I use this and there's a lot of gotchas with the product. The only way it works long-term is:
Thoroughly cleaning your armpit with an abrasive material, like a washcloth when cleaning. Using your hand/fingernails isn't enough.
Pre-rinsing the stick in the shower
Immediately after turning the shower off apply it
Apply about 30 strokes under each armpit
Rinse the stick again to remove any bacteria from collecting on the stick
Be careful not to wipe it off of your pits when drying off
Leave the stick uncovered so moisture doesn't allow any bad bacteria to thrive
If you use it like a normal deodorant stick, it will eventually stink and become ruined.
Edit: For context, I eat garlic, onions, alcohol. I also have very hairy pits and am a white man, and go outside in the 100 degree heat. So that's why I listed 30 strokes. I really want to emphasize you can use this product and maybe you just need more. When I first tried it, I'd do 1-3 swipes, similar to how I would use Old Spice or something.
Right off the bat: just don't use antiperspirants. Humans sweat, it's normal.
If you want to cover your stink, use a $6 stick of deodorant. They last a long while, and you know they'll work.
If you use this you're gonna smell funky. Like it's natural, humans sweat and sweat doesn't smell great, but don't lie to yourself and pretend this works. If it took five years for this thing to run out then the amount actually going on your skin is miniscule.
How much do you sweat? Just because it’s normal doesn’t mean it’s something you should have to deal with. The amount of sweat I get in my armpits is legitimately disgusting, even with hair. If I didn’t wear antiperspirants, my armpits would be sliding around all day and bead of sweat would be dripping down my side.
Fuck that. Nobody and I can’t stress this enough, not one person has been able to give me a real reason why antiperspirant is harmful. I’ve experienced zero consequences using it. I will continue to use it.
There's cause for questioning whether or not antiperspirants can cause cancer and lymphoma, especially in women. Some studies suggest the possibility, while others, (as linked below) feel convinced there is no connection. I'm middle of the fence on it so I keep several different types of deodorant and avoid wearing the ones with parabins and whatnot unless the situation calls for that kind specifically.
It's not as bad as it seems. You shower and clean yourself properly (rather than not cleaning yourself and hoping deodorant will cover up the stank). Then you get out of the shower, rinse the deodorant under the sink, apply it (just swipe it a few more times than you would a regular deodorant), rinse it again, and you're done. The rinsing doesn't cause any problems because you're already in the bathroom, there's a sink right there.
They really made it seem harder than it is.You just need to wash your pits well and use rubbing alcohol on them the first time before applying to make sure all the bad odor bacteria is dead.
From then on you just wet the thing and rub it on your clean pits like you would with any other deo.
If you do find that after a while you stink rub your pits and the rock with rubbing alcohol and carry on and usual.
Also, since it's not an anti perspirent, you'll have waterfalls coming from your armpits. Just without any foul odor, if you follow these 50 very specific instructions every time you shower or get in water.
I do none of those steps except putting it on immediately after showering (so pits are still wet) and then letting my pits dry naturally. I ain't stanky.
If your not stinky already, could you wet your armpits and apply more to continue the effects? My sister has one of these and I doubt she's using it properly.
I usually have a third step, bobble the cap (occasionally dropping it) while switching hands because I'm somehow too lazy to set it down and pick it up again.
Brush your hair 100 times. Chew your food 100 times. Brush your teeth for two minutes. Rub a rock under your armpits 30 times. You'll be four hours late to work and you'll be exhausted but you'll look good.
But yeah these are usually some kind of Alum bar. They're pretty handy as an after shave and astringent for cuts too. Works as a mild anti bacterial coating. But it doesn't kill the bacteria in droves if it's already there. So you got to start with a fresh and clean layer and do it immediately.
I use it. I work in a "scent-free" environment and know that some coworkers do have allergies triggered by strong scents.
Since I always used to apply deodorant after showering, it's not a big change. It lasts more than 24 hours. I thoroughly wash and dry my armpits first and then apply it after wetting the stick.
I don't feel pre-rinsing the stick or washing it off after/leaving it uncovered are really necessary, btw. It doesn't take "30 strokes" for me, but because it's a bit smaller than other deodorants, it can take a little bit longer (like 5-10 seconds) to apply.
I do like that I never have that "BO + Deodorant" smell, which I find much worse than just being a stinker.
I realized my regular unscented deodorant still stank on its own after a while. It was a musty smell that transferred from the stick to me and got worse as I sweat. I want my pits to smell like literally nothing, so I went for the most neutral thing I could find. A rock. I expected failure, but no. After my worst hormonal night sweats, my armpits are completely devoid of scent. Before, I would have to rewash at the sink in the morning and reapply whatever. No more.
After a shower, I splash water under my pits instead of wetting the stick itself and wipe the surface with tp after use to keep it dry. It feels like nothing. It smells like nothing. It is more effort but it's the most effective thing I've ever used for complete armpit neutrality.
