Deodorants and anti-perspirants are introduced into our lives early, as a result of increased sweating during puberty. Then comes the day-to-day perspiration from exercising, stuffy trains and mad rushes to work. Pregnancy will also bring about even more hormonal changes and – you guessed it – increased sweating. And let’s not get started on the hot flushes and night sweats some women experience as a side effect of the menopause.
Managing body odour from sweating isn’t always a walk in the park, especially when you’ve a while to wait before you’ll have access to a shower. In fact, it’s not the sweat itself which produces the unpleasant scent you associate with perspiration, but rather the effect of bacteria on sweat. “If bacteria are allowed to break down the sweat,” describes the NHS, “it can start to smell unpleasant.”
The NHS also advises that “eating spicy food and drinking alcohol” can play a part, but ultimately, a good deodorant will be essential to minimise these odours. Finding one that actually works can be tricky and, contrary to what you might think, the ones with the nicest fragrance aren’t always the most effective at masking or eliminating sweat. So I got hands-on with a selection of the most popular brands to discover the ones you can rely on through heatwaves, perimenopause and more.
The best women’s deodorants for 2025 are:
- Best overall – Vichy 48hr intensive treatment: £10, Amazon.co.uk
- Best budget buy – Nivea black & white invisible clear: £2, Boots.com
- Best cream deodorant – Sure women maximum protection: £5, Amazon.co.uk
- Best aerosol deodorant – Dove advanced care dragonfruit and coconut cream: £4.95, Sainsburys.co.uk
- Best natural deodorant – Fussy refillable natural deodorant: £9.60, Boots.com
How I tested
After collating a selection of aerosol, roll-on and balm deodorants, I set about testing the formulas on my underarms over the course of five months from May to September. I used every bottle until its last drop and wore the deodorants in a variety of settings, from hot yoga classes to heatwave weather on the London tube. When testing, I took note of the quality and functionality of the packaging, the deodorants’ texture and feel, as well as the scent and, importantly, the sweat and odour-busting performance throughout wear. You can read my detailed testing methodology at the end of the review.
Vichy 48hr intensive treatment
Best: deodorant for women overall
Type: Cream roll-on
Aluminium-free: No
Scent: Fresh, clean and slightly masculine
Cruelty-free and vegan: No, neither
Why we love it
- Ultra-clean scent
- Lightweight, breathable feel
- Prevents unpleasant odours and excess sweating all day
- Compact packaging and adequate quantity
Take note
- Sits at the upper end of the price spectrum
Vichy’s anti-perspirant ‘treatment’ (as the brand calls it) wasn’t on my radar before testing, so it certainly caught me off guard when it became my favourite formula to date. With a zesty and soapy scent that leaves your underarms smelling shower-fresh all day, the formula feels featherlight on the skin and is even hypoallergenic for anyone with sensitive armpits.
I put the liquid anti-perspirant through its paces on a hot, sunny day, and the Vichy treatment fared well, leaving neither yellow staining on my white T-shirt nor an unpleasant stench. It also minimised the actual production of sweat in my underarms, making it a godsend for those with a penchant for wearing grey.
Buy now £6.65, Superdrug.com
Nivea black & white invisible clear
Best: budget deodorant for women
Type: Roll-on
Aluminium-free: No
Scent: Floral
Cruelty-free and vegan: No, neither
Why we love it
- Lightweight, breathable feel on skin
- No white marks on dark clothing
- Pleasant scent
- Lasts all day
- Available in travel-size
Take note
- Rollerball can be a bit stiff
Nivea’s black and white range is one I’ve been reaching for since my teen years. I’m always suffering from white or yellow marks on my clothing as a result of powdery deodorants (and clumsiness), but more than a decade since I first used it, the invisible roll-on from Nivea is a formula I can rely on to keep my outfits stain-free.
Its feminine scent will follow you all day, and its performance as a sweat inhibitor and odour masker is second only to Vichy above. Given its budget-friendly price, you can see its appeal. There are a few tiny things to note: be careful handling the glass bottle over tile floors – trust me, I’ve suffered the consequences – and, when the rollerball inevitably becomes stuck, make sure to press it along some dry tissue to get it moving again. Otherwise, this is an impressive, affordable option.
