Antiperspirant: it exists to make us smell better, but a new study finds - the opposite
is true. And it actually - makes us smell worse!
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews, and for most of us - antiperspirant is as much a part of
our daily routine, as brushing our teeth. 90% of Americans use some form of it every
single day - but what if it’s doing more harm than good? Aside from all the potential
health side effects we hear about, could it actually be making us smell WORSE? Well, according
to a new study published in the Archives of Dermatological Research - that’s exactly
what it does.
Before we get into this, let’s examine what actually causes body odor. It all starts with
sweat. The sweat we secrete through our armpits, contains lipids and amino acids - that get
broken down by bacteria, and that process is what creates the distinctive body odor
smell.
Deodorants contain antimicrobial agents that kill off that bacteria, but they also contain
chemicals that replace the bad odors with good ones. Antiperspirants work the opposite
way, by physically plugging up our sweat glands with aluminum-based compounds. So where deodorants
can only mask the smell, antiperspirants actually prevent the sweat that causes it. Of course
most antiperspirants are also deodorants - so as far as body odor goes, they’re effectively
working double duty.
It seems too good to be true, and like most things - it probably is. Messing with our
body’s natural composition of bacteria, typically comes with side effects. So to test
how these products affect us, a team of researchers at the University of Ghent in Belgium, asked
6 men and 2 women to stop using any kind of deodorant and antiperspirant for an entire
month. Specifically, 4 of the subjects stopped using deodorant - and the other 4 stopped
using antiperspirant.
As a control, they recruited another subject who didn’t use either one regularly - and
asked them to start using deodorant for the duration of the month.
At several points, before, during, and after the trial, researchers analyzed each subject’s
armpit bacteria - and found that switching hygiene habits significantly altered the bacterial
communities of each and every person. Specifically, they noticed one common trend among every
subject: which is that antiperspirants led to a clear increase of Actinobacteria.
Actinobacteria is just one of many kinds of bacteria living in the armpit, but it also
happens to be the smelliest kind, and it’s predominantly associated with BO. Meaning
the very substance that’s supposed to prevent body odor, is actually making us smell worse.
Now, why on earth would something like this happen?
Well, the author of the study believes the aluminum compounds in antiperspirant - are
killing off all of the good bacteria, and allowing the bad, more smelly ones to dominate.
Which explains why only antiperspirant is to blame. By comparison, the study found that
subjects who used deodorant - actually experienced a decrease in Actinobacteria.
So, what’s the take home message here? Should we all just forgo antiperspirant, and start
wearing deodorant instead? Well… yes and no. In the long run, deodorant is probably
better for you - but it still doesn’t address the root cause of the issue, which is the
bacteria that causes odors. All deodorant does is mask them. So really, it’s the lesser
of 2 evils. But there’s gotta be a better solution out there, right?
Well, there is - and it’s exactly what the author of this study is working on: armpit
bacterial transplantation. It’s when you take away the bad bacteria from someone with
body odor - and replace it with the good bacteria from a relative of that person, who doesn’t
have body odor. So far, they’ve tried it on over 15 people,
and for most subjects - they say it brings immediate improvement, that’s often times
permanent. Obviously, a procedure like this would be used for only the most extreme cases
- but for now, it seems like a natural - and more effective - alternative to deodorant
and antiperspirant. I’ll say this much - and it’s probably
TMI - but I stopped using antiperspirant regularly a couple years ago - now I use it maybe 2,
3 times a week - and I’ve actually noticed that even though I sweat slightly less on
the days I use it, I also smell more. So, I’m not entirely convinced it’s really
done a whole lot to improve my life. That’s just me though - I’m sure some of you out
there do a lot more strenuous activities than I, so maybe consult your significant other
before you throw your deodorant in the trash. It is a courtesy, after all.
[YOUTUBE] Now to completely switch gears for a second,
I wanna mention another show we have here at Discovery, called TestTube - that’s hosted
by Trace and myself. It’s a daily show, like Dnews - but geared towards current events.
Trace did an episode earlier this week on why the US and China are investing so much
money into Africa, and it’s a fascinating angle on that whole discussion. So if you’re
interested in learning more about that, just head over to youtube.com/testtubenetwork - and
you can watch all of our episodes in one neat webpage.
In the meantime, let us know in the comments below, what you think of this study - and
if you think you could survive without deodorant or antiperspirant. Just try it for a week
- you might be surprised! That’s it for me, but thank you guys for watching!