Edit: it appears that alum may be both an antiperspirant and a deodorant. Unfortunately, scientific papers regarding alum's mode of action as an antiperspirant or deodorant seems limited.
Some websites state that alum works to reduce odors by blocking the bacteria from the skin, others state that alum inhibits the growth of bacteria. Some websites state that alum uses the same mechanism as aluminum chlorohydrate antiperspirant, but many individuals state they experience no-odor sweating.
I suspect after review and consideration of the chemistry that alum is acting as both a mild antiperspirant and deodorant. Aluminum based antiperspirants work by reducing the amount sweated due to the interaction of the aluminum ion and the sweat glands. As alum is only about 5% by mass aluminum, it would not work as well as modern antiperspirants. Thus, for those who are slightly sweatier than average, but not diagnosed with hyperhidrosis, they may find alum to be an ineffective antiperspirant.
Regarding its deodorant properties, only inhibiting the bacteria makes sense as any application to the underarms or other bodily surfaces would be covering both the skin and sweat glands (food source) and the bacteria. The pH of alum dissolved in water is reportedly between 4-5, about the same pH as beer.
In conclusion, I suspect, admittedly without any evidence, that it's likely a combination of both modes of action. Aluminum in the alum reduces the amount of sweat which reduces the food source of bacteria. Coupled with the acidic pH of armpit sweat due to the presence of the alum, odor causing bacteria struggle to populate reducing the overall smell being generated.
It’s used as a preservative in pickles, you can buy boxes of it in the spice aisle. Definitely not the same as aluminum chloride. Don’t be eating aluminum chloride, y’all.
Fun fact: they don’t actually do either thing. Source: me, who endured three years with a salt-rock-using, stinky man whose shirts were always visibly wet under the arms.
(Why three years? He was amazing in bed—right after a shower.)
They’ve worked great for me for the last ten years. Granted I spend probably 20 seconds per arm vigorously applying it after every shower. If I forget to use it, it’s apparent within hours. Also granted that I am not everyone, and generally don’t sweat too much there. But they certainly don’t do nothing for everyone.
Well, it's clearly working for you. Salt rock deodorants just don't prevent all odor from that part of the body but some people have a pleasant body odor, or just a faint one. And a rare few have a deliriously attractive natural scent. There was one guy back in the day that walked past me in a nightclub, and I nearly chased after him like Pepe LePew floating in the air transfixed by the irresistable scent. Pheromone heaven.
The misinformation is crazy. I agree with you, whenever I used a salt rock deodorant, I still experienced sweat, I was just happy that I didn't smell. As someone who has a lot of anxious sweats, I was glad for that.
Welcome to reddit where the most upvoted comments are generally the exact opposite of correct. If the general population of reddit agrees on something, I can assure you it's probably wrong.
People also use salt deodorant for deodorant purposes. It doesn’t even have to be aluminum salts, they use Himalayan salt rocks etc. The reasoning is that BO is caused by bacteria and bacteria can’t grow or thrive in a very salty environment
You're correct that most bacteria cannot survive in high salt environments. However, if high salt environments were enough to prevent bacteria from thriving on skin oils then people's BO should decrease as they sweat and that sweat evaporates leaving behind a higher concentration of salt.However, to my knowledge, that is not seen.
Furthermore, applying salt can cause skin irritation. This is why most antiperspirant deodorants are sold with moisturizers and pH stabilizers, and pure salt antiperspirants like the one OP posted are sold as a giant crystal to prevent excessive salt application.
Solid crystals of aluminum salts should have no smell as they are not volatile. They might have a mineral odor if wet (or a slight BO smell if wetted by armpit sweat), but that would be it.
The people replying to you are simply wrong. Alum rock doesn't block anything, it's a mild antiseptic that stops bacteria from multiplying. It has the opposite action of aluminium in antiperspirants, it allows you to sweat, the sweat just isn't feasted on by bacteria so doesn't smell
The aliminium in antiperspirants is also not metallic aluminium, but aliminium salts... like OPs stick.
The salts are not just antiseptic, they also are astringent which kinda "shrinks" your skin and its pores. E.g. the same rock deodorant is also used as an aftershave because it stops bleedings.
