Well, there’s no way around it: you sweat. And that sweat can be smelly which can be a little embarrassing when meeting other people. However, it’s a normal body function and unavoidable, or is it? When it comes to keeping odour under your armpits in check, you are faced with a hard choice: do I take an antiperspirant or a deodorant? Or maybe you’d like a three-in-one solution like from Duradry.com.

Why do you sweat at all?

Sweating is a normal body function that’s supposed to keep you cool when your body heats up. That means sweating is a simple part of our biology. In certain settings, sweating can do a bit more for your body. Sweat transports toxins out of your body for which physical activity is as good as a sauna session. As you can see, sweating does also has huge benefits for your health. However, some people tend to sweat more and faster than others. That can be down to each person’s unique biological make-up and also to the area where you live. Of course, you’d sweat more in an area that is closer to the equator than if you live further up north.

Now that we have determined why we sweat at all, you’d certainly also like to know how body odours under your armpits occur. The armpits are a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. That’s not bad either, bacteria on our skin are another natural part of our being. Sweat doesn’t have any odour at all. However, sweat is produced in apocrine glands which carry fats and proteins from your body to the outside with your sweat. On the surface of your armpits, these fats and proteins react with existing bacteria which then can create odours. Thus it’s less the sweat itself that creates body odours, but rather the bacteria.

What is deodorant?

A deodorant contains antibacterial agents that kill the bacteria on your armpits. Along with it, deodorants are enhanced with several fragrances or perfumes to keep you fresh all day. They usually work for about 24 hours.

As such, a deodorant gets rid of the bacteria and fragrances mask the odour. It can also help you to cool down in hot climates. However, they usually contain alcohol that can be irritating to your skin while the fragrances can also harm your health. 

You can apply deodorant any time you desire and suits most people that spend their time indoors. If you’re indoors, you usually don’t do much physical activity that could cause you to sweat.

What is an antiperspirant?

The best antiperspirant for excessive sweating works completely differently from deodorants. An antiperspirant creates a gel once you’re sweating which then creates a plug at your hair follicles. This, in turn, prevents you from sweating altogether. At the very least, it should massively reduce the amount of sweating.

The active ingredients blocking your body from sweating are usually aluminum salts. For sensitive skin, the best antiperspirant for excessive sweating contains aluminum zirconium. It’s also got added fragrances to make you feel fresh all day and a bit longer. 

To work best, an antiperspirant is applied several hours or the night before intense physical activity. In this manner, it has some time to act before you start to sweat a lot. It’s also important to note that it’s best applied on dry skin. If you apply it on wet skin, even the best antiperspirant for excessive sweating may not deliver your desired results. 

Antiperspirants are used if you don’t want to sweat at all. They’re an excellent choice for physically very active people, also for hikers, and if you live in a hot climate.

Aluminum salts got a bad rep

Aluminum salts remain a hot topic for discussion with rather different views. On the one hand, aluminum salts such as antiperspirants have been linked to raising the risk of breast cancer. The reason for it isn’t that the best antiperspirant for excessive sweating would keep you from sweating and thus mess with your biological system. It’s claimed that aluminum salts can have an estrogen-like effect on human cells which then may multiply a cancerous cell. On the other hand, it’s claimed there wasn’t enough conclusive evidence to link aluminum salts to breast cancer – or none at all. 

As usual, experts are quite split about this topic. The choice is ultimately yours to use the best antiperspirant for excessive sweating or not. 

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Deodorant or the best antiperspirant for excessive sweating?

Before you may choose the best antiperspirant for excessive sweating, you should double-check with your doctor if you’re not suffering from hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis makes patients sweat excessively without changes in temperatures being the cause of it. It just happens. In its primary form, researchers haven’t yet found a cause for hyperhidrosis. The secondary form of hyperhidrosis can be caused by hormonal changes, problems with the thyroid or also obesity. Even if only a low percentage of the overall population are diagnosed with hyperhidrosis, it’s worth having it checked out to tackle the root of your problem.

In the meantime, you’re aware of the different uses for deodorants and antiperspirants. Your choice should be a little easier now. Both will keep you fresh all day, whereas the best antiperspirant for excessive sweating usually works up to 48 hours. You won’t have to use it a lot.

Maybe you don’t have to choose at all

These days, a lot of manufacturers have created a combination of the best of these two worlds: deodorant and antiperspirant in one bottle. On top of that, there’s a product called Duradry that’s made for hyperhidrosis with a three-step-formula:

• A gel to apply on your armpits before going to bed. It will stop you from sweating and help the product system to work better
• Awash to clean your armpits from bacteria causing bad sweat odours 
• The best antiperspirant for excessive sweating to apply in the morning which absorbs sweat and also entraps odours