The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Milk of Magnesia
Posted by Karen (Rochester, NY) on 05/03/2009
★★★★★
I use undiluted milk of magnesia with essential oils in place of regular deodorant. I use a few drops of pure lavender oil in a full bottle of MoM, but you can choose whatever scent you like. It is a little messy to apply (I tried using cotton balls) so I put it in a spritz bottle, which gets clogged up quickly, so I went back to using the cotton balls.
I haven't experienced any side effects, and being in a very active job, I have found that one application in the morning is enough for the day and works great. I've been doing this for almost two years.
Tips:
1. Check the labels before you buy - some have other ingredients you wouldn't want like stabilizers, and artificial sweeteners. There is almost always a generic equivalent that is just pure MoM on the shelf next to the other brands.
2. When selecting essential oils - these must also be pure, otherwise you could cause irritations. Since you are using this on a daily basis, stick with the gentle oils like pure lavender. Research your oil choice carefully. For example, citrus based oils, while very uplifting, can cause a person to be hyper sun-sensitive. You could possibly use tea tree essential oil if there is an active infection/overgrowth in the body that would benefit from daily application. In any case, the essential oil should be a high grade oil.
3. Since it is wet when applied, give yourself time before you put a shirt on, especially a dark colored one! It dries quickly, but if you get it on your clothes, you'll see a whitish powdery stain (which washes right out).
Zinc Oxide Ointment
Posted by Sid Davis (Springfield, Missouri, USA) on 04/19/2009
★★★★★
Get a tube of 20% zinc oxide ointment from a drug store or Walmart. After your shower and dry off, smear this on instead of deodorant. My wife and I have used this for many, many years and NEVER have under arm odor. It works better than any deodorant we have ever used. We don't even need it everyday. I use a dab about the size of two green peas under each arm every other day, but you can experiment with the amount and frequency. If you use too much, your pores might get temporarily clogged, so don't over do it. Zinc oxide is the main ingredient in many diaper creams. It simply kills the bacteria which cause underarm odor.
Zinc Oxide Ointment
Posted by Sid Davis (Springfield, Mo) on 06/16/2009
I don't know what to say. It works for my wife and me, and several others on this site have reported it worked for them. As an experiment, try using it every day after your shower for a week and see if it becomes more effective; plus use clean shirts. It has been so long since I started using it that I can't remember how effective it was at first, but I think it worked from day one. One thought that crossed my mind is that there may be some bacterial residue in your shirts, even if they have been laundered, that then start to grow when the moisture from your sweat provides a more favorable environment. Can you tell if the smell is coming from your shirt or your armpit? If the smell is coming from the shirt, try using a little lysol in your washing machine when laundering your shirts to kill the bacteria.
Zinc kills bacteria which would otherwise cause the odor. Killing bacteria is why different commercial deodorants have things like aluminum or alcohol in them. Even baking soda has an anti-bacterial property because of the sodium in it (ever pour salt on a garden slug?).
I don't think there is anything inherently smelly about sweat, but it just allows bacteria to reproduce more effectively. Knock out the bacteria and there should be no odor.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Noelle (Tampa, FL) on 03/22/2009
★★★★★
ACV cured my acid reflux (and made me smell like roses!) ok, maybe not roses, but it definitely stopped any sort of bacterial growth that caused my body odor.
i take acv orally, 2 tablespoons per glass of water, every morning and two hours before bed. i was diagnosed with acid reflux at 12 and took pills off and on but i feel so free. Apple Cider Vinegar freed me naturally!
I also keep the acv in the shower and before i turn on the water i put some music on, pour the acv all over my body (i pour a little in my hand and then rub on my body), dance around for 2 minutes and then spend my shower rinsing, NO SOAP!. after the vinegar smell goes away i towel off and go about my business. every deodorant ive ever tried has let me down, time and time again, but this stuff-i love it! i ride my bicycle 10 miles a day commuting and i sniff and sniff and check and check and nothing-no smell at all, its a beautiful thing. i want to shout from the rooftops! These pharmaceutical companys tell us that we have to use their products, their chemicals- and we dont! we just need to go back to nature.
