Last summer, I posted an eco-friendly deodorant guide, and Tom's of Maine unscented made that list. Ditching conventional, toxic deodorant for something healthier and more eco-friendly is tougher than some other green life choices. Eco deodorants often don't last all day, and they can sometimes become less effective unless you rotate several different types.

I was telling a friend about my deodorant dilemma, and she suggested I try Tom's of Maine's new 24 Hour deodorant. After using it for a couple of weeks, I've got to say - this stuff works! I don't know that it lasts 24 hours, but it definitely keeps me from smelling for the whole day, and I've been using it without rotating other types.

This stuff works. It seriously works, and I mean even on days that I skip the shower. That's impressive, but I'd rather be a little bit smelly if the trade-off is my health. I'll be honest here. It was so effective that I got suspicious. A look at the ingredients list has me feeling a little skeptical, so let's take a look at Tom's 24 Hour's pros and cons.

The Pros

Tom's is a pretty good company, even if it is owned by Colgate-Palmolive. They don't test on animals or use animal ingredients. The deodorant also contains a number of natural ingredients: organic sunflower seed oil, organic aloe leaf juice, hops extract, and organic lemongrass oil.

The Cons

When I looked up Tom's 24 Hour on the Cosmetics Database it had a score of 4, which puts it in the moderate hazard range. A couple of other deodorants that got a 4 were Axe Dry Antiperspirant and Degree Antiperspirants. Not what I'd call natural brands.

While the unscented version I purchased doesn't contain "fragrance," which can refer to any number of chemicals, it looks like the scented varieties do use "natural fragrance." I wonder how much of their score is related to the "natural fragrance" in the scented types? The unscented 24 Hour deodorant isn't listed in the database.

I also noticed that the Cosmetics Database lists Tom's of Maine as "non-compliant," meaning that they've signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics but weren't following the rules. You can read about which Tom's products aren't meeting the rules on the Cosmetics Database website.

Tom's 24 Hour contains one other worrisome ingredient: propylene glycol. This is a mineral oil derivative, and according to the Tom's of Maine website they source it from natural gas. This is less than ideal, given recent news about natural gas drilling and its effect on the surrounding ecosystem.

So what do you guys think? Is the effectiveness worth it to you, or do the cons outweigh the pros?