You want deodorant that says “antiperspirant” on it.
Not for everyone. Antiperspirants irritate my skin. There are deodorants that work well for me, like Dove.
Antiperspirants being harmful is not supported by any evidence or research. It is a common “old wives tale” as they say. If you sweat a lot do not let these rumors keep you from using antiperspirants.
I started using Certain Dri about 10 years ago and my extreme sweat issue has completely gone away. I apply it once ever 6 months or so and use a straight deodorant for everyday. It was a life changer for me.
Anecdotal evidence here, if I use antiperspirants for any extended amount of time, I begin to sweat from my armpits uncontrollably, as in sweat literally pours out of my armpits like a leaky faucet, and that’s not an exaggeration. I now use straight deodorant exclusively and just deal with normal sweat amounts.
If you are already using an antiperspirant and it’s not working you can increase the strength by using OTC clinical strengths or getting a prescription strength, but it also increases your risk of breast cancer. If you have hyperhidrosis there are other medical options to stop you sweating through your clothes. I take Oxybutinin at the moment but I am considering Botox to avoid daily medication.
There is no evidence to support a link between antiperspirants and any kind of cancer.
Pharmacist and doctors are just people and are susceptible to miss information just like us all. I encourage you to look into it yourself though. The National Cancer Institute and American Cancer Society both have informative articles about it because the myth is so prevalent.
this is also not really a normal thing to do, but I tried trimming my armpit hair and had a huge reduction in sweat marks and BO immediately
Another tip is to wipe down your armpits with anti bacterial wet wipes once every few weeks. It kills the bacteria on your skin and resets the biome. You’ll notice you won’t stink for a couple of days afterwards even without using deodorant. And once it comes back, it isn’t as bad or it smells a different way that your deodorant will be more effective.
