Poll about underarm deodorant use

[kolamum]

Well.. I didn't vote because it depends on what you mean..

 

Did you mean deodorant or did you mean antiperspirant? There is a difference, and I don't think I'd encourage my child to use true anti-persperant. It's a personal thing, but due to it's ability to keep you "dry" it's causing your underarms not to sweat.

 

Using Deodorant {found in health food stores and occasionally in chain shops, normally aluminium free, very rarely come in stick form} does just that. It leaves a pleasant smell under there and can, when very busy or hot, need reapplying.

 

Having said that, my husband prefers antipersperant and uses it. I generally don't. some of our children are all most at the age of needing to use one or the other, and will most likely be given the later for now. ;)

[IsabelC]

I wear it most days. Occasionally I go without, to give my skin a break from the daily dose of chemicals (I don't think there's any evidence that this does any good, but I like the idea of having a break). More in winter though: in warmer weather I need it.

 

For the kids, we'll probably just wait until they are at the age where they're going to get smelly, and then encourage them to start with the gentler options (natural deoderants) and only go to antipersperant if really needed. There seems to be a disturbing number of teens who are under the impression that these products are to be used instead of regular washing, so we'll be emphasizing the idea of keeping clean first and foremost!

[Ipsey]

I just don't wear it.

I hope I'm not stinky!

 

:001_unsure:

[KidsHappen]

There wasn't an option that it for me. Prior to menopause I almost never sweat or smelled. Consequently, I almost never wore deodorant. Now that I am going through menopause I do occasionally need deodorant. If I am just going to be around the house (which I usually am) I just put a little perfume under my arms otherwise I might wear some deodorant. This happens pretty rarely and I never wear anti-perspirant.

[LaxMom]

I wear it when working (personal training... I'm in people's space) or if it's really warm.

 

I make my own deodorant and don't do antiperspirant. People are supposed to sweat.

[Chris in VA]

You don't stink and I don't wear it most of the time either.

 

BTW - the Japanese always said that foreigners "stank" in their opinion because of their diet. Japanese who ate traditional food had their own smell that was different from those who ate Western food.

 

This is interesting to me (about the food). My df gave up meat for a while because of economics, and noticed her BO basically went away.

 

Personally, I wear it every day. I do understand what the PP said about artificial smells and the natural, musky odor of humanity. I am ok with some level of that. Since my mid-30's, tho, I think my natural odor is pretty strong. I also had a painful experience in high school, when I forgot to put some on, had gym class, and then was told I stunk by a formerly nice boy. He was right, unfortunately. That could be coloring how I feel.

[MissKNG]

I shower every single morning and put on deordorant every single day. I could never go on with my day without having deordorant on or having a shower (unless I'm bed ridden sick).

 

~This is another example of the "Monk" in me!

[Heather in Neverland]

OK, don't laugh but I had no idea that one might be "philosophically opposed" to deoderant?? I had no idea that it was a controversial topic. :tongue_smilie:

 

I wear it every day because I do not want to stink. My ds started wearing it when he started to smell (when puberty hit at about age 12).

 

I wish people here would wear it more often as the body odor is often OVERWHELMING.

[flyingiguana]

Baking soda. It's amazing! If you want a buffer or nice scent, try Funk Butter. I have ZERO smell with that stuff. It's the baking soda, really!

 

:iagree:Baking soda is the only way to go for me. Doesn't cause a rash, doesn't smell funny, doesn't cost too much.

 

And I do have concerns as to whether deodorant/antiperspirant is safe to use every single day.

[momdm]

I think it depends on every bodytype. If you have B O then I would say yes to wearing deodarant if not then may be ocassionally when you know that you are going to be active.

[Julie in CA]

My df gave up meat for a while because of economics, and noticed her BO basically went away.

 

Ok, I have to ask a rude question though--her body odor went away, but how was her breath? Around here vegetarianism is rather uncommon, so I've really only known 3 vegetarians. Their breath was just...awful. I mean, *really awful*. :001_huh:

[texasmama]

I wear deodorant every day. For my children who have reached the age that they need it, I encourage and remind deodorant use every day.