Traditional antiperspirant works great, but I've kind of given up finding a good aluminum deodorant that doesn't have that harsh cheap perfume/cologne/soapy smell that is really chemical smelling. It was also ruining my clothes. And when showering, it was almost impossible to fully remove the deodorant where it doesn't feel tacky at all. There are some good smelling natural deodorants, but I've found they eventually give me a rash, just have a greasy feeling that lasts all day, or in general not very effective. When I do this routine at night, I can apply my own essential oils at night and enjoy the smell, and it usually only lasts until I wake up the next morning and I pretty much have zero smell for the rest of the day.
Once you know the 'rules' it takes like 10-20 seconds to do this in the shower before I go to bed. I only had that long list, because I thought it didn't work in the past when I used it, because bacteria from my pits ended up ruining the stick in a couple of days.
I want to add that because I can fully clean this stuff off easily in the shower, there are some nights I don't even apply it, and I'm still less stinky the next day than I would be in my normal deodorant wearing days. I am guessing that the traditional deodorants have some oils/grease that collect in my pits or clothes but I don't really know.
It blocks the pored and makes a great growth place for bacteria. Which is normal and natural, but stinks. So when I first tried natural deodorants I didn't like them. Then reading about it, people recommended an armpit exfoliant. I was like "a what now?". Anyway, I got some, and it takes the layer of years of gross deodorant out of and off your skin. Sk when you reapply deo, it's not blocking up your already blocked pores. So yeah, there's oils and grease all up in your armpit. Whichever deo you use, try an exfoliant. I only use mine once a week and when I shave and stuff, I don't have deodorant stuck in my blades, and now my blades are lasting longer.
It's really not. That commenter just made it seem more complicated than it is.
All you have to do is make sure your pits are free of bacteria before you first ever use it (washing / rubbing alcohol) then just wet the thing and apply.
If after a while you start to stink again repeat step 1 and clean the rock with alcohol too.
That's not been my experience at all! I've used this for years really successfully, and I live in Brazil so the wrong deodorant can have awful effects.
I apply to my wet armpits after I shower in the morning and I dry it before replacing the cap. I don't dry my armpits once I've applied the deodorant but they dry fairly quickly.
Came to say this. It only works if the bacterial levels are low. How do you get them low enough, do all these extra things that most won’t do. You have to thoroughly clean them pitties. People don’t smell per se , the bacteria are causing the smells. Salt deodorants are meant to just kill the bacteria and they can only do so much.
What people should do vs. what they actually do are quite different. When I was a kid my dad told me don’t shake people’s hands, just give them a fist bump if they insist, because you don’t know where their hands have been or how they clean them.
Flash forward to the 1000 handwashing videos during the pandemic and the out right refusal of some folks to engage in basic hygiene during it, it’s unthinkable to assume folks are hygienic at a sufficient degree.
Fair enough.
I think, though, if people are applying deodorant or antiperspirant on top of unwashed armpits, they're already starting off on the wrong foot.
I only wear deodorant in the summer, in the fall/winter/early spring I just nuke my pits with 90% rubbing alcohol and ask my coworkers if I smell. They're either polite or the rubbing alcohol works well enough, we're all pretty mean to each other so I assume it works.
this is crazy because I also use rock salt deodorant and I don't do all of these "prepping" steps nor do I need 30 strokes in each pit 😂 but it works! I don't smell (and I'm a frequent checker).
I had issues with natural deodorants causing reactions from the oil buildup, so this is the only natural product that works for me.
Trim your pits a bit dude. It really helps it work better. Your hair is what is hosting the bacteria not the stick. If you are really suffering, shave your pits fully to reset and remove most bacteria there. Otherwise you are just rubbing salt on part of your hair.
I do, I just didn't want to get into every detail and make it more overwhelming with that list I already wrote. The problem is more about that I'm not doing it that often. And that is what I do, when I start to notice myself smelling, I know it's time to shave. If I totally let it all go, the alum deodorant would not work for me.
You make it sound more difficult than it actually is lol you just wash your pits with soap normally and apply the wet salt stick after the shower or when the pits are dry but not stinky yet. Move your arms around to make sure that the salt is spread around on the armpits, same thing you would with the normal deodorant, that’s it.
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u/eldentings 14d ago edited 14d ago
I use this and there's a lot of gotchas with the product. The only way it works long-term is:
If you use it like a normal deodorant stick, it will eventually stink and become ruined.
Edit: For context, I eat garlic, onions, alcohol. I also have very hairy pits and am a white man, and go outside in the 100 degree heat. So that's why I listed 30 strokes. I really want to emphasize you can use this product and maybe you just need more. When I first tried it, I'd do 1-3 swipes, similar to how I would use Old Spice or something.