Milk of Magnesia
Posted by Deirdre (Atlanta, GA) on 03/10/2009
★★★★★
Two warm days in Atlanta, an excellent time to test these body odor remedies! I applied milk of magnesia as mentioned by Bessie for the past few days. Today it reached about 80F and I am sweating up a storm in my office, drinking hot tea all the while. No body odor. I have also applied it before working out last night when it was in the 70s and again, no b.o.
Great remedy, thanks Bessie!
P.S. It does not last through multiple showers. You must reapply each time.
Milk of Magnesia
Posted by Bessie (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on 03/08/2009
★★★★★
For underarm odour, I've had good luck with Milk of Magnesia as posted by someone else at Earth Clinic. I just pour a wee bit into my hand and rub it into my armpits. Wait until it dries before putting on your clothes. It worked remarkably well and I've been under a great deal of stress lately. I used the name brand Milk of Magnesia (from the pharmacy) but you could probably use a generic or store brand one. Good luck!
Vitamin C
Posted by Haycee (Gauteng, SA) on 03/03/2009
★★★★★
Vitamin C for body odour
I have tried several remedies listed on EC for body odour after I suddenly started perspiring profusely this summer and noticed a strong and unpleasant smell coming from one armpit. I stopped using soap, tried ACV, baking soda, coconut oil, witchazel, zinc ointment, green clay, all with varying degrees of success. However, they were no match for the hot and humid SA summer we are experiencing and had to be re-applied during the day.
Two weeks ago, I hit on a simple remedy which works spectacularly well - Vit C. I have been experimenting with remedies to replace soap and hit the jackpot when I mixed one crushed Vit C tablet with about two tablespoons of baking soda and discovered that the mixture prevents body odour. I also use the mix to brush my teeth. Later I discovered that Vit C works well on its own as a deodorant.
Here's what I do: I crush a Vit C tablet (ascorbic acid 500mg), lightly dip a damp finger in the powder and apply to damp skin once a day. One tablet is enough for many applications since you need a miniscule amount to be effective. I have also noticed that it not only prevents BO but also instantly removes any odour if, for some reason, you neglect to apply it in the morning.
Vitamin C
Posted by Tess (Palm Beach, Fl) on 03/04/2009
Thanks for this remedy. I started it this morning by grinding up an orange flavored vit c in my mortar and pestle. I also might try applying colloidal zinc at some point to see if that won't work too. I bought it ages ago and haven't touched it more than once. Any kind of zinc brings on serious acid reflux. But under the arms might work!
Vitamin C
Posted by Haycee (Gauteng, SA) on 03/05/2009
@ Tess from Palm Beach: Is your orange flavoured Vit C the fizzy type? Might be a ticklish affair ;) However, I will be interested to hear if it works as well for you as it does for me.
I also meant to mention that Vit C is excellent as a topical application for cuts and grazes. Whenever I suffer an injury I increase my Vit C intake and dissolve a tablet in a bit of water and apply to the wound several times a day. It heals twice as fast. Regards.
Vitamin C
Posted by Nancy (New Hope, PA) on 07/09/2009
★★★★★
I USED ONE YOUR CONTRIBUTOR'S ADVICE TO TAKE 1 TABLET(250MG)VITAMIN C, CRUSH IT AND TAKE SOME OF THE POWDER AND TOUCH IT WITH A BIT OF WATER TO MAKE A PASTE AND APPLY IT TO UNDER ARMS. THE ODOR WAS GONE FOR DAYS. THANK YOU. ALSO IT MAY BE A WAY OF GETTING MORE C INTO YOUR SYSTEM
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Kj (Philadelphia, PA) on 03/02/2009
★★★★★
I've been using ACV instead of deodorant for the past week and it works! I can go over 24 hours without having any odor. I sweat in my sleep and thought the ACV would surely fail me-- it didn't! I may never use deodorant again! I can't wait to see if this works in the summer.
Zinc Oxide Ointment
Posted by Cheryl (Wisconsin) on 08/20/2022
★★★★★
Couldn't agree with you more. So I make my own.
2 oz. Shea Butter, 1 Tbsp. Argan Oil, 2 Tbsp. Zinc Oxide Powder.
