“Oh by the way,” I said to Mr. Chattering this morning as he was putting on his socks, “When the time comes, don’t take Chattering Son Number One off to the drugstore to buy him a commercial deodorant.”

“What, my Brut can’t be his Brut?” said Mr. Chattering, looking shocked. I think Mr. Chattering’s father uses Brut too.

“Your Brut no doubt has chemicals in it that I’d rather not expose our son to,” I said. “Why get him started?”

Actually, upon researching Brut Cologne deodorant online, I see that I owe Mr. C. and the whole Faberge company an apology. Brut lacks the controversial ingredient aluminum linked by some natural health folks to everything from breast cancer to Alzheimer’s. Brut merely contains denatured alcohol, water, propylene glycol, sodium stearate, fragrance, green 5, and yellow coloring.

Even so, wouldn’t you rather rub something else in your delicate underarm for the next fifty years?

I’m using Orjene’s Garden Fresh Herbal Deodorant Stick now, but have also used Nature’s Gate Deodorant Stick to good effect (at least I have received no complaints). The Thai salt crystal stuff is generally great, but an old one can crack and feel too scratchy after a year or so (which may just tell you that I let my deodorant crystals sit around too long).

Hey, you sporty, glowing summer CM readers! What’s your favorite chem-free deodorant? Does it work? Do you care?