a peek inside the fishbowl

Remember my laundry woes the other day?

Well, I decided that I would give up my regular antiperspirant and give deodorant a try, mainly to see if it’ll save my t-shirts from unsightly staining.

FYI ? in case you’re wondering, there is a difference between antiperspirant and deodorant. The terms are not interchangeable.

“?the fundamental differences lie in the way these products work, and potentially affect health. Essentially they each use different chemical processes for minimizing body odor. Certain ingredients in either product may be unhealthy, but deodorant is frequently cited as a better alternative than many antiperspirants.

Antiperspirants contain fragrance, but they also contain chemical compounds that block the pores to stop the discharge of perspiration. No sweat, no odor.
Deodorant allows the release of perspiration, but prevents odor by combating it with antiseptic agents, which kill odor-causing bacteria.”
[souce]

I’ll thought I’d pick up some new stuff up at the pharmacy down the street. Easy! Right? Nooooo. I couldn’t actually find any deodorant. I read every label of every stick of armpit solution and other than the organic stuff (which I tried once and was unhappy with ? who wants armpits that smell like apricots?) there was nary a stick of deodorant to be found.

Why couldn’t I find what I was looking for?

Next I went to the big new Shopper’s Drug Mart at Westgate. The store is big. It’s a new concept SDM that actually carries groceries. Again, I scoured the shelves. Nothing! Was I mistaken? Or dreaming? But I looked at the men’s and sure enough, there were several brands of deodorant available.

I took another really close look at the products on the shelf. Third time’s a charm. There was one product I had missed: Adidas Absorbent-Deo. [product info]

I can see that the marketing guys have had a run at the packaging of this product. The word “deodorant” isn’t actually written on the front label and they’re trying really hard to sell it as an alternative a la “Wetness control!” and all that.

And there’s also that large “aluminum free” label printed on the cap.

Armpit smell suppression is a huge industry. This, from the FDA website:

“Sweat itself is odorless. It’s the bacteria that live on the skin and break down the sweat that cause the unpleasant odor. Keeping underarms dry and smelling good are big business. According to the Mintel Group, a marketing and research organization in Chicago, Americans spent an estimated $1.7 billion in 2004 on antiperspirants and deodorants. These products, designed for both men and women, include aerosols, sprays, pumps, roll-ons, solid sticks, gels, and creams.

[Related info in case you’re wondering how antiperspirant actually makes you stop sweating.]

Also, here is some information from the FDA about the (false) belief that antiperspirants cause cancer.

So what gives? Do women have a greater fear of sweating? Why are there so few deodorant products available?

So far my new “deo” has been pretty good. Not perfect, but better than I expected. If you see me sniffing my armpits today you’ll know why.