Do You Not Need Deodorant After All?

I’m not a doctor. This article contains no medical advice.

From what I understand, the body has two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine glands. Eccrine glands are not connected to hair follicles and secrete ‘watery’ sweat. They are found everywhere on the body. Apocrine glands, on the other hand, are always connected to hair follicles and secrete a more viscid, ie thicker, oily type of sweat. They can be found only in the armpits and the groin. The sweat they secrete contains waste proteins and fatty acids. Bacteria which thrive in these hot and humid environments feed on these waste products as well as dead skin and hair cells. Sweat from both glands is largely odorless; it is these bacteria that release a type of acid which in turn smells.¹²

There are two widely adopted solutions to this problem: deodorant and antiperspirant. Deodorant essentially works temporarily by killing the bacteria with alcohol. Antiperspirant essentially clogs the sweat glands.² I’ve tried both and I don’t like them. First, both feel sticky and make my armpits itch. Second, our bodies have evolved sweating and its cooling effect for a reason, so it probably shouldn’t be suppressed. Third, neither solution actually addresses the root cause: why the bacteria are able to thrive in those places at all.

If dead skin feeds bacteria which in turn produce a foul odor, then addressing the root cause necessarily includes removing the dead skin, not slapping alcohol on it. Likewise, solving smelly feet requires addressing the root cause instead of slapping Gold Bond powder on them. I used to suffer from smelly feet and found a simple solution that lets me wear the same pair of shoes for 15 hours a day, every day, for months on end, and I cannot smell even a hint of foul odor even if I stick my nose in my shoes after a long day. It’s wonderful. Since that solution works so well, I’ve been interested in applying it to armpits as well.

Dead skin and hair cells are not the only contributing factor to smelly armpits:

When adult armpits are washed with alkaline pH soap, the skin loses its protective acid mantle (pH 4.5–6), raising the skin pH and disrupting the skin barrier. Many bacteria are adapted to the slightly alkaline environment within the human body, so they can thrive within this elevated pH environment. This makes the skin more than usually susceptible to bacterial colonization.

My approach, which I’ve been trying and modifying for a few months now, is this. First, I scrub my armpits using these exfoliating gloves when I shower. I assume the scrubbing removes dead skin and hair cells. Second, I apply Cerave SA cream after I dry off. It contains salicylic acid, so I imagine it restores the desired pH level and also helps keep dead skin cells away. Using a more acidic body wash may work to a degree but I assume it wouldn’t help keep dead skin away as well as the cream does – then again, I haven’t tried different body washes.

Merely applying the cream without scrubbing first does not get rid of the smell. My armpits ended up smelly toward the evening. This is interesting because my feet don’t need scrubbing – for feet, the cream is enough. My guess is it’s because feet don’t have apocrine sweat glands, don’t have as many hair follicles as armpits, and aren’t as warm. (For science, I also tried only scrubbing and not applying the cream, and was still able to reproduce the smell – you need both.)

My approach has been working great so far. I used to have to choose between irritated and smelly armpits; now, they aren’t irritated and don’t smell. And my approach seems to address the root causes rather than just manage symptoms.