What is a good underarm deodorant for 13 yo boy?
September 13, 2015 10:25 AM Subscribe
Wondering if Speed Stick or whatever is an issue for my 13 yo son. Since he is growing etc etc, are there any potential risks of using regular deodorant from the drug store? I am NOT considering anti-antiperspirant, btw.
Any suggestions that don't involve making a trip to a healthfood store or homeopath would be welcomed.
The issue is not so much that he has bad BO, just that he likes to wear nylon sports shirts (Underarmor) and for whatever reason after a few hours his pits stink. I have the same issue, so I just wear cotton shirts and so on.
Speed Stick would seem to solve the problem, but I don't want to give him anything that would mess him up chemically.
Not really into hippy solutions, either.
The issue is not so much that he has bad BO, just that he likes to wear nylon sports shirts (Underarmor) and for whatever reason after a few hours his pits stink. I have the same issue, so I just wear cotton shirts and so on.
Speed Stick would seem to solve the problem, but I don't want to give him anything that would mess him up chemically.
Not really into hippy solutions, either.
Just get him any deodorant at the drug store, antiperspirant or not. WebMD has a good summary of the risks. Summary: no risks.
posted by blob at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2015 [30 favorites]
posted by blob at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2015 [30 favorites]
Speed Stick would seem to solve the problem, but I don't want to give him anything that would mess him up chemically.
Good, then get him Speed Stick.
The biggest risks involved are probably that if he doesn't use deodorant, his social life will suffer, which could lead to all sorts of other problems.
posted by John Cohen at 10:47 AM on September 13, 2015 [33 favorites]
Good, then get him Speed Stick.
The biggest risks involved are probably that if he doesn't use deodorant, his social life will suffer, which could lead to all sorts of other problems.
posted by John Cohen at 10:47 AM on September 13, 2015 [33 favorites]
With the sports shirts, deodorant may help less than you hope. I have a high-tech shirt for hiking, and even with deodorant the darn thing stinks to high heaven after about thirty minutes. My armpits actually smell just fine if I change shirts -- it's the shirt itself that starts to stink.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 11:01 AM on September 13, 2015 [17 favorites]
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 11:01 AM on September 13, 2015 [17 favorites]
Agreeing that the only part of this with the potential to "mess your kid up" is going to be letting him be the stinky kid at school because you hold false ideas about the dangers of deodorant.
Take him to the drugstore and let him pick out whatever he thinks smells good.
posted by phunniemee at 11:02 AM on September 13, 2015 [24 favorites]
Take him to the drugstore and let him pick out whatever he thinks smells good.
posted by phunniemee at 11:02 AM on September 13, 2015 [24 favorites]
Soak the shirts in salt, and/or throw some vinegar in the wash with them. Using deodorant is good but the problem is Underarmor.
posted by vogon_poet at 11:09 AM on September 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by vogon_poet at 11:09 AM on September 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Tom's of Maine is a good compromise between effectiveness and reasonably natural ingredients, and should be available in the drug store.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 11:12 AM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 11:12 AM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
If part of the problem is the dreaded (and common) Under Armor funk, there's a detergent called ProWash that's meant for wicking/technical clothes and is allegedly better at getting out that trapped bacteria stank.
But yeah, there's nothing wrong with using antiperspirant as well, it is a safe product.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:18 AM on September 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
But yeah, there's nothing wrong with using antiperspirant as well, it is a safe product.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:18 AM on September 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
What Blue Jello Elf said. Sports undershirts are meant, for, well, sports, and if they absorb all perspiration, they will very quickly start stinking up - not the person wearing them. I have an old Adidas soccer jersey from the times they were starting to work on sweat absorption that is very comfortable in hot weather, but I can't use it socially because it smells terrible after a few hours, even if I'm just sitting around.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:20 AM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lmfsilva at 11:20 AM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
The only thing to know in terms of skin is that if the deodorant your son chooses causes a rash, you should choose another deodorant. So far, I've had reactions to Secret women's deodorant and Old Spice men's deodorant, but I switched to Arrid years ago and have had no issues from it. Not a big deal.
posted by limeonaire at 11:23 AM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by limeonaire at 11:23 AM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Tom's of Maine is a good compromise between effectiveness and reasonably natural ingredients, and should be available in the drug store.