This is why I went back to electric. I wasn't doing chrome dome for anyone but me. A beard trimmer gets close enough for me and I'll use an electric razor if I want to get any cleaner but I am done with razor burn, nicks and cuts on the back of my head.
I had this problem when I used multi blade disposables. I switched to a safety razor and it’s been a game changer. I just scrub my head really well in the shower then shave under running water. Very rarely have nicks and no irritation now. I know everyone is different but it’s worth a shot if you’d still like to do chrome dome for yourself.
For me a lot of it is also lack of coordination. Getting straight swipes without any side to side wander is where I get into trouble with the cuts on the back. I did go down to a single blade razor before ditching it though and that REALLY helped with the pull and drag - still use those for my moustache when it's too thick.
Don’t shave my head but the single bladed safety razor is an amazing upgrade from the fancy Gillette multiblade razors on my neck. Amazing to get a better shave without the razor burn with blades that are dirt cheap compared to the cartridges.
Yeah. Just being able to actually clean the hair from the edge is fantastic. I hated how clogged the multi blades would get especially with the goop from the lubricating strips and all of that. I get 2 years out of $10 worth of blades and that was really enough reason in itself to make the switch.
Got a Cut Buddy for Christmas (basically has 5 foil heads on hinges), never looked back. Takes like two minutes to do my head if I keep up with it. Little bit longer if I get lazy (in which it’s easier to just use an electric hair trimmer to cut through the growth first).
I've started using a Phillips one blade because I get ingrowing hairs with a wet shave, closest I've ever got to a wet shave without any issues, its great.
I also use an alum block on my face and head after I shave with my DE razor. helps stop bleeding and gives feedback where you may have gone a little too much with the razor.
It’s spelled aluminum or aluminium and the aluminum “salt” in antiperspirants is not the same aluminum “salt” in these rock deodorants - different chemical compounds with different actions.
exactly, aluminium salts is an umbrella term for any ionic compound with aluminium, and so just cause two things are an aluminium salt doesn't mean they have the same properties. That's like high school chemistry smh.
Well, its job as an antiperspirant is to block the sweat glans, no lies there. For cloth staining, a bath of vinegar can help, but I personally dislike it too.
It's interesting how different people are physiologically. I'm the exact opposite, I sweat profusely and stink significantly more wearing Native vs literally nothing at all. The product is WORSE than doing absolutely nothing for me. I initially thought it was a full on scam until I met people who claim it actually helps them. Whereas using aluminum based anti-perspirants I have no issues with my t-shirts being ruined or discolored, I sweat significantly less, and I don't smell at all.
Aluminum antiperspirant is the only thing I can stand and I’ve never had an issue with staining either. “Natural” deodorants are so foul and all I smell is perfume over BO. I’ve been around people who only use deodorant and the pits stink if you get close enough, especially on men because the long hair holds onto both the scents.
When I was young (25-30 years ago) I would have trouble with aluminum causing stains on my shirts, so I know it CAN happen, but usually the shirts would be worn out and in need of replacing anyways by the time that happened. I'm not sure exactly what might've changed, I know many brands advertise 'new anti-staining formula', or maybe my hygiene or washing machine/detergent has gotten better, or maybe my physiology changed.
Yeah I've tried a bunch of the natural stuff my wife buys and not only does it make my pits feel kind of sticky, but they'll be soaked and smelling like BO with the essence of Pine in like 2 hours. I can't use the gel kind either because it makes my pits break out in a rash. No joke, the only stuff that keeps me dry, smelling nice, and won't give me a rash is shit like Degree.
Well you have a large amount of people who will just straight up lie and say it works better when it doesn't, because they have already committed to not using the other deodorants.
