With drugstore products, and especially with deodorants, you have to make sure that they don't contain any fragrances that have to be declared because they reduce the beauty of the skin, i.e. you get dark armpits over time. They are usually called linalool, geraniol, hexyl cinxamal, limonene. If the word perfume appears in the ingredients, that's a good thing because then you can be sure that fragrances have been used that have no negative effects. You could even spray them on wounds or in baby's eyes without anything happening. If the word is missing, they contain fragrances that have to be declared. Keep your hands off!
The differences are insane. The only disadvantage in Germany is, that so many really attractive high quality brands are not available at shops like DM. I miss here Jergens, Vaseline, EOS, Aveeno, Palmer's, St. Ives, Tree Hut, Olay and so many more... I buy them at international Drug Stores or at Amazon. The prices are comparable to those in the US. If I watch hygiene shopping, empties or recommendation videos for fun, I have the impression, the RU-vidrs and TikTokers from outside Germany try and know hundreds of interesting product brands but the typical German basic b.... only knows Balea, Balea again and absolutely surprisingly... Balea. I don't buy it at all because it's a totally overrated monopol in Germany without any international vibe and it's by far not as good to justify the hype. If I am looking for products on a budget, I buy them specifically at Aldi or Action, which is a very exciting store. If I would live in the US permanently, I probably wouldn't spent 10 Dollars on a deodorant or toothpaste either. Probably I would get many things at Dollar Tree and Five Below, which are very similar to Action in Europe. Only body lotions, creams and some body washes I would definitely buy from my favourite name brands.
