Brands Want You to Use Deodorant All Over Your Body. Do You Really Need It?

Over the past 12 years, By Rosie Jane has become beloved for its clean fragrances spiked with botanical oils and safe synthetics. So when Johnston decided to elevate the deodorant experience, “I treated it a lot like a perfume in procedure — but it had to solve a problem,” she tells Allure. “Luckily, I had some very stinky people in my life to test its performance. The formula stops you from smelling but allows your skin to still do its natural detoxification process (aka sweat).”

Eliminating Odor Everywhere 

OK, that sounds cool, but I had to know how exactly deodorant blocks and eliminates odor to find out if I really need to invest in a whole body deodorant. 

Before diving into the mechanics, both Dr. Idriss and Mona Gohara, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Connecticut, stress the difference between deodorants and antiperspirants. The first is considered a cosmetic, but the other is classified as a drug, Dr. Idriss says. Reason being: Deodorant is “formulated with antimicrobial agents to inhibit the growth of microorganisms in the armpits,” she adds. Antiperspirants, on the other hand, block sweat glands so sweat doesn’t come out, Dr. Gohara says. 

Curie’s deo spray neutralizes order with the help of sage oil and triethyl citrate, which both have antibacterial properties and help hinder the enzymatic decomposition of sweat. By Rosie Jane’s relies on witch hazel water, which acts as an astringent to dry out sweat. 

For those who are curious, Axe body sprays take a similar route. However, it’s an incredibly harsh one. Axe’s body sprays decrease BO with a combination of alcohol denat., hydrofluorocarbon 152a, butane, isobutane, fragrance, and propane that is “flammable until dry,” according to their bottles. Of course, we all know alcohol denat. aka denatured alcohol as a disinfectant for wounds, but Axe uses it to kill odor-causing bacteria on skin. Alcohol denat. strips skin of moisture and can trigger contact dermatitis, though, as New York City board-certified dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD, previously told Allure. Other than the added fragrance, the rest of the ingredients are propellants that definitely shouldn’t be inhaled. 

Studies about whether men sweat or smell more than women are split, so taking such a potentially irritating and damaging course of action against odor is very, dare I say, Y2K. Sure, clean beauty is just as polarizing, but the latest full-body deodorants surely offer up more efficient, healthier solutions for combatting BO. 

The Necessity of Body Deodorant: Revealed

All of this sounds convincing, but do we actually need to put deodorant on parts of our bodies other than our armpits? “It is helpful to use deodorant in the areas of skin-on-skin contact, like under heavier breasts or stomach, to prevent skin maceration during high humid seasons or to prevent skin irritation from friction,” Julie E. Russak, MD, a board-certified dermatologist who teaches dermatology residents and medical students at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, tells Allure.