What's right for you?
Before deodorants and anti-perspirants were invented, different cultures developed their own unique ways to deal with unwelcome odours and sweat. In some Asian countries, alum crystals have been used to control the amount of sweat, in Russia they sometimes use vinegar, while in other parts of the world they apply lime juice and a variety of other ingredients, with varying degrees of success. These days however, most of us prefer to stick with our trusty deodorant or anti-perspirant, but do you know which is right for you?
The anti-perspirant
Modern anti-perspirants usually reduce wetness by plugging the sweat glands with miniscule amounts of aluminium salts that stay in place for about three to four days, before being flushed out. Aluminium salts also act as anti-bacterials to stop any sweat that escapes your apocrine glands from being turned into a nasty smell by the bacteria on your skin. The most effective anti-perspirants only block about 60% of sweat – they’re really only designed for reducing underarm sweat and they should never be sprayed all over your body as you may overheat if too many sweat glands are blocked.
Deodorants
Deodorants are all about smelling nice. They include both a fragrance and an alcohol (ethanol) that kills BO-generating bacteria, although it’s only effective for about 12 hours. It won’t stop you sweating, but you can spray it all over your body so you’re sweet all over. As most of us don’t have that many sweaty moments, this is often fine. And when you expect them, just use an anti-perspirant.
