ANTI-PERSPIRANT NEWS IS THE PITS

It’s something most of us do on autopilot. Wake up, pee, shower, and spritz our pits. Who knew that after all of these years, we were totally wrong.

The internet has been ablaze with this ‘mind-blown’ news, informing us all that first thing in the morning isn’t the optimal time to apply anti-perspirant.

Turns out (brace yourselves) anti-perspirants actually work much better if they’re applied at night.

“This gives the best possible results as it helps to block the sweat glands when least active and also causes the least skin irritation,” explains Perth-based dermatologist Dr Tony Caccetta.

To clarify, deodorants and antiperspirants are totally different things.

Deodorant is like ‘makeup’ – it covers up bad smells with a pretty fragrance like ‘fresh cotton’ or ‘pine forest’.

Anti-perspirant on the other hand targets sweat production with aluminium compounds, temporarily plugging your sweat ducts to keep you dry. There are of course hybrids of the two, but that all comes back to whether or not your deodorant contains aluminium.

It’s better to apply anti-perspirants at night because our natural sweating rate is decreased, says A. Yasmine Kirkorian, an assistant professor of dermatology at Children’s National Health System.

Using it in the morning is like trying to plug a dam as water rushes in; applying at night builds a stronger dam before the storm hits.