Deodorant

Posted Sat, 06/12/2010 - 23:17 by Melissa

A reader sent in a question asking whether I use deodorant or not. When I was about 14 I started getting really conscious about sweat and anxious to the point that I started using Platinum Protection antiperspirant.It pretty much stopped all underarm sweating and I used it until I moved to Sweden last year. It was there that I started biking everywhere and having trouble with overheating. I thought it might be worth taking advantage of a mechanism we evolved to combat that- sweating. So I stopped wearing Platinum Protection and bought something I thought was called deokristall, but apparently that's just a generic name in German for mineral salt deodorant.

So I didn't stop using regular underarm protection because I was afraid of aluminum. Apparently there is some concern about it causing some harm when absorbed through the skin, though I think the scientific research is fairly inconclusive. Mineral salt deodorant is made with a salt called alum. Apparently Dr. Mercola thinks that's just about as evil as aluminum, probably because it sounds a little like aluminum. I think that's about the extent of his scientific expertise on the matter.

Either way, after quitting Platinum Protection my underarms ached for over a week, but these days I sweat normally, which has pretty much cured my overheating issue. I have adjusted my dress to suit- I try to buy breathable fabrics, but it seems like anything with sleeves does make sweat into B.O. I suspect that this isn't all negative...I notice that I find men with pungent odors after exercise quite attractive and boyfriends have said that they like my scent, but life isn't always about that sort of thing :) Since sleeves are kind of part of modern life, the crystal deodorant is a godsend. I loved the European brand I had the best, but I couldn't find it here. I tried a lavender one from Kiss My Face but I thought it smelled weirdly like yogurt. I now use the scentless Thai Crystal, which works really nicely.

I also have the Thai Crystal spray, which I use on my feet when I wear Vibrams. Since the most durable Vibrams are made with synthetics, lots of people have trouble with them smelling a little off. Using the spray on your feet before and then on the shoes after seems to fix that for me. I see they also make a foot powder and a special foot spray, but they didn't have that at my coop.

Comments

Late in the game comment. I

by TPSW - 06/18/2010 - 11:14

Late in the game comment. I read somewhere about using milk of magnesia applied with a cotton ball or pad. Does not stop sweat but does get rid of stink. I have been doing it for about 2 months and it does seem to be working. Working in near 100 degree temps that only go down to 80 degrees overnight. And, yes I do smell my own armpits to monitor, lol.

One more things about scents,

by Erin - 06/15/2010 - 20:13

One more things about scents, men, if your mother/sister/daughter says you smell bad, don't listen/get a second opinion as they are genetically related and will naturally find you stinky (unless they are pregnant or on the pill). It's okay cause it's their body saying you're not a good mate choice.

When I was going through

by Erin - 06/15/2010 - 20:10

When I was going through puberty, I used the platinum and it mostly stopped the sweating. Now that I'm older, I don't need the strong stuff and only a little of the regular anti-perspirant is all I use.

As to the nice scent after a workout, that's pretty normal. In female mammals, males who is unrelated/genetically different have scents that the female will find nice. Related/genetically similar males will smell bad to the female. It is a way to help prevent inbreeding and determining genetic differences so females can choose their mates well. It does occur in human males, but to a smaller extent than in woman. When woman are pregnant, the reverse is true, as a woman can trust that a related male is less likely to help with the child rearing and not to harm the child. What is truly interesting is that women on the pill interpret mens' smells like pregnant women, so mate choice is perhaps not as genetically ideal as a woman might want.

Thanks for recommending that

by Primal Toad - 06/14/2010 - 08:27

Thanks for recommending that spray for the vibrams. I have had mine for about 3-4 weeks and have not had any smelly problems yet. But, I am sure they will come. When they do, I will have to buy the spray.

I've had excellent results in

by fearsclave - 06/13/2010 - 22:01

I've had excellent results in terms of Vibram odour management by buying a bag of aromatic cedar shavings at my local pet store, and stuffing a couple of nylon sockettes I borrowed from my wife with the shavings. I put them in the VFFs when I'm not wearing them. I can go a lot longer between washings now.

I feel like it's my mission

by Sarah - 06/13/2010 - 21:53

I feel like it's my mission in life to evangelize about using plain baking soda as deodorant. In my younger years I used all the nasty anti-perspirants, in my 20s I used all the natural deodorants (including the crystal kind), and then I discovered baking soda, and it blows *everything* out of the water.

I rub a little coconut oil between my hands, rub them on my pits, and then dust some B.S. between my hands, and pat it on top of the slightly-oily skin. Try it, you'll be amazed...

Hat tip to http://www.birthroutes.com/2009/11/the-many-uses-of-baking-soda-deodoran...

In related news, Richard over

by rwac - 06/13/2010 - 16:04

In related news, Richard over at Free The Animal now goes soap and shampoo free.

What do you think about that and have you considered it?

I have to say that I sweat

by ephant - 06/13/2010 - 14:35

I have to say that I sweat much more now and my poo smells much worse than when I was vegan.

