1. How Much You Sweat

Here’s what clued me in to the fact that my deodorant had stopped working. Suddenly, I was sweating all the time, which wasn’t normal for me. Once my new mom foggy brain cleared, it hit me that I needed a different product. If you sweat a lot, you probably need an antiperspirant rather than deodorant, which stops sweating rather than just masking the scent. If you only sweat when you’re really active, you can likely get by with standard deodorant.

2. Type

The type of deodorant you choose is largely a personal preference. There are a few basic choices, including gel, stick, roll on and spray. I can’t stand the gel version, but am totally comfortable wearing stick deodorant. Try a few products of various types to find out which one you like the best.

3. Alcohol Content

Here’s why deodorant works. It often contains alcohol, which makes your armpits inhospitable to bacteria and germs that cause body odor. For the most part, that doesn’t pose a risk to you, but alcohol can be drying to your skin, so you might find yourself with itchy, flaky skin in your armpits if the product you choose has a high alcohol content.

4. Scent

I cannot stand baby powder scented deodorant! I don’t notice it on other people, but when I wear it, it’s all I can smell all day long. If you have scent preferences or aversions, it makes sense to give deodorant a sniff test before purchasing. You can usually get a sense of what it smells like by just taking the lid off, but not the hygienic cover on the actual product. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it!

5. How It Works

The only real way to know if deodorant is going to work for you is to try it. Unfortunately, that means you might wind up spending money on a couple that just don’t do the job. If you’re looking for something new, pick up a couple of options. That way you won’t have to trek back to the store if the first one fails you. Fortunately, deodorant only costs a few dollars so you aren’t going to go broke.

6. Ingredients

It’s always a good idea to read through the ingredients list before buying any product you’ll apply to your body. That includes deodorant. This is especially true if you have sensitive skin or some type of contact allergy. If you worry about the items that make up deodorant, you can find natural versions or even make it yourself.

7. Safety

Remember when you heard that wearing deodorant would give you breast cancer? Research has since proven this wrong. However, some types do contain triclosan, a potentially harmful ingredient. For the most part, doctors say that wearing deodorant is perfectly safe and you don’t have to give it up to stay healthy.

What’s your favorite kind of deodorant? I love Degree because it activates when I move more so it always offers protection. Do you have any other tips for buying the right deodorant?