# Talcum powder as... antiperspirant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898 "2022-05-03T20:50:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/1 "2022-05-03T20:50:20Z")
From Here To Eternity is on TCM. (Working from home today.) Frank Sinatra is getting ready for a night on the town, and he’s covering himself with talcum powder. Was talcum powder used as (I assume) an anti-perspirant? I’m guessing it was, as there was no exposition in the film. What’s the straight dope? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/2 "2022-05-03T20:52:50Z")
It does cut down on body odor, but not much sweat. Lots of talcums were scented. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/3 "2022-05-03T22:26:53Z")
Powdered talc can absorb moisture and oils and have an astringent effect to some extent and is included as an ingredient in some anti-perspirant products. Example: Sanex Dermo Invisible Anti-Perspirant Deodorant. Ingredients: Aqua, Aluminium Chlorohydrate, Glycerin, PPG-15 Stearyl Ether, Steareth-2, Cyclopentasiloxane, Steareth-21, Parfum, Talc, Dimethicone, BHT. Axe Dark Temptation Antiperspirant Deodorant: Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex GLY(17.8%), Cyclopentasiloxane, PPG-14 Butyl Ether, Stearyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-8 Distearate, Talc, Fragrance (Parfum), BHT — Note that everything except the first one are considered inactive ingredients. However the stuff you see athletes rubbing all over their hands to fight sweaty palms is in fact magnesium carbonate, not to be confused with talc. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/4 "2022-05-03T22:42:29Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > However the stuff you see athletes rubbing all over their hands to fight sweaty palms is in fact magnesium carbonate, not to be confused with talc. So Frank Sinatra was using magnesium carbonate? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/5 "2022-05-03T22:55:08Z")
In the 1950s you could obtain liquid aluminum chloride from the drugstore and apply that. Men would spritz it on their T-shirts before going out. Errol Flynn would apply cocaine to his pubic hair as an aphrodisiac. I’ve never read where Frank Sinatra did that. Instead he used something he learned from George Raft: jewelry in the bottom of the desert dish. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/6 "2022-05-03T23:01:48Z")
I found a clip. > **[From Here to Eternity (1953) -- (Movie Clip) Hey Paisan!](https://www.tcm.com/video/198806/from-here-to-eternity-1953-hey-paisan)** > > Dismissing buddy Prewitt (Montgomery Clift), Maggio (Frank Sinatra, in his Oscar-winning performance), with his only semi-musical bit, catches guard duty, setting off a tragic series of events in director Fred Zinnemann's 1953 Best Picture winner,... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/7 "2022-05-03T23:02:37Z")
I use it, and it’s mostly corn starch these days, not talc. There are different granularities. My wife likes the J&J stuff, I prefer CVS that seems to be somewhat coarser. Corn starch is a very effective odor absorbent. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/8 "2022-05-03T23:09:14Z")
You’re probably not going to find talc on the shelf in the US. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/9 "2022-05-03T23:11:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > So Frank Sinatra was using magnesium carbonate? I do not recognize the exact product in the clip, but I doubt it; it resembles (possibly scented) talcum powder that he used not necessarily as an anti-perspirant but to absorb excess moisture after his shower, then you can see him towel off the mess. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/10 "2022-05-03T23:28:33Z")
Topical cocaine is definitely a local anaesthetic, but does it have any effect as an anti-perspirant, that is an interesting question. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/11 "2022-05-03T23:55:43Z")
I don’t know if it absorbs odors but it can block your sense of smell temporarily, or possibly long term if you snort enough of it. I wouldn’t recommend using it for that purpose for a variety of reasons. Especially if you have any plane trips or border crossings coming up. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/12 "2022-05-04T00:07:29Z")
I want to make it clear that I am asking for a factual answer to why Frank Sinatra was using talcum powder in the scene. Note that I’m assuming talcum powder. Without expostulation, it’s confusing 70 years on. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/13 "2022-05-04T00:17:24Z")
Sorry for the skyjack Johnny. Yes, people did use talcum powder to absorb sweat. IIRC in _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Scout describes how “ Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/14 "2022-05-04T00:49:06Z")
Before I had air conditioning, I used talcum powder as a drying agent. It absorbs moisture, but AFAIK has no effect in blocking perspiration. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/15 "2022-05-04T01:46:57Z")
“A sprinkle a day helps keep odor away!” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/16 "2022-05-04T02:51:37Z")
Talcum powder, made of talc or cornstarch, is not an antiperspirant according to the dictionary definition since it doesn’t reduce the amount of perspiration, it just absorbs the moisture and odors. But many people use the word to mean anything that reduces the odor of perspiration. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/17 "2022-05-04T03:07:02Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > But many people use the word to mean anything that reduces the odor of perspiration. Having worked on an anti-perspirant brand for several years – that’s exactly the case. Many (maybe even most) people use the terms “anti-perspirant” and “deodorant” interchangeably, even though they are two different functions. And, in the U.S., any product which is sold as an anti-perspirant is considered to be an OTC drug, by the FDA. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/18 "2022-05-04T03:19:54Z")
So… Is Frank Sinatra, in the scene, using the powder as an anti-perspirant, or deodorant? Was this a ‘known thing’ in 1941 (when the film takes place)? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/19 "2022-05-04T05:32:04Z")
He WHAT?!?! I knew he had a thing for underage girls, but wouldn’t that make Mr. Happy go numb? I have used baking soda as deodorant/antiperspirant when I was out of the “real thing.” It actually works quite well. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898/20 "2022-05-04T05:45:14Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > So… Is Frank Sinatra, in the scene, using the powder as an anti-perspirant, or deodorant? Not as a “true” anti-perspirant (which actually serves to block sweat glands, thus reducing or eliminating perspiration), but as several have noted, it may have had the effect of absorbing some perspiration. It was also probably scented, which could have had a deodorant function. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talcum-powder-as-antiperspirant/963898.md?page=2)