Baking Soda
Posted by Crzybeau (Las Vegas, Nevada, United States) on 10/15/2010
Try drinking liquid mint flavored chlorophyll 3x a day (2 tablespoons in 8oz water) and take a good quality probiotic. Also try adding more vegetables and fruits in your diet. Minimize/eliminate processed foods, coffee, soda, sugar in general. Get tested for any food allergies as well. Hope this helps ;)
Zinc Oxide Ointment
Posted by Sid Davis (Springfield, Missouri, USA) on 02/01/2009
★★★★★
In the discussion of baking soda remedies, I notices more than one comment about baking soda as a deodorant.
I have not tried barking soda for deodorant, since for the last 20 years my wife and I have used zinc oxide as a deodorant. It works better than any commercial deodorant I ever used. You don't even need to used it every day; just every second or third day does the trick, even in the summer. Never fails.
What I am talking about is the tube of 20% zinc oxide that you can pick up at a drug store or at WalMart here in the USA. Just smear on a little dab under each arm pit after your shower. No stains, no smell, no irritation. If you are concerned about safety, look at diaper ointment; it contains 20% zinc oxide.
The only problem I ever had was when I first tried it and used too much and used it every day and it caused a small swelling in my sweat glands under one arm, I think from blocking perspiration. The swelling went away when I started using it just every other day, on which day I used nothing.
The way I happened on this was my mothers giving me a mineral rock she got at a health food store that was supposed to be used for deodorant. I thought she was nutty, but my wife tried it a couple of times and said she thought it worked a little. We wanted to avoid aerosol and deodorants that contained aluminum, so I looked at the health food store for whatever else they had. Since the mineral rock contained zinc as one of the ingredients, I decided to buy a very expensive cream deodorant that contained zinc as one of the ingredients, and it worked very, very effectively, except that it cost a fortune. I happened to see zinc oxide in a tube at the drugstore for only $0.65 per tube (20 years ago) so I tried it instead of the expensive health food zinc cream, and it worked.
Zinc
Posted by Suzanne (Abbotsford, BC, Canada) on 01/04/2009
★★★★★
I know someone who had bothersome body odour until he started taking zinc (15 mg per day). Now there is NO problem! What an easy solution to a nasty problem.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Tim (Berkeley, CA) on 11/21/2008
★★★★★
I found out about apple cider vinegar as a deodorant about 1 year ago and have tried various amounts and ways of applying it. It works really well and I have settled on applying filtered ACV via a small spray bottle right before I get into the shower in the morning. I leave it on for about 1-2 minutes as I brush my teeth and then get into the shower and wash it off. It leaves me odor free all day. I love it and 2 of my friends have adopted this method and now swear by it as well.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Tess (Palm Beach, FL) on 12/04/2008
★★★★★
Tim, thank you for your post about acv curing body odor. I tried your technique the past 2 days and it has worked fabulously! I used a very cheap brand of apple cider vinegar from the grocery store (not organic but "all natural") and applied it straight using a doused cotton ball to my armpits about 2-3 minutes before getting in the shower. I did not use soap to remove the smell, just hot water. It does last all day! I worked out at the gym last night and even though I had a good sweat, still no smell. I had been using the baking soda remedy but gave up on it recently as it caused too much irritation. Thanks again for your post!
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Posted by Gean (Salina, Kansas) on 09/09/2008
★★★★★
The best natural deodorant I have found is a few drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) rubbed under the arms. Works perfectly!
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda
Posted by Mona (Albany, GA) on 08/08/2008
★★★★★
I found several postings about dabbing ACV on underarms and then powdering with baking soda as a deoderant/anti perspirant. I felt like my deoderant was failing me and was looking for a more natural approach. This is AMAZING and truly works. I never would've believed it, but I have absolutely no odor what so ever. I encourage you to try this. I also take a bath with 1 cup ACV + 1 cup baking soda and my skin is so soft. I will be enjoying many more ACV "recipes" now that these 2 have been so successful.
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda
Posted by CK (New York City, New York) on 05/28/2009
★★★★★
Hi I found this site after months of painful acid reflux. I'm 28 and was suffering for about a few months. It was so bad my throat was constantly swollen and I had a extreme headache from the acid.
