Wild natural deodorant review: Not what I was expecting

Wild natural deodorant popped up on my Instagram feed one day and it seemed to be the ideal zero waste product. I was already wanting to replace the plastic roll on antiperspirants I’d been using and the advert seemed to answer everything I was looking for. ‘Aluminium, paraben & single-use plastic free’ it said – perfect! I thought.

Wild is no doubt an environmentally sustainable company. You purchase your first deodorant in an aluminium case, then when you run out you buy plastic free, biodegradable refills and keep reusing the case. The refill cases are made from bamboo pulp, making them compostable and should break down in 3-6 months in any compost. Wild products are delivered to your door in a cardboard box and have an optional subscription service so your refills arrive when you’re due to run out.

The formula is 100% natural as well, no nasty chemicals, aluminium or sulphates, which block up your pores and stop you from sweating out toxins. Unlike antiperspirants, natural deodorants won’t stop you from sweating, their purpose is to reduce the odour caused by sweating. Wild boasts that it’s formula will also keep your armpits dry and fresh, due to ingredients like tapioca starch that absorb moisture. There are five scents to choose from: coconut dreams, orange zest, bergamot rituals, mint fresh and rose blush. Plus an additional limited addition toffee apple scent released for Autumn.

Wild deodorant case with refills delivered to your door

What happened next…

Wild wasn’t my first experience of a natural deodorant. I’d used Salt of the Earth’s classic crystal deodorant – essentially an unscented rock of salt that you wet before applying to your underarms – during my seven month backpacking trip around south east Asia. I would definitely recommend this deodorant for backpackers (it lasts forever, I used less than half a stick over seven months) or people who aren’t bothered about scented products. It wasn’t something I wanted to use back at home as I worked in customer facing jobs and wanted something with a natural but pleasant smell.

I’m 25, fit and healthy and wouldn’t say I sweat an unusual amount so when I read on Wild’s FAQs page that their formula would keep me smelling fresh even on ‘really busy days’ I was filled with confidence and ordered away. It was May and the UK was at the height of its national lockdown. With nothing much to do and no plans for social gatherings in the upcoming months, what better time to switch to a natural deodorant I thought.

I eagerly ordered my aluminium case in the colour aqua (they’ve since brought out a purple case which I would have chosen now) and first cartridge of deodorant in the scent ‘coconut dreams’. The order arrived promptly in a slim cardboard box, the packaging felt minimal which I liked and had their visually appealing branding throughout.

Despite clear instructions on how to slot your refill into the case, it was initially a bit confusing and fiddly trying to get the cartridge in the right place. After a few uses I also noticed that the refill would sometimes fall out of the case when you opened it, I was willing to overlook this as a minor flaw. The coconut dreams scent was very subtle, I almost couldn’t smell it unless I held the deodorant up close to my face.

As with most other natural deodorants, Wild says there may be a two week transition period, where you may notice that you sweat more as you adapt from using an antiperspirant. If anything I found this to be the opposite, Wild worked for me best during the first month of using it. Perhaps it was because it was lockdown and I wasn’t doing anything much other than working from home and going for a short walk in the evenings.

During that first month I put Wild to the test and went out for a run, to my amazement my armpits still smelt vaguely like coconut afterwards and I couldn’t smell any unpleasant sweaty smells. But as the months went by, the honeymoon period I’d had with Wild started to wear off. The subtle coconut scent I’d enjoyed at the beginning started to become so subtle that I couldn’t really smell it at all and I could just smell body odour. I also noticed that the thick formula was leaving marks on my clothes which stank like a mix of sweat and tapioca.

Not willing to give up on Wild, I experimented: sometimes using more product, sometimes using less. Then in an act of sheer desperation I began spraying Soft and Gentle 0% Aluminium Deodorant on my armpits before applying Wild. No matter what I did by the end of the day my armpits were sticky, smelt bad and my clothes had horrible heavy patches of product clinging to them.

The real sign that Wild wasn’t the natural deodorant for me came when lockdown restrictions began to lift and we could meet up with people outside again. After months apart, my boyfriend and I could meet up for walks and picnics on sunny days. I’d been using Wild for about three months already knew it wasn’t working, but it really hit home when after 15 minutes into a walk with my boyfriend, he turned to me and said: “Are you wearing that natural deodorant today?”, “Yes, how do you know?” I replied. “I can tell because you stink.” Sometimes the truth hurts. But I knew he was right.

It didn’t seem to add up

After this less than pleasant experience, I went back to Trustpilot to see what other people thought of Wild. I was shocked. Almost universal five star reviews from a range of different people. Reading the very few one or two star reviews I began to see a pattern emerge of young, fit people who don’t usually sweat much saying that the deodorant hadn’t worked for them either. I almost couldn’t believe that I was in the small percentage of customers who didn’t get on with Wild.

I decided to read a selection of blogger reviews in the hopes I’d get a more honest review of Wild. I noticed many of the posts opened with *disclaimer: item was gifted* before leaving a glowing review of Wild. While I do believe the bloggers gave their honest opinions on Wild, research has shown that reviewers are more likely to leave a more positive review in exchange for a free product.

The verdict

Sustainability: ★★★★★

Effectiveness: ★☆☆☆☆

Easy to use: ★★☆☆☆

Scent: ★★☆☆☆

Price: ★★★★☆

Overall: ★★☆☆☆

As my experience seems to be so at odds with almost everything I’ve read about Wild, I do think it’s strange that it has such glowing reviews. Maybe it’s the incentive of a free product that’s behind these good reviews or perhaps I’m in the small percentage of people for whom this product simply won’t work for.

On a positive note, I really enjoy how Wild is marketed, its slick graphics and easy to use website entice you in. The subscription service is straightforward, before I gave up on Wild I ordered a refill pack with another coconut dreams, plus orange zest and bergamot rituals which while still subtle, smelt much nicer than coconut dreams.

I also think the price point is good for a natural, sustainable product. Your first purchase of the aluminium case plus one refill is £12. Then going forward the refills cost £6 each or £5 on subscription, you buy three at a time on a flexible plan which you can easily change if you’re not ready for more refills yet. My original coconut dreams cartridge lasted three months, so if I was to use Wild for a year that would cost me £20 in refills. Let’s say over a year I use eight roll on deodorants bought from a shop at an average price of £2, that would cost me £16. The £4 difference isn’t much considering you’re paying for a sustainable, zero waste product made of mostly natural materials.

But no matter how environmentally friendly or cost effective Wild is, it doesn’t change the fact that their deodorant didn’t work for me. I’m not willing to persevere with a product if it means purposefully not lifting my arms during a work Zoom meeting because I know there will be noticeable sweat patches to everyone on the call to see. Or knowing full well that I’ll smell bad in front of friends and family I haven’t seen for months. Not to mention the sticky sweat patches that still haven’t come out of some of my clothes despite multiple washes.

There are so many positives to Wild which maybe the reason why I wanted to persevere with the product so badly even when I knew it wasn’t working. I have since given my aluminium case and unused refills to a friend to see if she gets on better with Wild, I really hope she does but if she doesn’t I’m sure there will be another friend she can pass it along to. Not one to give up on natural deodorant all together, I’ve recently started using the Kutis deodorant stick in lavender and geranium. A week in and I’m happy with the results so far, but let’s see if it stands the test of time.

Have you used Wild? Leave a comment below and let me know how you got on with it!