[SeekingSimplicity]

When I was a vegetarian, I never had to wear deoderant. A few years ago we went though a big dietary change and I had to start wearing it. Regular brands irritate me pretty badly, so I have to go with a 'natural' brand that only half works. Pretty much, I just wear it when I'm going out of the house out of deference to others. I forget sometimes.

[Pretty in Pink]

I sweat like a man. I wear anti-perspirant daily. There is only one brand that works for me -- it is the Certain Dry solid stick.

[SeekingSimplicity]

Ok, I have to ask a rude question though--her body odor went away, but how was her breath? Around here vegetarianism is rather uncommon, so I've really only known 3 vegetarians. Their breath was just...awful. I mean, *really awful*. :001_huh:

 

It's not mainstream here either. But it was in my family when I was growing up. The only time I bad breath was when someone was going through a detox period. You loose most of the toxins in your body on your breath. Also there's good vegetarians and bad vegetarians. If they were the kind of vegetarian that didn't eat meat, but ate everything else then.... IDK.

[Julie Smith]

Ok, I have to ask a rude question though--her body odor went away, but how was her breath? Around here vegetarianism is rather uncommon, so I've really only known 3 vegetarians. Their breath was just...awful. I mean, *really awful*. :001_huh:

 

With the exception of my hubby we a vegetarians here. My eldest never has bad breath. My youngest can get morning breath.

[Ginevra]

I don't think odor always needs to equal "stink" - I think so many of us are acclimated to smelling certain aromas, which we internalize as smelling "nice" or not.

 

I feel this way, too. I don't like when people smell heavily of artificial smells, either. I do not like any of the commercial air fresheners in my house, either. (A candle is fine, but no Glade Plug-In or that type of thing.) To me, if something smells bad in the house, remove the problem. I guess my feeling is the same about the body. If you're starting to stink, you need to shower. But, apparently, a lot of people believe they stink soon after a shower, unless they have deodorant. This is what dh believes.

 

Is he urging it because she has a strong odor or on principle? If on principle, I would ask if he has ever noticed you having an odor and if not share with him your "secret" that you don't always use it. People's odors are different--and can also change during certain phases of life. (Peri-menopause was awful for odor for me! Horrible, onion-y . A few friends had the same experience. Was so glad to get through that! Adolescence can also bring a peak in odor.)

 

He said she is sporting odor. I agreed that, when she is coming from volleyball, she is sporting odor. I interpret that as needing to shower. He feels, though, that she is always sporting some odor and that deodorant is what is needed. This is where I disagreed. I don't detect any odor when she goes to church, say, or if we're home doing normal inside things.

 

It's not an important issue; I gave her deodorant/antiperspirant and said, "You should wear this every day," and she said, "Okay. I was thinking about that recently." So - meh. No problem.

 

I still find it very, very surprising that every-day wearing is in the extremely far majority. It's way different from what I expected.

 

I wear it most days. Occasionally I go without, to give my skin a break from the daily dose of chemicals (I don't think there's any evidence that this does any good, but I like the idea of having a break). More in winter though: in warmer weather I need it.

 

For the kids, we'll probably just wait until they are at the age where they're going to get smelly, and then encourage them to start with the gentler options (natural deoderants) and only go to antipersperant if really needed. There seems to be a disturbing number of teens who are under the impression that these products are to be used instead of regular washing, so we'll be emphasizing the idea of keeping clean first and foremost!

 

This is a lot of the reason why my feeling on it is if you stink, you need to clean yourself, not just put some chemicals on and call it good. :tongue_smilie:

[Parrothead]

I use deodorant/antiperspirant on an as needed basis. I find most days I don't need it.

[BatmansWife]

I still find it very, very surprising that every-day wearing is in the extremely far majority. It's way different from what I expected.

