Natural Deodorant Powered by Magnesium Hydroxide | Pure & Bloom

Why We Lead With Magnesium Hydroxide — Not Baking Soda

If you've ever switched to a natural deodorant and ended up with red, irritated, or burning underarm skin, there's a good chance baking soda was the culprit.

It's one of the most common complaints in the natural beauty world — and one that puts thousands of people off natural deodorant altogether. The problem isn't that baking soda is useless. It works. But for many people, especially those with sensitive skin, it works at a cost.

At Pure & Bloom, we made a different choice: we build our formula around Magnesium Hydroxide as the primary active ingredient — supported by a small amount of Sodium Bicarbonate in a secondary role. The difference in how skin responds is significant.

WHY DOES BAKING SODA-HEAVY DEODORANT IRRITATE SKIN?

Baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) has a pH of around 8–9. Your underarm skin naturally sits at a more acidic pH of around 4.5–5.5.

When a formula relies heavily on baking soda as its main odour-fighter, you're applying a high-pH substance to sensitive skin — repeatedly, every day. For many people, this causes redness and rash (especially after shaving), burning or stinging during or after application, darkening of the underarm skin over time, and dryness from repeated disruption to the skin barrier.

WHAT IS MAGNESIUM HYDROXIDE AND WHY DO WE LEAD WITH IT?

Magnesium Hydroxide (Mg(OH)₂) is a naturally occurring mineral compound. It works by creating a mildly alkaline environment on the skin's surface that makes it harder for odour-causing bacteria to thrive. Less bacterial activity means less odour — without blocking your pores or preventing your body from sweating naturally.

Crucially, it does this more gently than high concentrations of baking soda. For sensitive or reactive skin, the difference is often felt within the first few days of use.

HOW PURE & BLOOM FORMULATES DIFFERENTLY

In every Pure & Bloom cream deodorant, Magnesium Hydroxide is the lead deodorant active. Our formula does include a small amount of Sodium Bicarbonate in a supporting role — but because Magnesium Hydroxide is doing the heavy lifting, the concentration of baking soda is kept low.

The rest of the base is built around skincare-grade ingredients: mango butter and shea butter for nourishment, fractionated coconut oil, squalane and plum kernel oil as lightweight emollients, calendula extract for calming sensitive skin, bisabolol for its skin-restorative properties, and arrowroot and kaolin for gentle moisture absorption.

The result is a deodorant that treats your underarms the way skincare treats the rest of your face.

WHAT ABOUT THE TRANSITION PERIOD?

Switching to natural deodorant after years of conventional antiperspirants involves an adjustment period — typically two to four weeks. Tips: apply to clean, dry skin; use a pea-sized amount per underarm; give it 2–4 weeks.

IS IT EFFECTIVE?

Yes. Magnesium Hydroxide is genuinely effective at neutralising odour throughout the day for the vast majority of people. Like all natural deodorants, Pure & Bloom won't stop you from sweating — because sweating is a healthy and necessary function. What it does is keep odour under control while letting your body breathe.

Every batch is made by hand in Yorkshire and tested before it leaves our studio.

Shop Pure & Bloom Natural Deodorant → here