Review of Arm & Hammer Ultra Max Antiperspirant Deodorant

When it comes to deodorant I am looking for three things. Most importantly, I want it to work. I also want it not to smell worse than what it is covering up and I don't want to pay a lot for it. So, if you have similar goals, you will be thrilled with Arm & Hammer Ultra Max Antiperspirant Deodorant.

Arm & Hammer made its name with its baking soda product. Not surprisingly, Arm & Hammer Ultra Max Antiperspirant Deodorant contains sodium bicarbonate, better known as baking soda. The active ingredient in the formula is Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex.

Is there anything Zirconium cannot do? From imitating diamonds to keeping our underarms clean, it may be the best thing since sliced bread. According to Wikipedia, Zirconium "is used as an alloying agent due to its high resistance to corrosion. It is never found as a native metal, but is instead obtained mainly from the mineral zircon, which can be purified by chlorine."

But I digress. Back to Arm & Hammer Ultra Max Antiperspirant Deodorant.

The product comes in a clear gel format and the scent is listed as "Cool Blast". The smell is very neutral, which will agree with regular people who don't want to smell like a perfume ad or women and metrosexuals who do not want their deodorant clashing with their fragrance.

Like most products, this one comes with an anti-tampering device, a pull-off strip under the cap and over the opening where the deodorant comes up through the holes. Unlike many anti-tampering devices, this one actually comes off quite easily.

Arm & Hammer Ultra Max works as well as any other deodorant. I would expect nothing less from a product from Arm & Hammer. In addition to their world famous baking soda, I've also been quite pleased with other products from the company, ranging from laundry detergent to cat litter. This offering is another good product under the Arm & Hammer umbrella.

So, we've determined that it works fine and the smell is not offensive. What about the price? I purchased a 4.0 ounce container for $2.89, which was anywhere from $0.95 to $2.10 cheaper than similar-sized offerings from other national brands in my local grocery store.

Arm & Hammer Ultra Max did not have great placement in my grocery store. While familiar name brands like Old Spice, Right Guard and Degree were at chest to eye level, I had to bend down to find this product on the shelf. I have some back pain, but I'm quite willing to bend down to save two dollars.

Also, my store only had Arm & Hammer Ultra Max in the gel format. If you prefer your deodorant in the hard stick format, you might not be able to use this product. I prefer the gel, because somehow whenever I use the stick I never apply it evenly and I always end up with one side of the stick much higher than the other, which makes applying it near the end more difficult than anything should be first thing in the morning. Also, I find the gel does not stain my clothes like the stick can.

My only complaint with Arm & Hammer Ultra Max is a minor, aesthetic one. Once you remove the anti-tampering device, small amounts of the product are sucked up into the holes when you remove the lid. This gets worse as more of the product is used. At the end of the products' life span, enough gel comes up that you don't have to twist the wheel at the bottom of the container to have enough to apply to your armpits.

However, none of the gel gets wasted. It's just not a pleasant thing to look at when you first get up. Like I said earlier, it is a minor complaint. Overall, I give this product 4.5 out of five stars and would recommend Arm & Hammer Ultra Max to everyone.