of my life without deodorant...and I didn't like that idea. My last talk with my doctor had him suggesting that my problem might be stemming from the antiperspirant because it's meant to keep moisture out and it does so...but from both sides. So, when you 'wash' your deodorant off (which I would do with a heavy bath sponge and then I'd rake my nails through my underarms to remove ALL of it) you're not really washing it ALL off and because it stays on the skin, it irritates the skin by clogging the pores which could cause itching and it was looking like this was the explanation of my problem because I'd been using deodorant for over 15 years at this point. But nowhere that I looked did I find deodorant without the antiperspirant, and without dyes, and perfumes, and hypoallergenic...blah blah blah. I had to get a prescription from my doctor to get it. Still no change. Non at all. I was so depressed. I was envisioning the rest of my life alone. So, I was telling a co-worker about all of this. And she says to me, "Maybe you're allergic to something in the deodorant and it's not the antiperspirant." Hmm. I got home and checked my deodorant and saw the main ingredients included a heavy metal among other things. Finally, it occurs to me after all this time (funny how sometimes, we just don't think) to go online and do a search on allergy to deodorant. And there it was...page after page after page of people with similar complaints as me, with similar stories as me, etc. I even found a page that someone documented what they were going through in pictures and I realized that it was just like what my underarms looked like. They all recommended buying a deodorant 'stone'. I found several options for deodorant stones on Amazon. I kept looking for my own convenience because I knew that if I'd bought a crystal/stone that was just a rock...it would likely end up in my boy's aquarium tank with all the other 'odd' rocks he finds. I picked this one because it's packaged pretty much the same as the deodorant was. It didn't cost much...probably the equivalent of 2 sticks of my 'old' brand but those 2 sticks would last me 2-3 months. I've had and used the stone everyday for about 3 months now and it shows NO sign of use. This time though, I didn't transition between my 'old' brand to the new with medication in between to clear the infection. Nope. One day I used my deodorant, and the next I used this crystal brand. Within 2 weeks all my problems were gone. No more itching! After the final abscess drained about 3 weeks into using the crystal brand, there's been no more abscesses! After 2 months, I noticed that the dark 'stain' my skin had was lightening up considerably. I don't know if it will ever go completely away but from what it was to what it is now...I'm thrilled! Shaving is no longer hell...my skin is softer. I've noticed that my t-shirts no longer have that waxy layer to them under the arms. I'm SO happy with this product! Please don't ever stop selling it. Now, this part is important: This IS NOT an antiperspirant. Meaning, it WILL NOT prevent sweating. It will, however, neutralize the odor from the sweating so that, when you do sweat, it doesn't smell putrid. (I actually wonder how much that phenomenon is from the product or from the skin pores not being clogged/infected anymore). This product HAS to be applied directly after your shower. Shower, get out, apply product then do everything else. If you shower, then go down in your basement to check the dryer for clean pants, then sit on your bed talking to your dog, then apply lotion to legs and feet and then comb your hair and brush your teeth after you've air dried and half dressed yourself and THEN try to put it on, it's not going to work. Because your skin in that short period of time is already producing fluid. Might not be sweat...just oily lubricating type fluid. This oily type fluid makes it so that this crystal can't be rubbed directly against the skin like it needs to be. If you wait, you'll have to wash under your arms again (or you could use personal cleansing wipes, or alcohol but really, it's just easier to do it right after you step out of the shower). This product HAS to be used wet. I get out of the shower, and completely dry my underarms. I wet the stone and apply. Occasionally I have to re-wet the stone to complete one side, at the least I have to re-wet it to apply to the other arm. You should be able to tell when you need to wet it again. But if not...you wet it again when it no longer simply slides across your skin. If it's dragging...wet it. You have to apply this crystal generously. You may have only had to swipe the deodorant across a 2" X 4" patch. That's great. But this needs to go well beyond your deodorant borders to be truly effective. Hence the reason why you might need to wet it more than once to do each underarm. Now, I'm not guaranteeing you fabulous results. I'm not telling you that this WILL solve all your problems and boost your earning potential while bringing back your receding hairline after making you the world's greatest lover. I'm sharing with you MY personal satisfaction with this product in terms of what this product has done FOR ME. I'm a nurse. I'm not telling you that so you'll trust me medically. I'm telling you that because I want you to understand that I work, physically, pretty much everyday. Not only am I a nurse, but I am also in my final semester of nursing school for an advanced degree. All of this means that I pretty much every single day and/or night work or work in clinical for school. The units I've worked for clinical are kept at a balmy 76+ degrees with patient's room sometimes sitting in the upper 80's. Personally, I prefer cold climates. In these situations, I DO sweat. I DO NOT feel like it's excessive but I do sweat. I have not once since starting to use this product smelled the sweat the way I would when I was still using the 'regular' deodorant/antiperspirant. At my job, I bathe my client every day. That's everyday standing in an enclosure with him while the hot shower runs. Again, I DO sweat but I don't smell it. (And neither does anyone else). And I'd also like to tell you that there have been times that I was at home for a day or two in a row...maybe I didn't shower one day...maybe I showered but I didn't use my crystal...either way, no deodorant. If I'd done this prior to switching, I could smell myself and it had that putrid, acrid/infection smell. Since using the crystal...the sweat will have a slight odor (like...odor while still using old deodorant would be at an 8-10...now it's no more than a 2-3) but it's nowhere near as strong or noticeable as before. I'm heading into my first summer after the switch. I'm hoping it goes well. I'm certainly going to put it through the paces. I have a lot of yard work to do this year as well as several trips planned. Hopefully I won't have to amend my review. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I want to say one more thing, very quickly, before I'm done here. Mass produced deodorant/antiperspirants contain magnesium (a heavy metal) as well as a list of other questionable ingredients. Who knows what a lifetime of use exposes you to. For the women out there, they think there might be a link between deodorant use and breast cancer, as well as lymphatic cancer (think about how close those parts are to your underarm). That's scary. This crystal is literally all natural. It's a rock. They don't add anything to it. There's no fragrances. If you want fragrance, puff a little (TINY BIT) of scented powder near your underarm. There's no white staining on your clothes because it doesn't leave a residue. Your pores clear out. There's no more 'work' to completely wash away the product you applied yesterday morning. The ONLY problem that I've had is that it's a stone, so if you drop it, it might break. Also, it's a pretty dense stone...meaning it's a tad heavy for its size. Depending on your counter top/flooring, if you drop it, it might break your flooring or counter top (or your toe). Mine was dropped once from about 5.5' from the floor and all that did was break the little nubby on the plastic container that make it stay in position after you turned the dial. But that's no big deal...my stone is still WELL above the stop of the container. At this rate, I expect it to last me 1.5-2 years, if not longer. If you're having issues (especially if you're like me, having issues in silence because they're embarrassing) then this is a cheap option to try. This cost WAY less than even a portion of a month's worth of the medications. It's cost WAY less than any of my 'normal' brands of mass produced deodorants. Before I ordered it, I told my husband that it was worth a shot. Thankfully it worked for all of my...'issues'...and I'm grateful that I tried it.

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.

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.

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.

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!