Buy now £2, Boots.com
Sure women maximum protection
Best: deodorant for sweat mangement
Type: Cream roll-on
Aluminium-free: No
Scent: Apple, jasmine and rose
Cruelty-free and vegan: No, neither
Why we love it
- Keeps sweat and odour at bay, even in tight clothing
- Pleasant scent
- Travel-friendly size
Take note
- Dispenser is incorrectly marked (it pushes product out anti-clockwise, not clockwise as described)
- Can leave white bobbles on underarms if over applied
As someone prone to unpleasant odours when wearing tight T-shirts (and, yes, that’s when I’m wearing deodorant), it was a breath of fresh air – literally – to find a solution in Sure’s maximum protection anti-perspirant. The cream deodorant is the most effective sweat management I’ve tried and makes it easy to forget about body odour altogether.
You don’t need much of the formula – in fact, if you apply too much, you might find that the excess balls up in your armpits as the day wears on. It maintains its apple-floral scent throughout the day and, while I can’t vouch for its 96-hour promise, it’ll certainly keep things fresh from dawn till dusk.
Buy now £5, Amazon.co.uk
Dove advanced care dragonfruit and coconut cream
Best: aerosol deodorant for women
Type: Aerosol
Aluminium-free: No
Scent: Dragonfruit and coconut
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes
Why we love it
- Sweet, pleasant scent
- Effective for a full day
Take note
- Underlying body odour can be smelt upon closer inspection
Dove’s advanced care anti-perspirant collection is designed to keep skin hydrated using a combination of oils and amino acids – and after testing, I’d say it does. If you like a summery coconut scent but fancy something a bit different, the addition of dragon fruit is a refreshing and sweet twist.
In terms of sweat masking, the formula successfully keeps body odour at bay for a full eight hours, but for those subject to heavy perspiration, you can faintly detect the natural odour beneath – you’d have to be pretty close, though.
Buy now £4.95, Sainsburys.co.uk
Mitchum ultimate women 48hr protection soft solid
Best: for unpleasant odours
Type: Cream roll-on
Aluminium-free: No
Scent: Powder fresh
Cruelty-free and vegan: No, neither
Why we love it
- Comforting and nostalgic baby powder-like scent
- Effectively minimises body odour
Take note
- Doesn’t inhibit sweat entirely in intense conditions (though odour remains absent)
A close second to Sure’s maximum protection, Mitchum’s ultimate protection cream deodorant (and anti-perspirant) has the same odour-blocking effect. It worked just as well under tight clothing in hot conditions as Sure’s formula, but it didn’t perform as solidly when it came to stopping the actual production of sweat.
During day-to-day activities, my underarms remained dry, but when I was doing exercise, I noticed some sweat droplets cropping up, albeit odour-free. Sweat was more noticeable than if I hadn’t been wearing anything on my underarms, owing to the milky hue of the Mitchum cream. Nonetheless, this formula provided complete protection from any unpleasant smells and is a reliable go-to for daily sweat management.
Buy now £5.5, Sainsburys.co.uk
Fussy refillable natural deodorant
Best: natural deodorant for women
Type: Balm roll-on
Aluminium-free: Yes
Scent: Coconut
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Aesthetic, refillable packaging
- Clean beauty formula
- Masks day-to-day sweat odours well
Take note
- Needs warming on the skin to glide on easily
One of the most popular natural deodorants on the market, Fussy’s refillable formula arrives in a sleek recycled plastic case (in a colour of your choosing) that operates via a twist-up mechanism. The balm-like consistency is a little stiff to apply on cold skin, but it leaves a translucent layer of pleasantly-scented sweat protection once warmed up.
You have a choice of 13 scents, from coconut to jasmine, and you can take comfort in the balm’s effectiveness during exercise and daily movement. I’d caveat that this deodorant isn’t suited to all sweat-inducing scenarios, and I found that it wasn’t as effective when agitated by the proximity of fabric in tight tops. Though that’s not to say that I stank, but rather that it wasn’t keeping the odours of commuting and fast-paced lunch runs entirely at bay.
Being a deodorant versus an anti-perspirant, it doesn’t set out to stop sweat from being produced and, much like Mitchum above, it allowed some milky-hued droplets to appear when exercising. However, as someone who’s tested Wild – which is perhaps the most popular natural deodorant, and didn’t make the cut for this guide – I’d like it to be known that Fussy’s formula was preferable, in my expert opinion.
