Soon I will be moving some place where deodorant is in short supply, but heat is not. I can’t pack a full two year supply of my favorite expensive gel. But I have stinky pits. Very sweaty, stinky pits. Like to the point where most deodorants don’t work well.
Has anyone had good experiences with the crystal deodorants? They are kind of a pricey investment, and I’d like to hear some personal experience before I try it.
I tried it once for a week, and wasn’t really pleased with the results. I’m not a very sweaty person, but I noticed a definite difference. It simply wasn’t as effective for me. Body chemistry varies, though, so it may work for you-- you may want to just go ahead and make the investment and try it for a while before you move.
You may not be able to buy deodorant at the store, but could you buy it over the internet and have it shipped to you? Do you have a sympathetic friend in the US who would be willing to mail you supplies of it?
You might want to try Drysol. My pits pretty much had a constant drip until I read about that particular anit-perspirant right here on the dope. You have to ask the pharmacist for it but you don’t need a prescription. I only apply it once a week and just use a tiny amount of regular deodorant other wise. A bottle of drysol will last a long time and perhaps in conjuction with the cyrstal stuff you’ll be set for your 2 years.
I have had moderate experience with it. Actually I use the liquid version, but so far it isn’t too bad. I am allergic to most deoderants and so this was a last resort. I don’t think it is quite as good as most commercial deoderants but since it seems to be the only thing I can use, I’m not too displeased.
I keep a stick of it on hand, but I tend to like light scents, so I use other brands more often. I often use it when I go to hospitals or other places that ask you to keep scents to an absolute minimum. I have used it sometimes if I run out of my favourite brand, and I’ve worn it while working a heavy-labour job (lifting and piling boxes as they came out onto a run for ten to twelve hours), in the summertime. It’s always worked great for me, and even working my sweatiest jobs, it kept me as dry as could be expected and not smelling of armpit.
However, I have known a handful of people who the stuff just does not work for, and I know several other people who had it work just as well as it worked for me. Your mileage will definitely vary - if you can get a sample from somewhere before splurging on it, that would be good. They are a touch expensive (well, mine was about $7, but why spend $7 on something that doesn’t work, right?), but they last (IME) significantly longer than other deodorants. I’ve had mine for three years, but that is, of course, with off and on use. I probably use mine about seven or eight days out of every month. FTR, I use the “stick” kind as opposed to the big rock thingy kind…
I use it all the time, and am happy with it. Lasts forever. As long as you use it everyday, it works. Skip a day here or there, you may start getting stinky.
I used it for a long time. It controlled odor well for me, but remember, it’s not an antiperspirant! For some reason (don’t exactly remember why, probably went on a trip and forgot my crystal at home, or something) I ended up using normal antiperspirant for a few days, and I realized that I’d forgotten how pleasant and comfortable it is go though the day with dry pits! So I ended up switching back to normal antiperspirant.
On the other hand, my grandfather developed a sensitivity to deodorants, and I was able to recommend crystal deodorant to him, and he thinks it’s peachy keen.
Don’t know where you’re going, Even Sven, but if it is a hot place with no access to deodorant, it might not even be a big issue. Other countries don’t have our US phobia of body odor, so ya might just be able to go aunaturel.
That said, I use deodorants with lavender and tea tree oil; they are antibacterial, so yer pits don’t get muy funky with use. Both of those essential oils are good to have in travelling, as they have many other medicinal uses. If you use them directly on skin, though, dillute them in a carrier oil, because when used straight, they can be too strong.
Are you going to be working in a field environment? Will it be all work, or will there be social functions as well. If it’s all field work, then why even worry about deodorant. I wouldn’t pack any. If it’s a little of both, only use deodorant on the nights you go out for fun, which might be like once every other week or something? Then you dont need as much.
Where is it you’re actually going? And what are you going to be doing there?
A couple of friends of mine have used it. It worked not at all on their chemistry.
One was a 16 year old boy at the time, so take that as you will.
I have used it on and off for years. I’ve used both the crystal solid that you wet with water before applying, and the liquid kind that you roll on.
I put it on RIGHT after my shower. If I want to be ultra-dry, I’ll layer an anti-perspirant / deodorant on top of it.
Most days the crystal was good enough. But since I’ve had my baby, I’ve found that my body odour has changed and is much funkier … must be the hormones (I’m breast-feeding) … so I end up using an antiperspirant/deodorant combo much more often. And that usually still isn’t enough! Peeeyuw. 
elelle - what exactly do you mean, you use deodorants with lavender and tea tree oil? Do you buy them this way, or prepare them yourself? I’m curious, because I MUCH prefer natural remedies than the chemical-laden commercial ones.
Gum, that is exactly what I was hoping for. I’ll check it out ASAP.
Everyone else…if all goes well I’ll be going to Africa with the Peace Corps. They may not care that I stink, but I’ll know that I stink and when in an isolated situation like that it’s important to keep your spirits up and make sure you feel good about yourself. It’s already going to be a self-esteem blow to give up non-frumpy clothes and my precious contact lenses. I don’t want to feel like the stink queen of the village on top of that.
I do this, actually, and it works freaking fantastically! I don’t use Drysol but I use something similar: Certain Dri (link). It has the same active ingredient as Drysol but in a lower concentration. I apply it once every three or four days before bedtime, and I also use a crystal right after getting out of the shower. Drysol is 20% aluminum chloride and Certain Dri is 12%, which is fine enough for me. Some people on another board I go to have found that Drysol itches or burns, and that Certain Dri does not because of the lower concentration. Certain Dri itches a bit on me, though, but only for an hour or so and only if I’ve shaved that day.
For me, the short itchy period is bearable because it’s a miracle product. A couple of days after I bought it, I went out and bought a light blue shirt - a colour I could never previously wear as I would have soaked right through it in the underarm area. Months later, I still have never soaked through it. I am thoroughly amazed.
I bought it in a drugstore, London Drugs, and it’s not over the counter, it’s out with the regular deodorants and anti-perspirants.
If you like a scented deodorant, Lush has powder crystal deodorants. They are are a cake form and you pat the cake onto dry armpits. Oxeo Cube is a really nice floral, and not a “grandmother” floral… it’s hard to describe. I use this sometimes, but lately I’ve been wearing perfume and I don’t want to clash. T’eo is citrussy. The site says it’s floral, but it lies. Aromacreme smells nice too but can cause burning. Here’s the link to those: link
Sorry this is so long, I just spent years on the quest for an anti-perspirant or deodorant that actually makes me non-stinky, and I’ve finally found my holy grail in Certain Dri. And now I know that those whiffs of BO I’d been catching (and blaming on someone else, because I’m clean, goddamnit!) really were me. I don’t catch those whiffs anymore!
I’ll agree with the high praise of Certain Dri. I have actually gone nearly a whole year without having to throw out ruined shirts! I’ve always been a sweathog, but this stuff has stopped it completely. I only have to use it every other day or so, so a bottle has lasted me a long time.