However, there’s a growing trend for skipping it entirely. Call it the pandemic effect, but in 2020, a lot of people stopped wearing deodorant every day, and some have stuck with the habit.
I’m about to stop wearing deodorant
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The question is: do we actually need to wear deodorant?
“Deodorant, anti-perspirant, body spray, ‘au naturel’ – everyone has their preference for dealing with our body’s ability to sweat and our level of body odour,” says Cheryl Lythgoe, matron at Benenden Health. “If you normally wear an antiperspirant, then these work by decreasing the amount of moisture that reaches the skin surface through plugging or blocking the sweat glands, thereby lowering the odour-causing bacteria commonly known as ‘BO’.”
“Let’s not forget that sweating is vital for regulating body temperature and that the consequences of that system failing can [in extreme circumstances] be fatal,” explains Dr Lucy Glancey, founder of Dr Glancey Clinics. “There’s actually only a very small [proportion of the] population who have a gene that prevents them from producing underarm body odour, but the majority of us do and that’s entirely normal.”
“Wearing deodorant works by lowering the levels of odour causing bacteria that lives in the underarms and blocking the wetness of the sweat reaching the surface of the skin; think of it like a plug,” she adds.
You might have heard the theory that there will be a brief period of bad odour after you stop using deodorant, but after this ‘reset’ your body will adjust.
Lythgoe says there’s little robust research into whether this is true, but some schools of thought buy into it and think “the body will eventually settle into a natural rhythm and the initial symptoms may lessen”.
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Whatever your deodorant preferences, Glancey says there is “evidence to suggest that if you’ve been wearing the same deodorant over a prolonged period of time, your body may become immune and therefore it could be time to go au naturel or make a switch of brand.”
What actually happens after you stop using deodorant? Lythgoe says: “Our bodies are as different as our faces and we each have a different genetic make-up and reactionary response. When you combine this with individual activity levels, I’m sure you can understand the variety of responses.”
Even though natural deodorants are growing in popularity, she warns not to “expect mass protection,” but if you’re someone who really doesn’t sweat much, they can be a good way to give your body a break from some of the chemicals used in regular deodorants.
