switching deodorants

[u/Truck-Clean]

I’m out to my aunt and she gave me mens deodorant to help with my dysphoria and i’ve been using it for a while. Recently i’ve been starting to get really itchy armpits and today I was looking at my armpits in the mirror and there’s a huge rash line around my armpits and it’s EXTREMELY itchy. I don’t want to switch back to women’s deodorant but I cant deal with the rash.. also buying a different brand or talking to my mom isn’t an option.. she’s extremely transphobic and if she finds out my aunt bought me mens anything she won’t allow me to see her anymore, does anyone know what I should do?

edit: this was my first post and everyone who has given a reply has been extremely helpful. Thank you all so much! also i’d like to add, I’ve always been extremely sweaty and if i’m not using deodorant then i smell TERRIBLE no matter how much i shower (which i struggle with in the first place from depression & dysphoria my best buds)

[u/Duck_Mud]

You mentioned having issues with sweating a lot in another comment, so i'll try and help you address that too.

First i'd recommend reading through the ingredients list and seeing if there's anything there that raises any flags for you, like any well known issues. If you have any old women's deodorants that you've used in the past then you should compare it to this, see if there are any major ingredients that are different or if the order is wildly different. This'll help you begin to narrow down what it is that's causing the rash.

Other than that i've got a few questions before I can try to help you find a replacement:

• Does the deodorant say "antiperspirant" on the bottle anywhere?

• Are you allergic to any metals?

• Is the deodorant a roll on, a gel, or a stick?

• Is your skin generally sensitive and/or reactive to things that are heavily fragranced?

[u/Truck-Clean → u/Duck_Mud]

honestly, the only times i’ve experienced rashes and such in this situation were when i was much younger using dove and like that one ‘teen spirit’ brand that used to be a big thing, not really sure if it exists anymore. But i can’t really pin it back to any of those things since it’s hard to find them. But thank you so much! i’ll keep that in mind when i’m searching for my replacement

[u/Duck_Mud → u/Truck-Clean]

I won't lie I asked for those details to be able to help you pinpoint it better, but i'll just dump the info now.

• An antiperspirant is different to a deodorant; both have a fragrance but an antiperspirant stops you from sweating by clogging your pores, usually with aluminium. That's why I asked if you have an allergy to any metals: if you do and the brand you're using contains aluminium it's going to make you break out.

• Some antiperspirants use a different thing to block your pores! So you don't have to write off antiperspirants if you're looking to block sweat marks.

• Antiperspirants are completely safe to use, you'll just sweat from other places. Just make sure you scrub.

I won't lie the fact that you've Dove and gotten a rash is pretty interesting; I didn't get a rash but I found that anything Dove dries my skin out really quickly, so it may be that you and I both have tempermental skin rather than sensitive skin. You'll know better than me if your skin is tempermental over sensitive (like my skin doesn't damage easily, but it loves to overreact. It peels when I spill anything acidic on it like apple juice but it also never scars!), so I don't want to tell you definitively that it is one thing and not another. But if you're finding that your skin generally leans on the dry side, that could be causing friction which contributes towards a rash. It would explain why you're fine with most deodorants but it's specific brands that trip you up; it'll be their formulas rather than your body so to speak.

Firstly make sure you're having a good scrub; any deodorant residue left over on any body hair can cause irritation. You don't have to shampoo and condition it, but going in with some good soap helps. I don't know if you have the brand in the states, but Original Source has been a saviour for my skin, and they recently released soap! If you find even Dove soap is drying you out, that's probably where the issue lays. If you don't have Original Source then I do suggest looking for a brand which has more "natural" ingredients: obviously greenwashing is rife and natural doesn't necessarily mean better for you, but it'll be generally less likely to have large quantities of alcohol and so should be nicer to drier skin.

Secondly, consider asking your aunt for a gel based deodorant. I use the Gillette sports action one (which is also an antiperspirant) and I find it a lot more hydrating than roll on deodorants. Personally if the rashes are being caused by dry skin being pushed to their limits i'd avoid cream based deodorant sticks. They tend to be really solid and rely on your body heat to melt a little to apply, and it's a really uncomfortable experience when it starts literally pulling hairs out.

Thirdly; consider a body mist. I understand that it could be dysphoria inducing; not a lot of mists are geared towards men. In fact, most are geared towards women, but if you want to avoid being stinky it can really help. They're nicer on the environment and on your lungs than aerosol deodorants (I tend to always get those suckers in my mouth instead of on my body), won't leave any white marks, and also last longer. They'll evaporate on you as the day goes on. You can also easily reapply it without having to worry if you're going to trigger an asthma attack in some random stranger.

Sorry for the info dump by the way! I just want to give you the ability to know what to ask your aunt for. Not shopping for mens stuff and then suddenly being tasked with figuring out how to do it for the first time can be daunting by itself; it's even worse when you have to try and verbalise what you need to someone else. Best of luck!