What to Expect When You Stop Wearing Deodorant

How to Manage Odor Without Deodorant

If you decide to skip deodorant, you can still minimize the odor your body creates.

1. Wash With Antibacterial Soap

Using an antibacterial soap daily under your arms and in other spots where you may have body odor could have a similar effect as deodorant. Scrubbing with a soap or wash may counterbalance bacteria, just as using an antiperspirant might, and its scent may mask odor.

“The bacteria and sweat on the skin interact to create body odor, so reducing sweat, bacteria, or both is the best way to combat body odor,” Campbell says.

2. Try Benzoyl Peroxide

Use of benzoyl peroxide on the skin is typically a way to address acne issues, but it also can help reduce bacteria linked with body odor, Campbell says. Be aware, though, that it can stain or bleach clothing and cause dry or irritated skin.

3. Go for a Gentle Acid

Using a product that contains glycolic acid or salicylic acid could help reduce bacteria.

“It creates a more-acidic skin environment to offset the alkaline pH often caused by soaps, which makes it inhospitable for bacteria related to odor-causing skin flora to take hold,” says Alicia Zalka, MD, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine in Connecticut. “It also reduces sebum oil deposits on the armpit skin, which further reduces the odor process, and works as a gentle exfoliator to remove dead skin cells and other clogging elements.”

These acids alone don’t affect perspiration or mask body odor, though. Skin irritation also is a possible side effect.

4. Consider Trying a Stronger Dermatological Treatment

Botox is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address excessive sweating, known as hyperhidrosis. Getting injections of it may reduce underarm moisture by 82 to 87 percent for 3 to 12 months. It also may reduce odor.

“It works by blocking the nerve signals that instruct the sweat glands to become active,” Campbell says.

A stronger, FDA-cleared treatment called miraDry may go a step further by using thermal energy to destroy sweat glands altogether, Campbell says. It also can reduce sweating by as much as 82 percent, but results may vary by person.

Neither option is cheap, though, and your insurance plan may not cover these types of treatments. You can ask your doctor if either option might be right for you.

5. Live With It

It’s possible that you may be a person who doesn’t produce much sweat or body odor, regardless of using deodorants and antiperspirants. Campbell says that sweat and body odor also may be the result of various factors, including:

Genetics
Anxiety
Medications
Heat
Food and beverages, including those with caffeine and alcohol

In addition to exploring lifestyle changes that can address things that make you sweat, you also can simply get to know your unique scent. Research has shown that we may be drawn to others because of their natural body odors.

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