It's also the only deodorant I've ever tried that smells bad and gets all foamy and sticky. Avoid.
posted by John Cohen at 11:25 AM on September 13, 2015 [10 favorites]
It's also the only deodorant I've ever tried that smells bad and gets all foamy and sticky. Avoid.
posted by John Cohen at 11:25 AM on September 13, 2015 [10 favorites]
And I think this goes without saying: if deodorant doesn't work, taking cologne/body spray baths to mask the smell are not an option. If the smell of sweat is bad, that alternative is worse.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:51 AM on September 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by lmfsilva at 11:51 AM on September 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
Just remind him that it is only for under the arms and he will be fine. I fought the under armour issue by throwing it away when he wasn't looking. Kids lose thing all the time. When he asks about it, make him go clean his room. Nasty stuff. And ugly, too.
posted by myselfasme at 12:05 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by myselfasme at 12:05 PM on September 13, 2015
he likes to wear nylon sports shirts (Underarmor) and for whatever that reason after a few hours his pits stink.
Teenage boys ought to be prosecuted for wearing anything other than cotton next to their skin, under the provisions of the Geneva Protocol on chemical weapons.
Go with the Speed Stick. Do it quickly, before he decides he likes the smell of Axe spray. Because at least with Speed Stick he won't be spraying that into his pits without taking the shirt off first.
If your main concern is not messing your kid up chemically, the worst single chemical you need to be limiting his exposure to is probably going to be fructose.
posted by flabdablet at 12:07 PM on September 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
Teenage boys ought to be prosecuted for wearing anything other than cotton next to their skin, under the provisions of the Geneva Protocol on chemical weapons.
Go with the Speed Stick. Do it quickly, before he decides he likes the smell of Axe spray. Because at least with Speed Stick he won't be spraying that into his pits without taking the shirt off first.
If your main concern is not messing your kid up chemically, the worst single chemical you need to be limiting his exposure to is probably going to be fructose.
posted by flabdablet at 12:07 PM on September 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
As a person who was once a teenage boy, I have to say that at either 13 or 14 or 15, he's probably going to have to start wearing antiperspirant of some sort, because that's about when the sweating gets really gross.
posted by xingcat at 12:15 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 12:15 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
All of my sons got their first sticks of deodorant with antiperspirant at around 10 years old - which is the year that the schools send home a note suggesting it for gym class.
In fact, my youngest has two sticks - one for his armpits and one that he uses on the soles of his feet. He has always had the world's most rank foot odour despite (claiming to) wash them daily in the shower, always wear clean socks, etc.
posted by VioletU at 12:37 PM on September 13, 2015
In fact, my youngest has two sticks - one for his armpits and one that he uses on the soles of his feet. He has always had the world's most rank foot odour despite (claiming to) wash them daily in the shower, always wear clean socks, etc.
posted by VioletU at 12:37 PM on September 13, 2015
nthing the "just get him an antiperspirant/deodorant" and the "except not Toms of Maine" (never worked well for me and made the underarms of my clothes gross) and the "no cologne or Axe" and the "the actual problem is the UnderArmor" posts, but I'd like to add... If he insists on wearing the UnderArmor, get him some underarm perspiration absorbing pads that stick inside the shirt (I have no experience with these things so I'm not recommending a specific brand, but I know people who use things like this).
posted by erst at 12:40 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by erst at 12:40 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have certain shirts I have to wash at the highest temp and longest wash because for whatever reason they smell like Bo really fast no matter how showered and deodorized I am and how recently it was washed. I would pour boiling water on the pits, wash and then and dry shirts in the sun. And buy the speed stick.
posted by pairofshades at 12:52 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pairofshades at 12:52 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am Nthing the recommendation against UnderArmour and other sports shirts. I use them for running, and after a while, they just never come really clean without ProWash.
