ABOUT SKIN
Protecting Skin Microbiome of Your Armpits
Whether it’s from a long day or a hard workout session in the gym, we’ve all experienced underarm odour. What’s interesting is that the odour is not caused from sweat, but rather from armpit bacteria.
"The sweat itself has no odor, but it results from bacteria of the skin breaking down the wet axillary skin cells."
Our entire skin is covered in bacteria, some of which is really good for us and some that isn’t. All of these bacteria, and the other millions of microorganisms that live on our skin are called the skin microbiome.
The skin microbiome and your underarms
As we mentioned, your skin is covered in good bacteria and bad, and some of these bacteria are specific to different parts of your body, like your underarms. To keep your skin healthy, you need a balanced and healthy skin microbiome. The bad armpit bacteria not only cause body odour, they can also cause sensitivity and irritation. This happens when you have too much of the bad and not enough of the good bacteria. That’s why it’s important for you to keep a good balance, and to choose the right solutions for yourself, which may include deodorant for sensitive skin or a chemical free deodorant.
Why the good bacteria is important
The good bacteria is necessary to keep your underarm skin healthy. They form part of your natural first line of defence against external aggressors. They also prevent the bad bacteria from taking hold, some of which may cause skin inflammation, which could cause sensitivity and irritation. For this reason, you’ll want to nurture the good skin bacteria and even think about using a special microbiome deodorant.
Protect your skin microbiome and prevent body odour
You’ve most probably been using a regular deodorant or antiperspirant, which is great. These help to keep odour under control, but they don’t always look after your skin microbiome. Sanex has a new range of anti-perspirants, which have a special anti-irritation formula with a proprietary prebiotic complex to look after the good bacteria on your skin and fight the odour causing ones.
Which deodorant to choose
If you’re looking for an aluminium free deodorant, you might want to consider Sanex BiomeProtect Dermo Anti-irritation Deodorant Spray or Roll On. They fight odour causing bacteria, while respecting the good bacteria. They both give you 48 hour deodorant protection and work hard to keep your skin performing at its healthy best.
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26855863/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25077920/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31190339/
Zac Handler, M.D. is a board-certified academic dermatologist and an assistant clinical professor in dermatology at Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School and New York Medical College. Dr. Handler holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, San Diego, and received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Nebraska.
