Are all antiperspirants the same?

Are all antiperspirants just the same?

Well, in a word, no. There are literally hundreds of brands and versions of antiperspirants on the market. Visit any pharmacy or supermarket and you will see shelves packed full of a thousand different products. They can be a confusing place to shop. Online isn’t much better but you can tend to filter out and whittle down to your more specific product needs.

Walk down any given toiletry aisle and you will be bombarded with claims of all kinds. How often have your heard or read “48 hrs Protection from sweat”, “Zero White Marks”, or my personal favorite “Motion Activated”! Seriously, Motion Activated? Really?

All this hype aside, there are differences in strength and variations of antiperspirant formulas which will affect the level of antiperspirant efficacy. What we will try to do in this post is explain some of the key differences in the products and point out what you should be looking for in an antiperspirant. One things is for sure, they are not all the same, and they may not all be right for your needs.

Antiperspirant versus Deodorant

This is perhaps the biggest misconception surrounding antiperspirants is the fact that they are not deodorants. Most of us call them deodorants but they are not. Antiperspirants and deodorant are two completely different products and although applied and used in the same areas for related issues, they are poles apart in what they are designed to do.

An antiperspirant is applied to the skin and will form a partial plug of the poral openings and prevent the viscous sweat being secreted to the surface of the skin (where is can break down and cause body odour).

An antiperspirant will stop sweat and wetness.

A deodorant will not stop sweat or wetness reaching the skins surface and (unless it contains an antibacterial ingredient) will not stop odour causing bacteria forming, but will mask the smell with fragrance.