The Best Acid Deodorants
Do acid deodorants really work? You might read “acid” and imagine your pits burning even more than they did when you tried that painful baking soda deodorant that felt like it was chewing a hole through your underarms right through to your ribs… but hear us out.
One of the best ideas that began to really gain traction in 2018 was the idea of adding acids to deodorant instead of aluminum and in 2022, we are seeing some of the most popular and long-lasting deodorants utilize this ingredient.
In the right proportions, acids are extremely beneficial to our skin. The types of deodorant or antiperspirant that utilize acids are designed to reduce the population of the bad bacteria so there are fewer of them around to cause a problem. Your skin barrier in its natural state has an acidic pH, and these acid-based deodorants do a remarkable job while remaining gentle.
We also discuss here some off-label products that had our BO gone for days.
the most effective acid deodorants:
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Lumé is probably an acid-based deodorant you have seen before with their memorable advertising campaigns. We’ve been asked about this product line a lot, and we’ve tried most of their product lines. While we found most of them to be effective, some of them are not worth the higher price tag, such as the wipes. We like that Lume has worked hard to educate consumers about body odor and attacked some of the stigmas surrounding “feminine” odor. We recommend the unscented products, as the scented ones aren't as popular. Don’t buy your deodorant for the smell, buy it because it works.
Our team has had mixed results with how long it works, but for almost everyone they got at least 24-36 hours minimum with about half our testers getting the full 72 hours of effectiveness.
The Off-Label Acid Body Odor Buster:
When researching deodorants and antiperspirants, we really went down the rabbit hole reading about the popularity of the acidified deodorant formulas.
The companies who are bringing these to market are reaping the profits of a new product that is still not being made by many other manufacturers. The acidified deodorants like Lume, Surface Deep, Kosas, and Boscia are great. They work well… and are some of the most expensive body odor treatments we've ever found. And even today, that price point is a barrier for many consumers.
Since we've all become label readers around here and also voracious consumers of what other people write about products…. we decided we'd try seeing how other skincare products containing the same AHA acids did on reducing body odor. Nobody died on Tik Tok trying it, and the hashtags keep piling up. So do the naysayers and the pictures of underarm hyperpigmentation caused by using too-strong products.
our chemist was cautionary- but also intrigued.
Understand that some people are sensitive to AHAs, and of course, products containing the concentration of AHAs that are meant to be peels or temporary masks should not be in contact with your skin for extended periods. There are many serums and lotions with AHA levels that are effective enough to keep body odor at bay all.day.long and not irritate our skin. When your natural skin barrier isn't compromised, it's naturally acidic. However, our armpits are less acidic than the rest of our bodies and combined with a moist, dark environment, making them a little more friendly to odor-generating bacteria. Reduce the comfort level for that bacteria by changing the acidity of the skin barrier in that area, and you are going to reduce the body odor. Not the sweat, the odor. You will still sweat, and for people who are accustomed to their sweat glands being shut down by a plug of aluminum salts, this may not work.
This "off-label" usage has been well-documented by beauty editors who aren't running affiliate sites solely to push products. As a group of writers funded by our affiliate relationships but ALSO dedicated to helping our readers find the best solutions to their problems, this wasn't something we wanted to just pretend we hadn't read. We don't like people having to pay more for the self-confidence to walk out the door every morning, and body odor can take that away from people.
Interestingly, we've also read that many users have discovered carefully using these products under their arms may actually help diminish the damage like dark spots and scarring left from reactions to body odor products.
I'm still mad at how much we paid for the acidified deodorants for testing, but after trying this technique, I've learned that over half of our testers *still* prefer to use a purpose-made deodorant or antiperspirant. If my underarms suddenly start showing hyperpigmentation using these products, I'll call Lume back.
Here's what we learned about off-label AHA/BHA use on your armpits:
- Use of AHA's pretty much mandates that you put on sunscreen. Of course, I hope you are already doing this, but if you aren't and start putting this on your underarms and go outside, you could be miserable and risk some long-term skin damage/scarring.
- You should never use AHAs on peeling, sensitive/irritated skin or if you have cuts or issues from shaving. Shave and wait a day if you can.
- Because you only need just a tiny bit, a solution/toner/serum bottle can last quite a long time, so a good product may initially cost more than a deodorant stick. It'll last you all year.
Here are some of our favorite "off-label" BO busters:
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- Acid deodorants reduce the population of odor-causing bacteria on the skin in order to reduce the smell they generate- body odor.
- Consider using a deodorant that is "acidified," with an acid such as mandelic or glycolic acid in order to effectively keep your body odor at bay.
- Acidified deodorants block odor, not actual sweat, so if you need something to keep the sweat at bay you may just have to stick with an aluminum-based formula.
- Off label use of certain serums, creams, and other skincare ingredients containing these acids can be an affordable alternative to buying purpose-made acidified deodorants.