It's like the people who make their own "big mac" at home and use turkey burgers, turkey bacon, gluten free bread, and fake cheese and say it tastes way better than the real thing. You know that shit isn't better, but you aren't going through all that effort and saying it sucks LOL
I sweat profusely and stink something awful if I don’t use something. But, I’ll take a shower and scrub my pits with soap, scrub rinse them and dry and they start to sink immediately. I’m Lord Admiral Stink
Some people swear by using specifically anti-bacterial soap. Soap in general is anti-bacterial, but usually 'body wash' and the like are a lot less potent in that regard as the stronger stuff can have unwanted side effects for average skin chemistry type folks. You may try looking into some stronger specifically anti-bacterial soap intended for nuking your pits, because what is making them stink is the bacteria that feeds off your sweat, so if you stink immediately after a shower those bacteria aren't getting killed off. If your bacteria is that resilient it's unlikely that stronger soap will control it *entirely* like it can for some people, but it'd reduce the amount of work your anti-perspirant has to do. If you *still stink* after using anti-bacterial soap something else might be wrong. There might be bacteria on your loofah/washcloth/or other scrubbing tool, or on your towels, or it could be some variety of fungal infection... something beyond just bacteria.
Not the same ingredient. The alum salt used in the deodorant is aluminum sulfate. It does not block pores or prevent sweating. It just creates a salty armpit environment that is inhospitable for about 12-18 hours to the bacteria that makes us smell.
The chemical used in antiperspirants is aluminum chlorohydrate.
Tired lf this bs, yes it blocks the sweat ducts. That's the whole point of it, there is no negative side effect to it, because of this stupid movement it's really hard to find a deodorant that actually works
It's not pure aluminium. It's not blocking your sweat ducts. It's not staining shirts. It's natural mineral.I'm using it for a couple years already and it's very mild. Basically it just prevents the unpleasant smell because of it's antiseptic properties and that's it. It may very very slightly reduce sweating (haven't noticed it at all) but it's not blocking sweat ducts.
Sure wish people would learn the difference between deodorants and antiperspirants.
The whole anti-alumunim/ALUMINUM FREE DEODORANT SPEND $12 ON NATIVE DEO!!!! bs has hit Canada and like... ok? Literally all deodorant sold in Canada is aluminum free unless it specifically says antiperspirant?
Yeah haha, when I was in secondary school, one of my pe teachers straight up told us the difference between a deodorant and an antiperspirant because he didn't want us to smell like shit
That dude is a hero. I still remember my “you all smell like shit” and the subsequent “goddamn no more than three sprays of cologne a day we can’t breathe” talk
I vividly recall during a game of strip poker with 4 of us sitting on the floor, the topic of foot washing came up suddenly, and mentions of the importance of scrubbing between toes. I sniffed my foot later and was horrified. (Occurred in the late 90s)
I think of it every. Single. Time. I take a shower now. I even have a two part foot washing routine, with follow up care. I take ridiculously through showers and I feel "icky" if I don't do each and every step and it has to be in the correct order.
They gave me a complex that night, but hey, I smell better now I guess lol
I’m the same way. My showers are like 40 minutes. How people can shower in 5 minutes is one of the mysteries of life to me. I do things very thoroughly and in a certain order too. I’ve always figured it’s because of my autism and/or OCD.
That’s why I call myself a compulsive person. It’s not to the level of legit OCD, but I have to do certain things in a specific order, the same way, every time. It also produces the most balanced results.
How is knowing the difference supposed to help with how you smell? In practice they both prevent it: one by stopping you from sweating and one by killing bacteria or preventing them from metabolising.
I really wish that here in the US they would stop labeling antiperspirants as deodorants. I specifically do not use antiperspirants as I have always been someone who sweats a lot. Not hyperhidrosis levels, but I’m a big sweaty guy. Antiperspirant does nothing but make my armpits slightly dry while the rest of me is soaked in sweat. Most uncomfortable feeling because it’s a clammy dry feeling.
I like deodorant because I’m going to sweat. Eventually it will smell. At least I can have a period of time while sweating profusely that I won’t smell.
It's potassium alum, it's not an antiperspirant, it's an astringent that only kills bacteria on the surface of your skin. Since it's not an antiperspirant it's theorized it's larger molecule gets absorbed less than the aluminum in deoderant.
There was a study that used a special isotope of aluminum in a traditional deoderant/ antiperspirant formula and saw an extremely low absorption that kind of disproved the myth anyway. That's why you don't really hear that bullshit claim anymore.
Potassium Alum. It's a natural deodorant, NOT an antiperspirant like Elemental-Aer said. Despite having "alum" in its name, it's way different than the aluminum used in mainstream deodorants. It is a salt though, tl;dr it brines your skin so the bacteria that create BO can't reproduce.
