Armpit Talk
Hey Loves!
So I’m following up my first ever post with a topic that has been an “epiphany” for me this year and that is SKINCARE. You will probably see a lot of posts about it in the next coming days but for this topic, I specifically want to talk about Armpits (which is probably one of the skincare topics people shy away from but really a lot of men and women have issues with).
I personally have insecurities with my underarms and I guess it runs in the family (practically almost everyone in our family have the same problem). But I have recently found a way to combat the negative effects produced by hormonal changes and old skincare habits that have caused these problems. I have seen significant improvement on my underarm ever since I made a change with my underarm skincare routine.
Let’s go through 3 of the most common armpit problems, the cause and the cure.
PROBLEM #1 SWEAT & ODOR
THE CAUSE: Our underarm has a special sweat gland called apocrine gland. It’s special because it secretes a special kind of sweat different from the sweat that is produced by other body parts. It secretes water, salt and organic compounds. When these organic compounds mix with moist, it then becomes a home for bacterial growth. Yes, the bad odor coming from your underarm signifies presence of growing bacteria!
THE CURE: Always Keep your underarms dry. It sounds simple but can be pretty difficult to manage because there is nothing that can permanently stop a human being from sweating. Sweating is a natural and important body function.
Now here’s the thing, I know the most popular way to prevent underarm sweat is anti-perspirant deodorant. I have used anti-perspirant deodorant for the longest time every day and it works really well with managing sweat and odor. I never had problems with body odor and sweating credits to these anti-perspirant deos. Recently though, I have completely stopped using anti-perspirant deodorants.
But first... let’s have a quick lesson in science. Aluminum is the element that helps to manage sweat. There are 2 types of aluminum in deodorants: Natural Aluminum and Synthetic Aluminum – the difference is that natural aluminum or alum salt has low degree of anti-perspirant action which means the skin pores are not blocked completely compared to Synthetic aluminum that completely blocks sweat ducts.
The problem with blocking the pores on our skin is that it prevents toxins from coming out of our body and may lead to swollen lymph nodes. Studies debate that long-term exposure and high amount of aluminum may lead to degeneration of nervous system, breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
So how do I manage underarm sweat? I just wipe the sweat off with a cloth or tissue whenever I feel like sweat is building up. I know it sounds tedious and difficult to manage but why block something that my body is designed to do by nature.
If you can’t completely let go of deodorant, then use ones that are non-comedogenic (doesn’t block pores) and has natural alum. Avoid deodorants with aluminum chlorohydrate ingredient which is a common synthetic aluminum found in anti-perspirant deodorants. Before I completely stopped using deodorants, I tried DeoNat. It’s one of those deodorants that does not use synthetic alum. It doesn’t have alcohol, it’s paraben-free and it does the job of keeping your underarms odor-free because of its antibacterial properties. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it has fragrance though I don’t really smell anything (I think it is to mask some ingredients that can have a not so pleasant natural scent). Even though I stopped using deodorants, I still keep this on my skincare rack just in case a situation demands that I use one again (IDK maybe attending a gala or something lol), I would most likely use this product.
Lastly, manage what you eat. Your diet has a significant impact to the odor that your body produce not just on your underarms. Curry, Garlic, Spicy food, Food with Sulfur and Red Meat have potential to make some people’s sweat more pungent.
PROBLEM #2 DARK UNDERARMS
THE CAUSE: There are a lot of causes for underarm discoloration or dark underarms, more usually tied with hormones and bad skincare habit.
A disruption of Insulin level is one of the main culprits for skin darkening. People who have hormonal imbalance or are overweight are more susceptible to this and therefore have more tendencies to develop skin pigmentation.
Another cause for dark underarms is bad skincare habit. Your underarms can suffer because of habits that can cause skin irritation such as shaving and putting on products that disrupts PH level of your skin.
Ok. So I have been suffering from dark underarms since I was a teenager. It has gotten worse when I started putting on some weight and because I’m too conscious about this, I rarely use clothes without sleeve. I feel like the problem is genetic and at the same time, because I have been doing things in the past that made the darkening worse.
Ever since I had hair growing under my pits, I have always been shaving or tweezing. I used to shave every day and if I miss 1 day, I start to feel uncomfortable as I feel like little thick hairs are starting to grow. I feel like over time, this has damaged my skin causing it to darken and true enough, when I stopped shaving, my skin became lighter.
The problem with shaving is that aside from damaging the upper layer of your skin, there is an added illusion that your underarm is darker and the feeling that the hair is thicker because you don’t remove the hair from its roots. You cut the hair from the part where its thickest so the tip of that hair grows back from where it was thickest and that part that is still on your skin can show a dark pigment because it wasn’t completely removed.
THE CURE: There is no potion in this world that can instantly whiten a dark underarm. I have used a lot of whitening creams before: Pasjel, Whitening Deos etc. I haven’t seen any significant change.
I have discovered that the best way to lighten my underarms is through waxing. Waxing removes hair from the roots that makes hair growth slower and thinner. It also exfoliates your skin and removes dead skin cells which helps to brighten it. I ditched shaving and tweezing when I started waxing my pits. You don’t necessarily have to go to a waxing salon every time. There are a lot of DIY waxing routine you can do at home. You can use hot wax or use cold wax if you think hot waxing is too messy. I personally recommend Veet Wax Strips with Aloe Vera extract. It’s very easy to use and isn’t messy. It leaves my skin feeling smooth after using. One box with 6 pairs of strips lasts me for 3 months since I only had the need to wax every 2-3 weeks. At first, it was uncomfortable for me coz I’m not used to having hair on my pits but then I had to let it grow to a certain inch so I can effectively wax it. However, I noticed that over time, it made my underarm hair thinner that I don’t even feel its presence anymore.
I don’t use any whitening creams anymore because I don’t want to disrupt the PH level of my skin that the whitening ingredients may cause.
If you think that you underarm discoloration is due to hormones, consult your doctor and they would most likely recommend medicine that can balance it out.
PROBLEM #3 TEXTURE
THE CAUSE: It’s simply because of shaving and tweezing. These are the 2 main causes that give underarm the chicken-skin texture.
THE CURE: Wax and Exfoliate. Similar to Cure #2, waxing means you don’t have to shave or tweeze and it gives your skin a more prolonged breathing space from any activity that can irritate it since hair takes longer time to grow back.
Also, exfoliate your underarms at least 2-3 times a week. Get rid of those dead skin cells that causes rough texture on your skin. You can use a physical or chemical exfoliating cleanser or a gentle clay mask like the one you put on your face. I personally use St Ives Apricot Scrub. I rub it very gently and it leaves my pits really smooth and supple.
In summary, all these changes I made with my underarm skincare routine have really changed the way my underarm looks right now. I wouldn’t say that I have completely gotten rid of the darkening, I still think it still has a lot to improve with whitening (that’s also because I don’t necessarily invest on whitening) but it has significantly lighten and I feel like my skin is healthier than before. This definitely increased my confidence level in showing off more skin and I highly recommend the tips I mentioned above if you are suffering from any of the 3 problems mentioned.