Back in the day I was dating a guy with multiple chemical sensitivity so I just stopped using deoderant, makeup and perfume entirely.

Since I became Omni i've noticed that I start to sweat much more easily. (also gained 2-3 kg so not sure if it's actually that which means I'm sweating more) I'm not close to anyone who gets terribly unwell from chemical smells anymore so I started to wear deoderant... but it appears that I'm allergic to pretty much every deoderant there is. Even the unscented/sensitive skin kinds make my underarms really unbearably itchy. Possibly exacerbated by the fact that I don't shave my armpits so even a small amount of deoderant can't be sweated away? Not sure. So I am using an Alum crystal now which doesn't irritate me and seems to work okay.

Sorry to say, but alum

by kayell - 06/13/2010 - 13:21

Sorry to say, but alum doesn't just sound like aluminum, it contains aluminum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum Apparently the form in the Thai Crystals is not absorbed as readily as the forms in conventional anti-perspirants, but it is absorbed to some extent.

If you want to control odor and aren't worried about sweat, baking soda, sage, rosemary, lavender all work well. The alum products are anti-perspirants - they stop sweat. I'm one of those that thinks that sweat, as a natural form of elimination, is a good thing not to stop.

I've used many natural

by Erin - 06/13/2010 - 11:25

I've used many natural deodorants over the years and most were rather disappointing.
The best two I've used, by a long shot, are Dr. Mist (a Dead Sea mineral spray- it even keeps working on the second day when I don't shower! It's also popular with BO support groups)) and fresh lemon juice, which also tends to still work on day 2!
I learned about the lemon juice from a friend who had an aunt with a serious BO problem and tried everything. Out of desperation, she used lemon juice one day and found it to work amazingly well! When I do sweat while using the lemon juice, my sweat smells slightly sweet- like brown sugar, which is nice:-)

here just a little tip i like

by rachel - 06/13/2010 - 10:20

here just a little tip i like to use for underarm stinkyness. essential oils. a little dab of something like lavender,jasmine, or eucalyptus, really helps. when you heat up so do the oils releasing a lovely natural fragrance. others ones that work are orange, pepperment, tea tree(which is an anti-septic)ylang-ylang, cedarwood, and sandlewood. pretty much anything that you think smell nice would work, but i recomend testing it out on your skin before you buy it, b/c the oils are so potent certain ones may be irritating to your skin.

I've pretty much noticed that

by JGibson - 06/13/2010 - 07:28

I've pretty much noticed that since going to a "clean" diet, my BO is almost non-existent. Yeah, if you stick your nose in my pit, or if I've been working out for a while, you'll smell something, but it's nothing like it was before. Strange thing is, my clothes tend to smell worse than I do. Even wearing cotton. I just keep a spare shirt in my bag for those times when a shower's not convenient. Seems to work well enough. Of course, there could be some denial going on here. :P

QUOTE: "Apparently there is

by The 50 Best Health Blogs - 06/13/2010 - 04:51

QUOTE:
"Apparently there is some concern about it causing some harm when absorbed through the skin"

That sounds reasonable, but I would think the same would be true of any chemical which is applied to the skin.

Jim Purdy

Yeah, I also find women's

by Chris - 06/13/2010 - 00:16

Yeah, I also find women's natural scents can be nice and have been complemented on my smell post-work-out. However, that doesn't happen every time. There's a line between raunchy and rank. Some personal observations: (1) the good smell usually comes after prolonged periods of sweating like long bike rides, not after weight-lifting or sprints; (2) if work-out clothes develop any sort of that gym rankness, post-work-out smell goes direct to rank without the raunchy interlude; (3) for some reason, anxiety influences sweat odor far more than length of time sweating or amount of sweat.

In general, I've discovered that any sort of synthetics change odors for the worse. I got rid of foot odor by switching over to all leather shoes and sandals and 100% natural socks. Also, unpleasant underarm odor was greatly reduced by getting rid of any sort of blended fabric shirts.

I only use minimal fragrance free ("sensitive skin," not "unscented") products now, and now other men I work with usually smell to me like awful combinations of BO and over-perfuming. I know grown men who use Axe products, and I don't know how their intimates keep from throwing up. That is vile, vile stuff.

Also, my shit doesn't stink. No, seriously. Working in a hospital has pretty well confirmed my personal observation that if you are free of illness, eating small amounts of good food, hydrated, and sleeping and exercising regularly, poop comes out on a regular basis in small well-formed blobs that don't smell very much and leave little residue. Get thrown off that routine and all hell breaks loose.

So true about the anxiety.

by lena - 06/17/2010 - 14:59

So true about the anxiety. Whenever something scary happens - like just yesterday when some idiot who was old enough to know better jumped in front of my car - I immediately stink up.

Weird thing is, I actually don't sweat much at all, but I do get BO. The deodorant crystals have been amazing. I'm not sure how well they work as antiperspirants, since people I know who use it tell me they still sweat like they normally do but they don't get BO. Everything else out there just doesn't cut it. Baking soda doesn't work (and it burns like a bitch), coconut oil is hit or miss, and essential oils just result in perfumed BO.