 

 

I find it surprising that people don't wear deodorant and/or antiperspirant every day. I wouldn't dream of it. I'm kinda surprised also that your 14 year old is just now starting to wear it. My oldest needed it (I mean *really* needed it) at age 5! My youngest doesn't need it yet. I can't remember when my son started wearing it...but he definitely needs it daily (I have to daily remind him). Of course...we wash too (daily showers). I don't want to be around someone who's stinky....and I certainly don't want my kids to be viewed as the stinky kid.

Edited September 27, 2011 by ~AprilMay~

[JeneralMom]

I do not wear it if I am just staying home or running out quickly. I will put it on for work or if I am going to be spending the day out in the heat. I did not have to start wearing it until I got my cycle (which was at 16.5yo) and even then I never sweated much or smelled bad (I am very smell sensitive and do know if I smell bad). I barely needed it at all for the 14+ years I was a vegetarian (and did not have bad breath either). I have found that I need it more after having children and while nursing, so definitely a hormonal thing for me.

[lailasmum]

I use anti persperant very rarely. Maybe for a formal event. I just don't like all those chemicals and fake smells. On the rare event I do wear it I will use a natural one. Dh uses it every day. Usually a natural one but not always.

 

If I feel sweaty I tend to change my top and have a wash.

 

I did noticed that when I was taking huge amounts of iron my sweat smelt more, kind of strange.

[jenniferp8]

You don't stink and I don't wear it most of the time either.

 

BTW - the Japanese always said that foreigners "stank" in their opinion because of their diet. Japanese who ate traditional food had their own smell that was different from those who ate Western food.

 

We had a brother in law telling us last weekend that as long as he doesn't eat sugar (refined/processed sugars) he doesn't need deodorant. Makes sense it has to do with our diets here...

 

My husband likes to use a Thai Crystal. A more natural alternative to the regular deodorants out there. He says it works great and I haven't noticed any problems with it working :).

[Firefly]

Personally, I don't sweat much so I'll wear deodorant (never antiperspirant) if I'm going out of the house or expect to get hot/sweaty (weekly hot yoga!) For my teen and pre-teen though, I encourage daily use. Like others have mentioned I've noticed that they seem to need daily use to keep odor under control. Hormones!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I was thinking about this thread in the shower. I remembered that a year ago? two years ago? I posted a thread about B.O. I was having trouble because even as I scrubbed my armpits in the shower with soap, it seemed to do nothing for my B.O. Since then, I've dealt with a whole bucketload of health problems and my B.O. has disappeared. Now I will get sweaty with exercise or something like gardening but once I shower, I'm good.

[Ginevra]

I find it surprising that people don't wear deodorant and/or antiperspirant every day. I wouldn't dream of it. I'm kinda surprised also that your 14 year old is just now starting to wear it. My oldest needed it (I mean *really* needed it) at age 5! My youngest doesn't need it yet. I can't remember when my son started wearing it...but he definitely needs it daily (I have to daily remind him). Of course...we wash too (daily showers). I don't want to be around someone who's stinky....and I certainly don't want my kids to be viewed as the stinky kid.

 

I'm not saying she's never had a day when she was funky. But I've never attributed all body odor to armpits. I guess I think if you work out, play volleyball, that sort of thing, of course you will smell like a sweaty towel until you shower and change clothes. I just never saw putting deodorant on your pits every day as being the sure-thing ender to b.o.

 

I cannot imagine putting deodorant on a 5-year-old! :svengo: How in the world can a 5-y-o have stinky armpits? That seems like odor-phobia to me.

[BatmansWife]

I'm not saying she's never had a day when she was funky. But I've never attributed all body odor to armpits. I guess I think if you work out, play volleyball, that sort of thing, of course you will smell like a sweaty towel until you shower and change clothes. I just never saw putting deodorant on your pits every day as being the sure-thing ender to b.o.

 

I cannot imagine putting deodorant on a 5-year-old! :svengo: How in the world can a 5-y-o have stinky armpits? That seems like odor-phobia to me.

 

Ooooohhhh......believe you me....she was stinky in the armpits at that age. :tongue_smilie: I couldn't believe it. Of course....for years and years I just had her use deodorant and not antiperspirant. But.....yeah, she was ripe. It wasn't odor-phobia. She really had stinky armpits at an early age....and no amount of showering every single day stopped it. Like I said....her sister who is almost 8 doesn't have a sign of having underarm stink yet. Ds didn't need it that early at all either. I know my kid isn't the only one that was stinky at age 5 ('cuz I've had this conversation with others in the past).