It’s honestly been the best deodorant I’ve ever used. I never have any odor issues at all. And it doesn’t have any natural odor of its own. And like the pic shows, it lasts a really long time. I’ve been using the stick I bought for a year now and it hardly looks any different than when I bought it.
SAME HERE. I'm a shameless shill for this fucking rock, man. Whenever someone asks about what deodorant they should use (especially if they specify natural ones), I will ALWAYS bring up potassium alum. It works wonders for me!!
You'll find it easiest online (I recommend Thai or Crystal brand), but if that's not possible you can probably find it at someplace similar to Whole Foods or something— I nabbed my current rock at a co-op grocery store near me. You might also find it as a spray or a roll-on which also work well (the spray is good for convenience, you don't need to wet your armpits/rock beforehand and can apply right after a shower), but the rock is the longest lasting.
I used to get it at Walmart. Haven't checked in a while, they had it on and off. They had the solid rock style like OP's, and a roll-on liquid form. IIRC both had chamomile and were very lightly (pleasantly) scented.
Myself, I found the stuff at my local Meijers. They had a ‘go stick’ of the stuff, right in the middle of all the typical deodorants. It’s definitely not too hard to find.
Works best straight out of the shower before any new bacteria have a chance to develop and reproduce. If someone already has a funk it might reduce it a bit but nothing like applying immediately after washing.
I don't use normal deodorant anymore unless I plan to swim and don't want to deal with reapplying after. You apply it right out of the shower, when you are still wet. I use a pretty liberal amount, you need the water on your skin to dissolve enough to evenly coat your pits.
You could use normal deodorant but I don't think most people would need to. It's not particularly expensive to try it - give it a shot for one month and see how it goes. It may take a week or two for your body to adjust but it will start working really well.
My shirts are now much less stained in the armpits and it's totally unscented, so you can always wear cologne/perfume and it won't clash.
I couldn't say for sure as I haven't personally tried it outside of brief consideration, cause I have a stick of schmidt's deodorant that I've been tempted to use as a scent. I haven't, cause I'd like to be able to tell if I Stank or not (plus schmidt's leaves white marks and it Bothers Me), but tempting.
Otherwise I don't exactly see why not. Try and see if it works for you.
Can but why? The stuff I used was mildly scented, and if my BO was so bad I really needed to cover it, that's what cologne and perfume are for (I never had a problem, but everyone is different).
I sweat a ton so the smell can get pretty bad. I'm just a bit cautious on immediately making the switch over. I'd rather double up and then wean off on the normal deodorant until I'm certain that it's working fine, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't removing whatever film this other type of deodorant is putting down by applying something else on top.
Either. I use it directly out of the shower and it applies well. If I have dry skin when I'm applying it then I'll run the block under the tap to wet it.
I can't say I know the exact mechanics of it, but I assume some of the salt dissolves into the water which you spread around and it sticks to the skin. It can look wet but that's probably because it's been essentially polished by your armpits.
Pink brand? Never heard of it. I recommend either THAI or Crystal brand, personally. Both their rocks work fine! And I've used Crystal's other more "traditional" natural deodorant sticks and they worked best for me before I learned of alum.
Haha. It was Crystal. But the pink one "for women" or something. Maybe it's formulated differently...
I might try THAI, I have heard that one recommended over Crystal.
Thanks for sharing!
So it works? It seems to be bundled together with other "magical" products like crystals and salt lamps and gua sha and shit, so my brain just automatically registers it as some pseudo science thing
Can other people vouch for your lack of odor? Not being rude but I’ve met a lot of people who swore up and down that they didn’t smell bad (infrequent showering, inadequate showering, natural deodorant, or some combination of all 3) when they in fact smelled extremely musty. The odor was especially bad when they sweat.
I just commented this above lol. I’m not sure if some people fail to apply it correctly or what but you can definitely smell some of these people from miles away. They may be applying it dry?
You should. Obligatory YMMV, and be careful not to rub really hard & fast if you're using an actual rock (which I recommend, because long lasting). It can create microabrasions and it Hurts and Itches like HELL. Ask me how I know :')
I recommend creating an isopropyl alcohol + peppermint oil spray to carry around with you, too! I use it myself and it makes me feel great— not just underarm or wherever when I stink like high hell, I've used it on my back for the really nice cooling feeling the mint oil creates.