I tried over the counter medication and prescription and none of it was helping. I tried apple cider and boom! I had relief. I spent the next two weeks strictly taking apple cider along with yogurt and aloe and a gentle diet and I was good to go.
Now I've been testing apple cider vinegar and baking soda to see if it will work to reduce my body odor. I dont smell too much but I wanted a natural alternative to deodorant and harsh soaps.
1 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of apple cider vinegar in the bath tub it instantly cleaned my body and I've never smelled like nothing before. My skin feels great as well. I recommend this website and I recommend trying because it really changed my life!
Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda
Posted by Smiggy (Sg) on 07/30/2013
The problem with all these external remedies is it is temporal and did not resolve the problem. I suggest you try armpit massage or armpit meridian massage. (see my post on armpit massage for BO issue)
I was struggling with these smell for a few years now and in one week, I more or less got rid of 90% and it comes back only if I don't shower for 2 days. This is really an achievement considering that sometimes, I do smell a little even after shower especially in our hot and humid weather.
Baking Soda, Corn Starch, Baby Powder
Posted by Pat (Tupelo, MS, USA) on 08/02/2008
★★★★★
I developed a rash from commercial deodorants and tried some commercial sticks without the aluminum...no rash but had bad BO. So now I have concocted a recipe that works for me 1/3 baking soda, 1/3 corn starch, 1/3 baby powder, then make into a thick paste using citrus antiseptic mouthwash and a little lotion. Works great for me!
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Amy (Sachse, TX) on 07/26/2008
★★★★★
I'm not sure about cellulite, but I'm sure if anything would work ACV would. I had horrible acne and started applying it straight topically and taking two table spoons internally daily. Also started applying it to my arm pits nightly. I had a horrible problem with deodorant not working after my first pancreatic attack. I now only have to apply deodorant once in the morning. No reapplying 3 or 4 times during the day. I noticed after about a week that I was using the restroom more regularly. Because I have Pancreatitis, sometimes my food does not digest properly. The ACV has also helped with this. I have never believed in anything the way I believe in Apple Cider Vinegar. It is inexpensive and good for you. So even if it doesn't work for Cellulite it will make you feel better over all. I have heard of people using ACV as a fat flush to lose weight. Maybe that is why it has helped with some peoples cellulite. Good Luck!!!
Diaper Rash Ointment
Posted by JB (Somewhere, Maryland) on 09/13/2008
★★★★★
I read about using diaper rash ointment for under arm protection in the newspaper last week. I tried it that very day-- it's the best antiperspirant/deodorant I have ever used. It's a wonderful alternative to the usual stuff.
Baking Soda
Posted by Greggitta (Carlisle, Ma, United States) on 06/05/2011
★★★★★
I have had terrible under arm odor on the right side for decades. I've tried a lot of things. I started ingesting Virgin Cocout Oil 2 days ago - shooting for 1 tablespoon twice a day. (Also virgin coconut butter which is delicious! ) I started because of some of the other well documented health benefits. The body odor stopped yesterday. No bathing before bed last night and I still woke up this morning smelling like a rose. I can't wait to go dancing. ;-)
Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda, Coconut Oil
Posted by Misha (Hiram, US) on 04/25/2008
★★★★★
I just want to say this site is amazing. I have suffered from body odor for years I have taken 2 showers a day constantly trying to stay on top of my hygiene I am an excessive sweater as well (genetics) and nothing has seemed to work I have been using ACV (soak cotton ball with acv) along with baking soda (dust underarms with baking soda) and coconut oil (rub coconut oil in) it is great!! I have not worn deodorant in 4 weeks. I have absolutely no body odor whatsoever. I'm still in shock. I have tied every deodorant even natural brands and nothing has ever worked for me. I suffer from anxiety which makes things worse as far as sweating but now I am more confident I know I'm not offending anyone I keep waiting on this to wear off it won't this site has saved my life!!!
Baking Soda
Posted by D.ron (Madison, Wi) on 11/10/2010
Aluminum destroys the nervous system preventing the glands from sweating... Not a good solution. Once the aluminum is in your body it travels to the brain causing more havoc.
