Fashion
Wait, Does Your Whole Body Need Deodorant?
No. But body odor is a hot topic on social media as companies try to provide what one dermatologist called, “the answer to a problem people didn’t even know they have.”
If you suddenly feel as if you’re being inundated with ads for something called “whole body deodorant,” you’re not alone.
The personal care product, which is being advertised as a solution to sweat and body odor that can’t be controlled by traditional underarm deodorants, has exploded in popularity in 2024.
According to Google Trends, searches for the product have skyrocketed this year. Sales for Lume, one of the original whole body deodorants, more than doubled in 2023 to $125.8 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2024 alone, Dove hit the market with “Whole Body Deo,” Secret started a “Whole Body” collection and Native released its own “cruelty-free” whole body deodorant spray for “pits, privates & more.”
Dr. Susan Massick, a board-certified dermatologist and a clinical associate professor of dermatology at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said in an interview that whole body deodorant had become “the answer to a problem people didn’t even know they have.”
“People used to associate deodorants with just the armpits, but whole body deodorants turned that concept on its head with products that are designed to be used on larger surface areas of the body wherever you feel you smell,” she said.
Deodorants use fragrance to neutralize odors and bacteria by creating a more acidic pH on your skin, Dr. Massick explained, making them different from antiperspirants, which use ingredients that form a plug that blocks the secretion of sweat from the eccrine glands. Whole body deodorants are made to be used on areas like the groin, feet and breasts, and act similarly to those designed for armpits.
