In an effort to more thoroughly practice what I preach, I’ve delved deeper into the realm of “green beauty” by incorporating Agent Nateur x Shiva Rose’s holi (Rose) No. 4 deodorant into my routine.

We’ve all heard that using regular deodorant is bad for you… even my Bronx-born Italian grandmother has told me that I shouldn’t be using brands like Dove or Secret! And she’s about as far from the realm of holistic health as one can get.

Although scientific evidence proving that regular deodorants legitimately cause problems like hormonal imbalances and cancers is scarce, several articles from Huffington Post have convinced me to at the very least be a healthy skeptic of conventional antiperspirants and deodorants. Most deodorants include parabens, antiseptics, ammonium, and aluminum chloride, all ingredients which deserve scrutinization. Aluminum chloride effectively blocks sweat from exiting your eccrine glands (interfering with nature’s elimination processes is never a good idea…), and parabens are a nasty “form of preservative that can be shown to mimic the activity of estrogen in the body’s cells.” Although results are inconclusive as to whether or not such artificial ingredients can truly offset your hormonal balance enough to cause breast cancer, I’m certainly not going to take the risk.

So I’ve taken the plunge and started using an “all-natural” deodorant. Of course, branding something as “all-natural” doesn’t mean much in America, as we have bare minimum standards for cosmetic testing, but Agent Nateur has gone the extra mile and partially produced their products in France—thus adhering to the much stricter league of European beauty regulations. The brand’s philosophy is to only employ “healthy, organic ingredients that you can eat’” in their products. And thus, Agent Nateur’s deodorants are handmade in France and Los Angeles by Jena Covcello, and are largely formulated with bonafide natural ingredients from the South of France, Switzerland, and Germany. Jena’s products are also, unlike regular antiperspirants and deodorants, devoid of GMOs, soy, parabens, sulfates, aluminum, and petroleum.

I am proud to report that the ingredients in the holi (Rose) No. 4 deodorant are all recognizable (and, indeed, edible, should one chose to feast on castor oil): organic coconut oil, sodium bicarbonate, beeswax, sunflower butter, avocado butter, castor oil, rose essential oil and sandalwood essential oil. I am only curious as to wear Agent Nateur sources their essential oils from, but otherwise, am beyond satisfied with the formulation.

PSA ~ My good friend Callie, who has been using green deodorant for a while, suggested that I apply a clay mask to my armpits before beginning my Agent Nateur journey (I used Tata Harper’s Purifying Mask as a deep cleansing treatment).