My beloved Dove, for example, is made up ofnearly 15 percent aluminum.
It’s thought to work by “physically obstructing” sweat glands and is thus absorbed through the skin.
It’s also possible aluminum-based deodorants and breast cancer are linked, although ithasn’t been definitively proven.
But first, I decided toforgo deodorantaltogether.
May as well jump right into the deep end, right?
Here’s what happened.
While his reaction went from “What, really?”
to “Oh man.
and eventually ending in a puking face emoji, I was not to be deterred.
I thought my first day without deodorant would be easy.
In a way, I was kind of looking forward to it.
Within a few minutes, I already didn’t like the feeling of being without antiperspirant.
“Why am I doing this?”
I’ve got this.
After having a cup of coffee, I told my husband I was thinking about washing my pits.
“I think that’s cheating,” he said while shrugging.
After I got inside, I knew I had to get out of my shirt.
I dabbed my pits with my shirt it’s true and tossed it into my dirty clothes pile.
I’ve never been so thankful for a clean laundry-scented t-shirt.
Saturday was humid in New Jersey, so even the new shirt didn’t stay clean for long.
To my surprise, it worked.
My AM pit sniff confirmed what I thought: I smelled terrible.
My signature scent, if bottled, would’ve been called Musty Onions.
Yeah, it was bad.
I was meeting friends in the afternoon and stared at the deodorant on my dresser longingly.
I shoved it in a drawer out of sight out of mind and started picking out an outfit.
Have you ever tailored an ensemble to yourarmpits?
This was a new experience for me.
The dab was becoming a veryrealpart of my life this week.
I realize this probably isn’t a running endorsement for giving up deodorant.
In the evening, I cooked dinner and felt slimy theentiretime.
All I wanted to do was take a sweet, sweet shower.
Even still, I wasn’t loving stewing in my own juices.
Why was I feeling sweatier than normal?
I decided to reach out to an expert for some answers.
Deodorant often has perfume and odor blocking absorbers, while antiperspirant prevents or reduces sweating.”
I never missed my combination antiperspirant-deodorant more.
Immediately after work, I took a shower and scrubbed away the sweat and stench.
Even though I showered earlier than I would have had I been wearing deodorant, I felt awesome afterward.
By the time I fell asleep, I didn’t smell at all.
This was a victory, people.
Day five: who needs deodorant?
By my fifth day of the deodorant detox, I was doing well.
I woke up without feeling like I’d emerged from a swamp.
My pit checks revealed I was still smelling fresh from my shower the afternoon before.
When evening rolled around and I still didn’t smell, I started to have a minor freakout.
What if Idoactually smell and I’m just not aware of it?
What if I’m so used to my body odor that Iliterallycan’t smell myself anymore?
After chasing my husband around pestering him to “just smell me,” he finally caved.
“Weird,” he said, “You don’t stink.”
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t a good idea.
By the morning of day six, it became obvious that my reprieve from stench was over.
Come the afternoon, my armpits were also super itchy.
And you all are super lucky that I work from home too I was a mess.
Assweat can dehydrate skin, I attributed my itchiness to that.
An arguably worse problem, however, was how absolutelyhorridI smelled.
It was a new kind of funk and it didn’t go away.
There was no disguising this odor, either.
I took to Google to dissect what it was I was smelling.
Before long, I realized my new fragrance could be labeled “Mildewy Washcloth.”
Not a best-selling perfume, to be sure.
Scouring others' search engine results, I found other people with weird body odors too.
Now that my week was almost up, I had some decisions to make.
Would I go back to deodorant or would I continue living without?
The sweet smell of victory
I made it!
I actually made it!
I didn’t expect the week to be so hard, nor did I expect to smell so rancid.
Slathering it on like butter its14.8 percent aluminum contentand all I was thankful my deodorant-free challenge was over.
Yet and still, I knew it was finally time to tell Dove to lose my number.
