prevent underarm irritation

This one goes out to the people who put on deodorant every day and have to suffer through irritation around their armpits, it happens to the best of us. Sometimes it feels like you have to make the choice between bumpy or itchy underarms and having to be sweaty or stinky all day, but those are not your only options! There are some things that you can do to help prevent the smell and the itch at the same time.

What causes this irritation?

To learn how to combat underarm irritation we have to first understand why it happens. The main area of our armpits, right in the crease, is called the axillary fold. That magical place is where the sweat glands are actually located and where, during puberty, people start to grow hair. However unappealing you find both of those things, they actually serve to protect the skin from irritation. The area under your arms that surrounds the axillary fold isn’t so lucky. The skin there is more sensitive to both the sweat and deodorant in your armpits and that can cause irritation and discomfort.

So what can be done about it?

Well, there are a couple of things that you should be sure to do to prevent these rashes or irritations. First, make sure to color inside the lines when it comes to applying your deodorant and avoid straying to the skin surrounding your axillary fold. Additionally, you can put a petroleum jelly, like a Vaseline or an Aquaphor around the armpit before applying deodorant. If you find that to be too greasy, using a regular moisturizer would help as well. Doing this helps to ensure that when you sweat your skin doesn’t chafe and irritate the normal skin around your armpit.

You can also use a gentle-on-your-skin yet effective-with-your-stink deodorant like recurrent’s. Learn more about recurrent’s deodorant here. So next time you feel like you have to choose between itchy or smelly pits, don’t sweat it!