If he doesn't like cotton, what about wool? I have a couple Icebreaker merino shirts, including a bike jersey, that don't stink even after a whole day of bicycling. I just rinse them out at the end of the day and hang them up. I launder them once in a while with Kookaburra Wash to restore the wool.
FWIW, I use Tom's of Maine roll-on deodorant and find that it works like a charm. I don't like the stick, though.
posted by brianogilvie at 12:56 PM on September 13, 2015
If he doesn't like cotton, what about wool? I have a couple Icebreaker merino shirts, including a bike jersey, that don't stink even after a whole day of bicycling. I just rinse them out at the end of the day and hang them up. I launder them once in a while with Kookaburra Wash to restore the wool.
FWIW, I use Tom's of Maine roll-on deodorant and find that it works like a charm. I don't like the stick, though.
posted by brianogilvie at 12:56 PM on September 13, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks all. Off the shelf stuff it is. Don't worry there is no way I am going to let him stink. Perhaps he can wear different clothes to school to solve the problem too.
posted by Nevin at 1:00 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by Nevin at 1:00 PM on September 13, 2015
Nthing that there is nothing dangerous about store bought deodorants or anti-perspirants. However I'm allergic to something in everything you can buy from a drug store so I had to explore all natural hippie options. This stuff works just as well as anything I ever bought at a drug store.
posted by COD at 1:03 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by COD at 1:03 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Personally, as someone who's both a very sweaty and smelly guy and also extremely prone to deodorant-induced skin trouble, I wish I'd known as a teenager that deodorant and anti-perspirant are two different things with very different properties. The first almost always works great and causes no harm. The later leaves me with bright red weeping sores after a few days of use. If it's a placebo effect, it's an astonishingly strong one. I've tried dozens of anti-perspirant variations, and they all leave blood on my shirts.
If you're worried about nasty chemicals, either for philosophical reasons or because the guy's genuinely experienced a problem, consider trying a mainstream non-anti-perspirant deodorant. Old Spice original formula is one of the most widely available deodorants in the western hemisphere. It's cheap, and it works great. If he can rock the old-timey steam-punk eatern-seaboard-whaler vibe, he might even be able to make the scent seem cool. If not, it's still better than stinking.
Skip the Toms of Maine, the hippy baking-soda options, and the magic salt crystals. I've tried them all, and as far as I can tell they do nothing at all except extract money from wallets. (Tom's of Main fluoride toothpaste is awesome, but their deodorant is garbage, as others have said. They do their brand a disservice by continuing to sell it.)
posted by eotvos at 1:10 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you're worried about nasty chemicals, either for philosophical reasons or because the guy's genuinely experienced a problem, consider trying a mainstream non-anti-perspirant deodorant. Old Spice original formula is one of the most widely available deodorants in the western hemisphere. It's cheap, and it works great. If he can rock the old-timey steam-punk eatern-seaboard-whaler vibe, he might even be able to make the scent seem cool. If not, it's still better than stinking.
Skip the Toms of Maine, the hippy baking-soda options, and the magic salt crystals. I've tried them all, and as far as I can tell they do nothing at all except extract money from wallets. (Tom's of Main fluoride toothpaste is awesome, but their deodorant is garbage, as others have said. They do their brand a disservice by continuing to sell it.)
posted by eotvos at 1:10 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
This might be a bit off-topic, but.. assuming that you wear deodorant/antiperspirant, before you buy something for your son, check with your wife to see if she'd prefer your son to smell like you or not. I am very scent-oriented and found it completely disturbing when one of my children smelled like my husband. My kids now have a completely different scent (and brand, actually) than my husband. I fully realize that I might be the only person with this issue, but.. y'never know.
posted by VioletU at 4:22 PM on September 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by VioletU at 4:22 PM on September 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
Response by poster: If you're worried about nasty chemicals, either for philosophical reasons or because the guy's genuinely experienced a problem, consider trying a mainstream non-anti-perspirant deodorant.