Buy now £9.6, Boots.com
DeoDoc intimate deospray violet cotton
Best: for intimate areas
Type: Aerosol
Aluminium-free: Yes
Scent: Violet cotton (also available in fresh coconut and jasmine pear)
Cruelty-free and vegan: Yes, both
Why we love it
- Refreshing for use after exercise
- Compact size for packing on the go
- Hypoallergenic, pH balanced and gynaecologist tested for safe use externally on intimate areas
Take note
- Removes existing odour but won’t prevent it from developing
Whether you’re going to the gym on a tight lunch break, attending a festival or hopping on a long-haul flight, there are plenty of occasions when you’d ideally take a shower, but the circumstances don’t allow for one. That’s where Deodoc’s intimate deospray comes in.
Designed to freshen up intimate areas after sweat or heat build-up, the deospray has a dual function: while the aerosol dispenser effectively airs out any staleness, the violet jasmine scent masks any unpleasant odours that have cropped up. The spray shouldn’t be used internally, but is pH-balanced for safe use externally. I felt as though it didn’t negate the need for a shower when applied pre-gym, but worked well afterwards to nip any odours in the bud.
Buy now £20, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Your questions answered on women’s deodorants
What is the best deodorant for women?
Balancing effectiveness, comfort and a refreshing scent, Vichy’s 48-hour intensive treatment is the best women’s deodorant following my tests. It does a great job at eliminating body odour and minimising moisture from sweat. For something cheaper, the best budget deodorant is Nivea’s black & white invisible clear, which was a close second. It has a long-lasting fragrance and a lightweight feel. Lastly, if you’d prefer an aluminium-free deodorant or you’re all about clean beauty, Fussy’s balm roll-on was my top pick of the natural options, with strong day-to-day odour control and eco-friendly refillable packaging.
How I selected the best deodorants
As outlined already, I put more than 10 different deodorants to the test, and only those that passed my tests made the cut. I tested during the warmest months of the year (from May until September) to get a good idea of how the formulas would fare in hot conditions. I also wore each one to the gym and to hot yoga classes, as well as on my morning commute, to make sure I’d checked performance. When selecting the best deodorants, though, I considered the following:
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
As IndyBest’s beauty writer, Lucy Smith has been covering things like the best women’s perfumes, the best hypochlorous acid sprays and more for The Independent since July 2024. She’s garnered quite the skin and body care knowledge after speaking to a variety of dermatologists and GPs – like Dr Cherry Armstrong and Dr Ahmed El Muntasar – and, personally, suffers from excess sweating as a common side effect of the medication she takes. Together, these components put her in good standing to review the best deodorants, not to mention the fact that she did so through the height of summer, including some heatwave highs of 25C.
What’s the difference between deodorant and anti-perspirant?
Speaking to The Independent, NHS GP and This Morning guest doctor Dr Raj Arora broke down the key differences between the products. Deodorant “works to control odour,” says Dr Arora, “It does this by neutralising the bacteria that cause smell, often adding a fragrance to keep you feeling fresh, too. However, it does not reduce or stop sweating.” In comparison, “anti-perspirant goes a step further by temporarily blocking sweat glands with aluminium compounds, which reduces perspiration itself. By tackling the sweat, it also reduces and helps to control the odour associated with it.”
Is it better to use aluminium-free deodorant?
Dr Arora argues there are benefits to both aluminium and aluminium-free deodorants. “Aluminium compounds reduce perspiration by temporarily blocking the sweat glands,” and recommend them “for people with excessive sweating (known as hyperhidrosis)”.
“There has been a lot of media speculation over the years linking aluminium-based deodorants with health concerns such as Alzheimer’s and breast cancer.” While assuring me that there is “no conclusive scientific evidence to support this”, she cautions that aluminium-free deodorants can be “a good choice for people who feel anxious about the speculation”. She also notes that aluminium-free deodorants “often use more natural ingredients, which can be gentler on sensitive skin and may cause less irritation”.
Ultimately, though, “aluminium-free deodorants are less effective at reducing perspiration. While they can help neutralise odour, they don’t block sweat glands, meaning sweating still occurs.”
Do pregnant women need a different deodorant?
In short, no, but it comes down to personal preference. Dr Arora says that “some women prefer to switch to aluminium-free or natural deodorants because their skin can become more sensitive and they want to avoid products with harsher chemicals.” But, she adds, “there is no evidence to suggest that aluminium-based deodorants are harmful during pregnancy.”
How to manage strong-smelling armpits
There are several steps you can take to minimise unpleasant underarm odours, according to Dr Arora:
After more tested beauty products? These are the 12 best teeth whitening kits from strips and gels, to powders and pens