[Ginevra]

Ooooohhhh......believe you me....she was stinky in the armpits at that age. :tongue_smilie: I couldn't believe it. Of course....for years and years I just had her use deodorant and not antiperspirant. But.....yeah, she was ripe. It wasn't odor-phobia. She really had stinky armpits at an early age....and no amount of showering every single day stopped it. Like I said....her sister who is almost 8 doesn't have a sign of having underarm stink yet. Ds didn't need it that early at all either. I know my kid isn't the only one that was stinky at age 5 ('cuz I've had this conversation with others in the past).

 

Weird. I can't say I've ever heard of that. (Or, I guess, now I can. ;))

[BatmansWife]

Weird. I can't say I've ever heard of that. (Or, I guess, now I can. ;))

 

Glad I could be the one to enlighten you to the fact that there are some kids who reek at that age. :lol:

[Caterpiller]

Glad I could be the one to enlighten you to the fact that there are some kids who reek at that age. :lol:

 

 

I've known other parents who put it on their child at that age out of necessity. ;)

 

I forget to put deodorant on most days. Like today... I forgot until I saw this thread. xD haha. I took a sniff and thought, yeah i should wear it. :p lol

Edited September 27, 2011 by Caterpiller

[Ginevra]

Then I guess I need to shower about 10 times a day. If I don't wear deodorant, yes, even freshly showered, I can smell myself after an hour or two. Some people just naturally sweat more or have more odor than others.

 

But is it all coming from your underarms? And deodorant ends that? That's what I find surprising.

[Onceuponatime]

Baking soda. It's amazing! If you want a buffer or nice scent, try Funk Butter. I have ZERO smell with that stuff. It's the baking soda, really!

 

 

Yes. I take a cheap container of baby powder, empty half the talc and fill the rest of the bottle with baking soda. Give the bottle a good shake, sprinkle on every morning. I've been using this for 2 years, haven't stunk yet. :D I save the extra talc for the next batch.

 

It doesn't work very well on dh, especially when he runs or works hard.

[itsheresomewhere]

I come from a family of heavy armpit sweat/stinkers. If I don't wear it, you would know. I am working on my DS to wear it as he stinks. We mostly use a natural one but in the hot part of summer, I have to bring out the big guns.

[itsheresomewhere]

Yes, it's only my underarms. If I forget to put on deodorant I notice it as soon as I raise my arms. If I leave the house and forget, I actually have to stop at a drugstore and buy some before I can interact with people. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm envious of those who don't have this problem.

 

I am too. I wonder how much money we could save if we didn't have this issue.

[KungFuPanda]

But is it all coming from your underarms? And deodorant ends that? That's what I find surprising.

 

This is true for me too. A shower in the morning plus deodorant/antiperspirant keeps me fresh and dry all day. (I don't really sweat unless it's 95 degrees and I'm moving, or if I'm working out.) if I forget the deodorant there is a pits-only 'situation' halfway through the day.

[mommaduck]

I want to know why they still sell deoderant for men, but not for women. I can only find antiperspirent for women :glare: Unless it's Tom's or crystal (I don't like either of those). I second baking soda and baby powder. I'm opposed to antiperspirent. However, I confess to using it when I have to (honestly, I don't want to scare off any friends).

[jenangelcat]

I never use it. I don't sweat a lot nor and the rare occasion that I do, I come in and wash off.

 

Unless there is a major BO problem, it's not something I would consider mandatory.

[BetterthanIdeserve]

I so wish I had splurged and bought the clinical strength antiperspirant/deodorant years ago. It makes a noticeable decrease in the amount I sweat. One thing that's different - you put it on at night, not in the morning.

[MariannNOVA]

mitchum - every day for like 45 years

[blessedmom4god]

Seems like I need it more now than when I was younger, I sweat more.