Should You Be Wearing Deodorant at Night?
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After a certain age, we stop smelling like baby powder and instead wreak of body odor. Once we hit that point, it's time to pick out a deodorant. In some cases, it's evident that we have to apply the product. When we start the day, after a midday shower, or if we're going to exercise — those are clear cases of needing to swipe on deodorant. There are other times, however, that are gray areas. The prime example? When we're about to go to sleep.
In 2015, after reading the directions on his antiperspirant, author Chris Plante discovered we're supposed to apply the product at night before we go to bed to help clog the sweat ducts under our arms. This specifically-timed use of antiperspirant allows it to prevent moisture from escaping the body.
But don't those ducts serve a certain purpose? If moisture can't escape the body at all, is that even healthy? For the record, we checked our deodorant for such instructions. All we could find was a directive to apply under our arms (which, obviously).
Meet Our Expert
Julia Tzu, MD is a triple-board-certified dermatologist as well as the founder and medical director of Wall Street Dermatology in New York.
Alan M. Dattner of Holistic Dermatology, which is also in New York
Curious for more information, we quizzed a couple of dermatologists on the subject. Below, learn why the experts say you shouldn't apply deodorant before bedtime and another time when you're better off ditching the product.
When to Apply Deodorant
Both the dermatologists we spoke to seem to disagree with the directive on Plante's antiperspirant.
"No, it's not necessary to use deodorant at nighttime," said Julia Tzu, MD, founder and medical director of Wall Street Dermatology in New York. "Perspiration levels are not as high compared to daytime and usually the 'deodorizing' is most important during the daytime."
Though there's no serious risk associated with using deodorant at bedtime, there is a potential downside of not giving your underarms a break. "Use of deodorants around the clock may be an additional source of unnecessary irritation to the skin," Dr. Tzu added.
Alan M. Dattner of Holistic Dermatology, also in New York, agreed. Specifically, Dr. Dattner cited the potentially harmful effects of deodorants that may contain aluminum. "Deodorants usually refer to a combination of antiperspirant and odor reducer," he said.
"Antiperspirants coagulate proteins in the sweat ducts, so there is no reason to apply this at night." Dr. Dattner added that deodorants should be used as little as possible. "There are some health questions about applying aluminum, where it can get absorbed, daily," he added.
You may have heard that aluminum in deodorant is linked to breast cancer. Research on the subject is limited and has had mixed results. Still, it's probably best not to apply it unnecessarily.
The Bottom Line
Again, you needn't apply deodorant before bed. You're likely not sweating in your sleep and your axilla—the scientific term for armpit—deserves a break.
What Dr. Tzu recommended, instead, was avoiding the application of deodorant to sweaty skin. "One should clean the skin before application of deodorant to avoid cross-contamination of the deodorant itself," Dr. Tzu said. (You know we've all been guilty of throwing it on quickly post-workout at some point).
Simple soap and water should do the trick for getting your underarms ready for application, no need to get too aggressive with antibacterial wipes to prep the area. Dr. Tzu said topical antibiotics are mainly helpful with eliminating body odors when deodorants can't be used because of skin irritation.
Whew! Now I can rest easy tonight—and every night, honestly—without applying deodorant before I slide into bed.
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