Your face, armpits, back, hands and feet are some of the sweatiest parts of your body. Unpleasant odours caused by sweating can make you feel quite uncomfortable and may prompt you to choose an antiperspirant to mask the smell. Yet, sweating is good for your body.
Why Do We Sweat
As soon as we make any sort of physical effort, experience stress or are exposed to extreme heat, our body temperature rises. Sweating is the body’s way of cooling itself down and lowering its temperature. Therefore, as a physiological response, sweating (or perspiring) prevents overheating and regulates body temperature.
Sweating benefits
In addition to regulating body temperature, sweating also helps to improve blood circulation and evacuate toxins. Sweat also offers aesthetic qualities by exfoliating the skin and unclogging pores.
What Causes Unpleasant Odours
When we perspire, sweat evaporates through our pores. Mostly composed of water and mineral salts, sweat is odourless until it quickly mixes with bacteria present on the skin’s surface, which is what creates the bad smell.
How to Get Rid of Odours: Deodorants vs Antiperspirants
Deodorants and antiperspirants are the two most popular options available on the market for eliminating odours.
By definition, the role of an antiperspirant is to prevent perspiration. It reduces sweat flow while masking odours. Most traditional antiperspirants are made with aluminum salts (aluminum chlorohydrate, aluminum chloride) that block perspiration by forming a layer on the sweat glands. Also composed of an antibacterial agent, they eliminate the bacteria responsible for bad odours.
On the other hand, deodorants or deodorizers contain only antibacterial agents and usually consist of clay powder, baking soda, lemon, sage or essential oils. They help to eliminate the bacteria responsible for unpleasant odours without blocking sweat. Free of aluminum salts, they maintain the physiology of sweating. Seeing that most ingredients are easily found in your kitchen or bathroom, if you’re truly motivated, you can actually make your own homemade deodorant.
Browse our natural deodorants collection, we have chosen products that are good for the body and don’t inhibit its self-regulating abilities. As such, only deodorants made without aluminum salts are sold in our boutique. Several formulas are made without sodium bicarbonate or essential oils to adapt to the most sensitive skin types. Time to try these body-friendly options and sweat it out this summer!