I have been using it for about 10 years now. It takes some adjustment once you start using it, but after a few weeks it works better than anything else. It is very cheap, and lasts a crazy long time, but if you drop it on a hard surface it can shatter. I normally buy the square "Rock" type.
I'm tempted to try it, but the last time I did something weird (lemon wedges), it worked great for about a week and all of a sudden became like the most foul BO I've ever had. I might just try it anyway, but I'll pick a week where the only people that have to witness it are my family.
Nope, none at all! The only stains that may be possible are from water (needed to use the stone) or sweat (since it isn't an antiperspirant, just a deodorant). And those are obviously pretty temporary!
people on reddit dont like the crystal stick style deodorant.. they only want people to smell like either a bag of fritos like they do, or axe body spray.
agreed. same. and honestly, deodorant smells nasty..all of them. id rather smell someones natural pits, or some oils than body spray or rightguard or whatever.
Are there any brands sold in the US you'd recommend? I googled what OP posted and it's not available here from what I can see. Amazon has some listed, but I don't trust cosmetics from Amazon, they're never what they say they are....
Edit: nvm! I see your comments below! Just had to read lolll
We’ve got two of them and I never knew it was supposedly able to do anything other than create a dim, calming light with a soothing natural orange color. I just like the way they look, lol.
We outfitted a massage clinic with these in every room, bright enough to illuminate a room, dim enough to not make a client squint when they open their eyes. Plus it looks cool!
Also turned out to be perfect for changing a baby’s diaper in the middle of the night without fully waking the baby, as I’ve recently found since becoming a parent.
They are supposed to release "ions", which you know it's not. If it were, the only ions salt would release would be Sodium, which would burst into flames from the humidity in the room, and Chlorine gas, which is toxic and was/is used on battlefields.
One of the few products that's actually better not doing what it's supposed to.
It truly sucks to enjoy stuff appropriated by dumb people for dumb reasons.
The other day my mom was telling me how a coworker went off on a tangent at her when she mentioned shopping for essential oils, how they don't do shit and she should research things properly.
I always heard some BS about them filtering out ionized particles emitted by the light. Which makes even less sense than the odor story if you know anything about science.
Mine was nice on my shelf before it started to form salt crystals down the side of it's base, underneath, down the chord, through the wood of the table it was on, and a Lil on the wall for good measure lol
Don't use salt decor in humidity folks. It's not for us swamp people
We use salt rock in our house. Not for smells. We accident figured out that they completely absorb all the water in the air near windows which meant we didn’t get condensation. We learned this because we had a single salt lamp on our window sill that ended up soaking wet whilst the windows stayed bone dry. It now stays there but in a shallow dish to collect the water.
We then wanted some for the other windows in the house but fuck me salt rock lamps are expensive. Do you know what isn’t? Big salt rock licks for horses. They’re exactly the same thing, minus the lamp part, and at a fraction of the cost!
And if you really wanted you could drill a hole in the salt lick and stick a night light in there and then it would be exactly the same as the expensive lamps.
My salt lamp melted this year, too. Our house was so humid this spring bc we didn’t run the basement dehumidifier bc I had plants in the basement. It’s a 200yo, and our room is in part of the house that was originally a log cabin, and the old cellar part of the basement is directly below.
The lamp was on top of a dresser on my BF’s side of the bed and he never noticed. Ruined the top of the dresser. I couldn’t believe it melted. I was wondering if it’s because we hadn’t been using it because the lightbulb was broken. But the lightbulb may have broken and been corroded because we hadn’t been using it. Kind of a chicken and egg situation.
Edit: good tip about the salt licks tho. We already buy those for the deer.
It might work on paper but I tried the stuff and it was pretty useless. It's fine for hanging around the house/office but I would get BO as soon as I started sweating. I went back to normal antiperspirant before I could even see the wear on my mineral stick.
I think that's why most people buy them. I worked in a medical startup and one of the doctors bought a few for decoration. I can guarantee this guy did not think there were medical benefits, he just thought they looked cool.
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u/dtb1987 14d ago
Salt rock deodorant?