For pits, boobs and feet, the all-over body deodorant that stormed the US comes to Ireland

For the last 18 months or so, all-over body deodorant has been storming the US as a way of limiting body odour in areas outside of the armpits.

Underboob sweating, feet, backs, and men's privates are the most popular areas people like to treat with a body deodorant, and it became a hot topic around the issue of menopause and hot flushes.

Not suitable for the face, so no applying it to your upper lip or elsewhere, but what is it about these deodorants that has made them so big in beauty in a very short while? Here is how they work.

Body Deodorant

There is a big difference between deodorant and antiperspirant. The former creates a pleasant smell on the surface of the skin and may use drying powders like tapioca, arrowroot or others to help control sweat with added fragrance.

Antiperspirants, on the other hand, generally rely on aluminium salt to block the production of sweat in the pores as well as add fragrance. Quite often, you see the two together in an antiperspirant deodorant so you get both benefits. However, for the first one body deodorant arriving in Ireland, there is no aluminium salt involved, and there isn't any in the next brand that arrives on St Patrick's Day.

Body Odour

Everyone sweats, that's a fact, but the reason why people get BO is because sweat creates a feeding frenzy for microscopic bacteria on the surface of the skin.

This odour can vary from person to person, but for most of us, washing the skin daily removes the bacteria and our skin will smell fresh all day. However, the reason why body deodorant seems to have been such a big hit in America is because people seem to think that all sweat produced on the body will cause BO, but that's not the case.

Armpits

We have sweat glands all over our bodies but they are not all equal. Any clean person sitting in the sun will sweat profusely, but the sweat on your back, chest or tummy tends not to smell of anything because this sweat is produced by eccrine glands.

The armpit glands are apocrine glands where the gland opens up in a hair follicle. The sweat here has urea, proteins, fats and compounds bacteria loves to feast on and the resulting bad odour comes from that process.

New Beauty

The new aluminium-free Sure all-over body deodorant comes in three formats - stick, spray and lotion in four different scents (€8.99 each) and the next to arrive in a few weeks is a roll-on stick.

As long as you stay clear of the face and broken skin, body deodorants are safe to use to help feeling fresh all day. They may well be of benefit for sudden hot flushes, overheating on warmer days and after working out, but if excess sweating or extreme body odour is a concern, you should consult your doctor.

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