Lume is a deodorant brand marketed to women that claims to be “clinically proven to control odor for 72 hours.” The brand also markets itself as healthier than commercial alternatives, describing their deodorant as “naturally derived” using “skin safe synthetics” and no aluminum.

But is Lume proven to have better odor-blocking effects than other deodorants? Does the brand use unhealthy ingredients? What was our Product Tester's experience using Lume deodorant for a month? And does Lume have been or worse ingredients than other popular "healthy" deodorants like Native?

In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we review the clinical trial on Lume to give our take on whether or not it's truly superior in terms of odor blocking.

We'll also analyze the ingredients in Lume to share our thoughts on whether or not it's healthy, share our Product Tester's honest experience using Lume for a month, and compare Lume deodorant to other popular "healthy" deodorant brands to pick our winners (and losers).

Key takeaways:

• We're unconvinced by superior odor-blocking claims
• Our Product Tester had a favorable experience with Lume
• We do not currently recommend Lume Deodorant

Is Lume Really Superior?

Lume worked with a private, for-profit consulting firm called Princeton Consumer Research to test the effectiveness of their deodorant.

The study found that Lume was more effective at blocking odor than Native deodorant and Schmidt's:

We have a few issues with this study.

First, how is "odor blocking" determined? Is it just a Princeton Consumer Research employee smelling the trial participants and assigning a score?

Because the full study doesn't appear to be published on Lume's website, we can't tell.

No comparison or proof is provided to suggest that Lume is effective for odor blocking at 72 hours, even though the core of Lume's marketing claims is that the deodorant blocks odor for 72 hours.

We recommend that consumers disregard results from company-funded clinical trials that are not published in peer-reviewed journals. There is too much potential bias for the results to be useful in our opinion.

Ask yourself when was the last time that you saw a company-funded clinical trial that had unfavorable results.

We also have ethical issues with brands making claims of clinical efficacy and failing to publish the full study for consumers to access. It is not a transparent marketing practice.

Until Lume publishes a clinical trial in a peer-reviewed journal, we will not consider their products to be more effective than competitors'.

We Tested Lume Deodorant

One of our product testers named Jodie Steinberg tried Lume deodorant for a month. Here's her experience:

The product packaging is standard for deodorant. It was easy to open and use.

I tried the tangerine scent, and the smell was very nice.

I was amazed by this deodorant. I used it for everyday activities including work outs. I was amazed that there was zero body odor even after a sweaty workout.

It does not stop sweat because it is not an antiperspirant, but the deodorant effect lasted for days. I did not have to reapply even after two days.

I was amazed at how long it lasted and how effective it was in masking body odor. 

I did not experience any side effects.

This is a product I would purchase again, and I would rate it 10/10.

In my opinion, this product is worth the money if you are looking for a deodorant that works which does not have aluminum.

Ingredient Analysis

The ingredients in Lume deodorant are shown below:

Lume sells a variety of scented deodorants and an unscented version. For consumers intent on purchasing Lume, we recommend the unscented version.

A recent medical review published in a French dermatology journal found that antiseptics, aluminium compounds, and fragrances found in deodorants may be damaging to human health.

Maranta Arundinacea root (arrowroot) powder is a natural deodorizer and a botanical alternative to talc that we consider much safer.

Neopentyl glycol diheptanoate is a non-toxic emollient compound which is used to soothe and soften skin. 

Panthenol is derived from vitamin B5, and was shown in a clinical trial published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science to improve skin hydration.

Overall, we consider the unscented version of this deodorant to be significantly healthier than most commercial deodorant brands. 

As we highlighted in our Dr. Squatch review article, many deodorants found in a typical drug store contain questionable additives like fragrance, synthetic dye and aluminum.

Lume’s ingredient list is free of aluminium, fragrance (in the unscented version), phthalates and talc.

Lume vs. Popular "Healthy" Deodorants

Here's how Lume compares to other popular "healthy" deodorant brands in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:

Native

Contains a probiotic which is clinically shown to have odor-blocking effects when applied topically.

Like Lume, this brand offers a fragrance-free version, and it has more active ingredients we could find research backing to support, so we give Native a (slight) edge from a potential effectiveness standpoint.

Winner: Native

Salt & Stone

Salt and Stone deodorant contains fragrance, which is clinically shown to have harmful health effects.

At the time of our last analysis, the brand didn't sell any fragrance-free versions of their deodorant, so Lume wins from a healthiness perspective.

Winner: Lume deodorant

Curie

Fragrance-free version offered, and contains one more active ingredient we could find research to support than Lume contains.

Winner: Curie

Our Clean Deodorant Pick

Native Deodorant Unscented is our non-toxic deodorant pick.

This deodorant contains the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus which was shown in clinical research to reduce odor and normalize bacteria levels when applied topically.

It also contains coconut oil which is another natural antibacterial and antifungal ingredient.

Lume Deodorant Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Unscented version has no unhealthy ingredients
• Unlikely to cause side effects
• May improve skin health and hydration
• Mostly positive online customer reviews
• May be effective against foot and genital odor
• Free shipping from brand's website

Cons:

• Questionable clinical claims
• Scented versions contain fragrance
• Expensive

Conclusion

We consider Lume to be a high-quality deodorant brand, and its unscented version contains entirely non-toxic ingredients.

Many commercial deodorants found in drug stores contain unhealthy ingredients like artificial dye, aluminum and fragrance.

Lume may be effective not only against armpit odor, but also against foot and genital odor.

Lume makes claims of superior clinical efficacy based on testing that does not appear to be published in full anywhere on their site. We hope that the brand will publish the full study for greater transparency.

We dislike when cosmetic brands make claims of clinical efficacy based on company-funded trials that are not published in peer-reviewed journals, and we recommend that consumers disregard such claims.

We consider Lume deodorant to be a healthier option than Salt & Stone, but a slightly less effective option than Native deodorant and Curie deodorant.