The story behind Megababe Read the full story

Before there was a balm, there was a blog. Katie Sturino spent over a decade inside fashion publicity — stints at Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, and Bobbi Brown, then her own accessories PR shop, Tinder — promoting other people's labels while privately struggling to find clothes and products made for a size-12-and-up body. In 2015 she turned that frustration into The 12ish Style, a styling platform for plus-size women, and built a devoted audience partly on the back of her rescued Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Toast, who became an Instagram celebrity in her own right. That platform mattered: it gave Sturino a direct line to the exact women the beauty aisle kept overlooking, and it is what let a body-care line launch without a traditional marketing budget.

The first product was personal. Chafing had dogged her since girlhood, and the only fixes on the market were aimed at marathon runners and cyclists, not at women in summer dresses. So the debut item, Thigh Rescue, was engineered as an anti-friction stick that glided on dry and stayed put through sweat — a deceptively simple silicone-and-emollient format that became the line's runaway anchor and remains its identity.

From there the catalog grew by tackling the bodily realities people rarely say out loud: underarm odor, body sweat, ingrown hairs, bumps, and more. The naming stayed deliberately blunt and funny — a rejection of the euphemism and shame that usually surround these topics. That tonal choice, more than any single formula, is what separated the brand: it treated chafe, sweat, and odor as ordinary logistics rather than secrets, and spoke to its customer as a peer who'd been there. The body-acceptance philosophy Sturino had been preaching online simply became the product strategy.

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Founded
2017
Origin
United States
Heritage
Established
Type
celebrity
Verdicts
0 Strong choice · 1 Good choice of 5 assessed
6 products reviewed

All Megababe Products

Good choice dryness
No.1
Megababe The Smoothie Deo Fruit Enzyme Daily Deodorant stick Natural Deo Done Right
Megababe body care

The Smoothie Deo Fruit Enzyme Daily Deodorant

The Smoothie Deo is Megababe's most sophisticated deodorant formula — a triple-threat odor control system wrapped in a nourishing, butter-rich base that treats underarm skin rather than just covering it up. The tropical coconut-lime scent is a crowd-pleaser, and the fruit enzyme approach is genuinely innovative. It won't replace antiperspirant for heavy sweaters, but for daily wear it's a top-tier natural option.

Key Enzymes · Probiotics & Prebiotics

normaldry
4.7 (1.5k)
$14.00 $5.38/oz
Supporting role hyperpigmentation
No.2
Megababe Happy Pits Underarm Mask tube with built-in applicator Pit Detox Pioneer
Megababe body care

Happy Pits Underarm Mask

A cleverly formulated underarm treatment that goes beyond odor control to address the bumps, darkening, and texture issues that nobody else bothers to solve. The multi-acid exfoliation and clay detoxification are legit, though the niche use case and tingling sensation mean it's not for everyone — or every day.

Key Activated Charcoal · Glycolic Acid

oilynormal
4.8 (250)
$16.00 $5.33/fl oz
Promising excess oiliness
No.3
Megababe Space Bar Underarm Soap charcoal cleansing bar Best-Kept Pit Secret
Megababe body care

Space Bar Underarm Soap

Space Bar is the unsung hero of Megababe's underarm lineup — an eight-dollar charcoal bar that removes what regular body wash leaves behind and makes your deodorant work noticeably better. The combination of charcoal, glycolic acid, and tea tree oil in a nourishing, palm-free base is thoughtful and effective. At under ten dollars, it's the easiest entry point into dedicated underarm care.

Key Activated Charcoal · Glycolic Acid

oilynormal Fragrance Free
4.8 (1.2k)
$8.00 $1.78/oz
Not yet assessed excess oiliness
No.4
Megababe Bust Dust Anti-Boob-Sweat Powder bottle with pump applicator Boob Sweat Pioneer
Megababe body care

Bust Dust Anti-Boob-Sweat Powder

Bust Dust does one thing and does it well: it keeps your under-bust area dry, comfortable, and rash-free with a clean, talc-free formula. The pump applicator is a genuine improvement over loose powders, and the ingredient list is refreshingly short and transparent. It's not reinventing skincare — it's solving a specific, underserved problem with quiet competence.

Key Starches & Absorbent Powders · Kaolin

normaloily
4.5 (2.5k)
$16.00 $5.33/oz
Not yet assessed excess oiliness
No.5
Megababe Rosy Pits Daily Deodorant stick in pink and white packaging Award-Winning Natural Deo
Megababe body care

Rosy Pits Daily Deodorant

Megababe's flagship deodorant delivers exactly what natural deo skeptics need: clear application, genuinely pleasant rose scent, and enzyme-based odor control that actually works for daily wear. It won't stop you from sweating, and heavy exercisers may need backup, but for everyday life it's one of the best aluminum-free options available.

Key Probiotics & Prebiotics · Willow Bark Extract

normalcombination
4.5 (4.0k)
$14.00 $5.38/oz
No.6
Megababe Thigh Rescue Anti-Friction Stick in branded packaging The Original Anti-Chafe
Megababe body care

Thigh Rescue Anti-Friction Stick

The product that started it all for Megababe remains the gold standard in anti-chafe protection. Thigh Rescue delivers a non-greasy, invisible barrier that genuinely lasts through a full day of walking, and the addition of zinc oxide, aloe, and ginger root elevates it from a basic friction fighter to a formula that actually cares about the skin it's protecting. Nearly 1,400 reviews at 4.95 stars speak louder than any marketing claim.

Key Dimethicone · Zinc Oxide

normaloily
4.9 (8.0k)
$14.00 $6.60/oz

More about Megababe

Founded in 2017 by influencer Katie Sturino, Megababe makes affordable, functional body-care products (anti-chafe balms, deodorants, powders); these are straightforward cosmetics rather than clinically-studied treatments, and the brand's strength is solving common everyday problems rather than clinical innovation.