Can we talk about perspiration? I’m a man. A man with hair on his chest, love in his heart and sudoriferous glands under his arms. I think, therefore I perspire.
I’m not one of those moist-faced dudes who look feverish despite being in the best of health. But suffice it to say that if I go on a 45-minute run, you could water a ficus by wringing out my shirt. I sometimes evaluate how hard I’ve exercised by the size of the peninsula of sweat that appears on my baseball cap. Sometimes when the sweat dries, it leaves a little shoreline of salty deposits behind.
I’ve always been an antiperspirant man. I’ve read the claims about antiperspirants causing Alzheimer’s, but I’d rather forget a fragrant life than live a smelly one.
I’ve tried deodorants over the years, but they haven’t proved, shall we say, Strong Enough For a Man. I remember, in my university days, trying one of those crystal deodorant sticks–truly a New Age solution for an old-school problem. If memory serves, the crystal stick was pink and odourless, and about as effective as rubbing a parsnip under my arm.
I’ve only begun my search for gold-standard (sourced, manufactured and designed in Canada) antiperspirant or deodorant. I suspect that I’ll have difficulty finding anything as effective as good old ‘sport scent’ (surely a misnomer–aren’t I trying to avoid smelling like sports?) Speed Stick antiperspirant.
I’m starting with some tea tree deodorant from Green Beaver. How could I resist the hockey player on a frozen pond on the label? It’s not entirely sourced in Canada, but a good place to start. I’m deploying it twice a day.
Have you got any suggestions for a, uh, pit stick manufactured and, ideally, sourced in Canada?
Ha, ha, ha! I don’t know of any Canadian sourced deodorants but I do know it will take some time to lose the “funky smell” once you switch from antiperspirant to deodorant. Carry the deodorant around with you for a few weeks so you can deploy it a little more often in the beginning.
Honest, that smell will go away! Good luck…
Check out Natural Plantation. They have a spray that I tried that worked really well. I think its all sourced here too : https://www.naturalplantation.com/deodorant.html
Everyone loves Green Beaver but you have to reapply several times a day.
I’ll subscribe to this, I tried a few and ended up stinking
Back to Gillette for me
I’ve used Tom’s of Maine, Natural Plantation, rock crystal and all the sticks and sprays on the store shelves, including those made for men. You know what works best? Plain baking soda. Honest to good god. Don’t ask me if it’s made in Canada though.
I keep a little jar of it in the bathroom. Each morning I wash my pits with a wet cloth (I don’t even use soap, but you could) and then dip my damp fingertips into the baking soda. I rub it into a thin layer under my armpit. It turns clear. It doesn’t mark up my clothes either.
The next day, even if I forget to put the baking soda on, my pits smell fine all day. Couldn’t do that with any of the other stuff; you’d be reminded early in the day that you were missing something.
Can’t believe it took me a hundred years to find this simplest, best solution to underarmderstink. If you try it, I want to hear how it works for you.
Wow, I’m actually going to try this SJ Gal! Thanks for sharing the tip!
Darren, if you are reading this (do you ever leave comments on your own blog
– El Peto make baking soda in Canada
In Country with Melissact & Friends: you may be interested to know that I was raised on a farm but a mile from the farm where Natural Plantation is, and have known the family that runs it for most of my life. (Off topic; just a bit of trivia for ya.) -Kate
Try Druide deodorant. It’s Canadian and organic
I really liked the one from Scentimental Creations. They sell at the farmer’s market. I found of all the natural deodorants, this was very effective even though I hate the smell of patchouli. The glycerin in it is a bit high so it balls up on your pits and is an unappealing grey but unless you are going sleeveless it is not a big issue and I never noticed it staining my clothes.
So I was just at the vegan project website and one of the girls there had a review of Dr. Mist. It was featured on Dragon’s Den so it’s got to be good right??? lol Might want to try that…
My good smelling husband leans over patients all day (he’s a dentist) so his pits have to smell springtime fresh. He uses Speed Stick “Ocean Surf” deodorant. It’s from Colgate Palmolive, Toronto Canada according to the label, but alas, made in the U.S.
(You know, if a deodorant really smelled like ocean surf, it would be more like dead fish, washed up seaweed and coconut lotion)
I’m going to try this baking soda option. Sounds intriguing…
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