The trend of the use of antiperspirant spray on the entire body to eliminate the bacteria that causes the bad smell when you sweat is sparking debate among specialists.
“It’s a comically absurd money grab and a questionable idea,” Sarah Everts, professor at Carleton University and author of the Joys of Sweat told CTV Morning Live on Thursday.
She says deodorant sprays contain antiseptics that kill the bacteria that causes the strong smell in your armpits. She notes that they also contain perfume.
Spraying deodorant on your whole body not only kills the bacteria that causes the bad odour, but also kills the beneficial bacteria that help protect against pathogens, she explains.
“We have body odor. The most of which come from your armpits, but you know, you smell like you and people who love you, love you for that kinda low grade odour,” she added.
According to Everts, the companies that are selling the product are just aiming to make more profits. She says that those companies thought that if they get people to spray the product on their whole body, they run out of it quicker, which results in more sales.
“This is something that goes back a 100 years, when deodorants and antiperspirant were introduced as products at the turn of the 20th century, nobody thought that they needed them. Most people (were) using soap and water to wash and then perfume,” Everts added.
Everts adds that companies managed to get you to use deodorants on a daily basis by introducing something called “whisper copy.” She says the whisper copy “effectively strategize telling women and then men ‘if you stink, and you stink, people are secretly talking about how you stink behind your back, and guess what is going to interfere with you getting a husband?’” she added.
It was the time of the great depression when those companies started targeting men in their ads, Everts notes. The idea was that men are going to have social exclusion if they smell badly, she explained.
She stresses the importance of embracing who you are and your own scent, noting that though it seems tempting to smell like citrus juice or spicy, “nobody is duped.”
Instead of spraying your entire body with a deodorant, she suggests using sunscreen or perfume.