How To Avoid Armpit Irritation
Bunny’s bushy question: I’ve tried different ways of shaving my armpits and always it results in the same thing - sore, and little red spots. What else can I do? The Right Brain’s reply:
Why is shaving irritating?
One of the reasons that shaving can irritate your pits is that you’re not just removing hair you’re also shredding your skin. In a study published in the Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (Vol 58 No 3 May/June 2007), researchers measured the amount of Underarm Shaving Debris generated during shaving. (Underarm Shaving Debris I love that term!) They found that 36% of the stuff you’re scraping off your armpit is skin, not hair! No wonder shaving is so irritating! They also measured the skin underneath the arms and found that it actually grows thicker to compensate for all this scraping. That’s right, shaving your armpits gives you thicker skin! (I’m not sure why, but that creeps me out just a little bit.)
How can you soothe your pits?
Even though your skin grows thicker, it’s not enough prevent all the symptoms of irritation. But the researchers did discover that using a special roll-on anti-perspirant formulation with glycerol and sunflower seed oil after shaving can further reduce the irritation.
The notion of using a lubricating anti-perspirant as a post-shaving aid is intriguing but this research is so new we don’t know if this type of formula is actually on the market yet or not. We’re looking forward to trying it AND to find out if this new technology reduces the irritation properties of the anti-perspirant itself. (The aluminum salts used in APs can be irritating even if you don’t shave!)
In the meantime, make sure you’re using a good razor like Schick, Gillette, or Body Bare.
Favorite underarm shaving quote:
“Shall I warn you to keep the rank goat out of your armpits?” (From Ovid’s Art of Love, a poem written over 2000 years ago and the inspiration for the photo that accompanies today’s post.)
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Candice Says:
Dove deodorant works just fine. Find the unscented, sensitive skin formula, use it after you shave, and no bumps. Works on the bikini line, too.
Julia Says:
You could always go with waxing. I wax just about everything (brows, legs, bikini) and am pretty lax on keeping it up since I don’t mind body hair like most people do. If I didn’t wax anything else, however, I would wax my underarms. I had to call around to find an esthetician who uses hard wax (the kind you use without cloth strips) since this kind of wax is used with an oil or powder barrier on the skin so it doesn’t adhere to skin, which reduces bruising, and is less painful. Also, there is hard wax available in microwavable pots at the drug store. It’s called surgi wax. I’ve used it at home when I didn’t have time to get to the salon, but it is a little more difficult to wax your own pits than to let someone else do it.
picaloflapjack Says:
The product tested in the study you mentioned was a simple prototype formulation, containing the antiperspirant active, a couple of smoothing agents - glycerine and sunflower (helianthus annuus) seed oil, and emulsifiers to hold the formulation together. The research was conducted by Unilever in the UK, and if you search the ingredients of antiperspirants (eg. on drugstore.com) you will see that many Dove sticks and roll-ons contain sunflower seed oil and glycerin - so the technology is already available.
Incidentally, this is not ‘rocket science’ - these are inexpensive ingredients known for skin smoothing and softening, just Unilever has thought a bit, and done a lot of background research on armpits.
Also, any skin that is rubbed or scraped regularly will thicken (knees and elbows are a prime example) - it’s just a defence mechanism of the body.
Nicole Marie Says:
I’ve had luck with reducing underarm shaving irritation by — get this — using a gentle, pore-clearing facial scrub on my pits every morning in the shower. I only shave on alternate days, and the scrub always comes before shaving (naturally!)
It’s drastically reduced the amount of redness and clogged pores in my underarms, I guess because that extra skin the razor would normally flake off is removed.
RosettaStoned Says:
There are many aluminum-free deodorants with aloe extract, glycerol, and oils like sunflower and tea tree on the market. Just go to a local health food store, or look up brands like Jason Natural Cosmetics or Desert Essence. I love my “hippie” deodorant…no aluminum, therefore no irritation. I can put it on right after shaving, plus it kills any odor without smelling funky like some of those ultra-perfumed deodorants out there. They cost a little more, but it was worth it for me to not have to worry about itchy, burning underarms. Plus, they won’t stain your clothes!
Kelley Says:
I was experimenting with using zinc oxide ointment as a deoderant at a friends recommendation — the results of which were great for my daughter (who is still a child but recently started to have some underarm odor) a tiny dab every other night at bedtime works for her and completely eliminated the odor. I was really excited by that, so I tried it with eh results. it helped but was not enough. oh well. BUT the zinc oxide (or other yummier smelling diaper ointments with zinc oxide as a top ingredient– I found one that smells like lavender) make my pits soft and irritation free, those bumps and redness are gone. so I guess I’ll keep using it after all.
k8y Says:
use hair removal cream i found “nair” works fantastic! no sore pits now, its great and is very cheep, only take 4 mins and leaves smoothskin with no stubble.