I Can't Wear Antiperspirant

When I was growing up my Grandma always had a glass bottle of Avon liquid deodorant next to the bathroom sink. It might have been the only kind of deodorant or perfume she ever used. My mom and I also used the Avon stuff, along with deodorant sticks. My mom doesn't like antiperspirant because she feels like it blocks off her pores and and doesn't allow her to sweat, which she sees as unnatural and uncomfortable. I have tried all sorts of antiperspirants and they all cause big, red, painful lumps to form in my arm pits after just one use.

I always thought that antiperspirant worked via some chemical signal or something. Nope, just like my mom always suspected it physically clogs the sweat glands and doesn't allow sweat to come out. Kind of creepy.

I read in a magazine last week the solution to stinky pits: extra strength antiperspirant--so you won't sweat, which starves out the odor-causing bacteria. Wow. I take a totally different approach. If my pits get especially stinky I wash them with some heavy duty antibacterial soap--chlorhexidine gluconate--the same stuff that surgeons use to scrub up. Also, I wear a stick deodorant with anti-bacterial ingredients--lavender, tea tree oil, that sort of thing.

My one complaint about deodorant is that it is nearly impossible to find in travel-size. I recently bought Ross some Old-Spice deodorant and it came with a travel-sized stick. As soon as I got it I wondered if I could reuse the container once the actual deodorant stick is used up. We'll see at some point.