I have no philosophical objections to deodorant (other than that I hate to fork out money for anything).
I was just concerned about chemicals (although to be completely open, I do vaccinate my sons and gave them fluoride tablets when they were younger).
posted by Nevin at 8:00 PM on September 13, 2015
I have no philosophical objections to deodorant (other than that I hate to fork out money for anything).
I was just concerned about chemicals (although to be completely open, I do vaccinate my sons and gave them fluoride tablets when they were younger).
posted by Nevin at 8:00 PM on September 13, 2015
You can get laundry detergent made especially for athletic gear.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:31 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:31 PM on September 13, 2015
The main chemical in antiperspirants that people worry about is the aluminium salts. There isn't really any good evidence of any health problems with those salts so personally I have no problems with them. And they work. But you could try an aluminium-free deodorant first and see if that works if you decided that was worth it.
The other issue would be if your son is at all sensitive to perfume - then you'd want to avoid those. My perfume allergy developed through my teens as an example, but it's not super common. Personally I find the Mitchum unscented really good and I have very strong body odour if I'm not careful (and even sometimes if I am). But wearing something scented is going to help with covering everything, plus it's kind of fun, so only go this way if he actually reacts badly to the perfume.
I also use Vanish or similar in-wash sanitisers with every wash and it's the only thing that stops my clothing from stinking up the place as soon as I put it on and it warms up. Getting the smell out of the laundry really is half the battle.
posted by shelleycat at 11:16 PM on September 13, 2015
The other issue would be if your son is at all sensitive to perfume - then you'd want to avoid those. My perfume allergy developed through my teens as an example, but it's not super common. Personally I find the Mitchum unscented really good and I have very strong body odour if I'm not careful (and even sometimes if I am). But wearing something scented is going to help with covering everything, plus it's kind of fun, so only go this way if he actually reacts badly to the perfume.
I also use Vanish or similar in-wash sanitisers with every wash and it's the only thing that stops my clothing from stinking up the place as soon as I put it on and it warms up. Getting the smell out of the laundry really is half the battle.
posted by shelleycat at 11:16 PM on September 13, 2015
It sounds like the deodorant angle is covered. As for the shirts, leaving them in direct sunlight for a day after washing will kill the funk too.
posted by vignettist at 12:13 AM on September 14, 2015
posted by vignettist at 12:13 AM on September 14, 2015
I've been using Mennen Speed Stick everyday since I was about 13. So, about 35 years. I'm not chemically messed up. I hope.
posted by humboldt32 at 9:57 AM on September 14, 2015
posted by humboldt32 at 9:57 AM on September 14, 2015
There are a lot of talented people who make an astonishing amount of money selling fear to worried parents and the formula is remarkably simple. They just pick a common household item that is responsible for a significant amount of revenue, find some aspect of it that can be emotionally linked with harm even if there are no plausible causal links, and then market a fear of that link with their new more expensive replacement.
It is a terrifyingly profitable business model based fundamentally on a con that is very easy to fall for. Who has time to look up what exactly it is that people are scared of in deodorants much less figure out what is so scary about them? It is after all so much easier to buy the more expensive alternative.
posted by Blasdelb at 2:24 AM on September 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
It is a terrifyingly profitable business model based fundamentally on a con that is very easy to fall for. Who has time to look up what exactly it is that people are scared of in deodorants much less figure out what is so scary about them? It is after all so much easier to buy the more expensive alternative.
posted by Blasdelb at 2:24 AM on September 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 10:35 AM on September 13, 2015 [69 favorites]