Forum member tsunamino says…Short of scrubbing, how can you remove deodorant from your underarms at the end of the day? I’ve heard of this one product, Clarsskin that claims to penetrate the residue left behind to clean it off. Here’s what their website says:
Clarsskin Underarm Cleanser contains a unique patent pending combination of an effective chelating agent with special agents. This complex mixture is specifically designed to remove antiperspirant deodorant residue, efficiently and mildly. So what’s so special about chelating agents? Chelating agents have the capability of penetrating the residue left behind by antiperspirant deodorants — including the metallic salts they are made of! They do one thing and do it well! Clarsskin Underarm Cleanser is particularly effective with ingredients that are unusually mild but contain no sulfates, paraben and DEA.
Of course since it’s “patent pending” they don’t list the ingredients. Is there 
anything out there that could help to get rid of deodorant?
Right Brain clears things up:
It’s so rare I get to do any product reviews. Sarah and Mid Brain always seem to get product samples before me. However, this question was for me so too was the sample.
What is Clarsskin?
At its most basic level, Clarsskin is a body wash. It uses mild surfactants like Decyl Glucoside (derived from sugar) and Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate so it will not be as harsh as sulfate based body washes. The mild surfactants also mean it will not foam as well. The rest of the ingredients are standard. Here’s a complete list of the formula right from the bottle.
WATER, DECYL GLUCOSIDE, SODIUM LAUROYL SARCOSINATE, COCAMIDE MEA, HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE, ETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOSTEARATE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE POWDER, ANTHEMIS NOBILIS FLOWER EXTRACT, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, DISODIUM EDTA, DMDM HYDANTOIN, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, FRAGRANCE
How is Clarsskin different?
The key Clarsskin claim is that it helps remove residue from your 
antiperspirant or deodorant. They say that it contains special “chelating agents” that take care of this problem. Is that true?
Well, the chelating ingredient they are talking about is Disodium EDTA. It is found in many personal care products for the purpose of both removing metal ions and helping boost the activity of the preservative. It is true that extra chelating ingredients will help improve cleansing. The improvement they provide is not normally noticeable so companies don’t bother putting additional levels in. No data is given on the company website to compare the performance to a standard body wash, but in principle this chelating approach could work because the excess deodorant residue is partially composed of water insoluble metallic salts.
Clarsskin Experience
Admittedly, this pit problem was foreign to me until getting the Clarsskin sample. I tried the product and there was certainly an effect. My underarms did feel different. Not sure if “cleaner” is the word I’d use but “fresher”. Since I didn’t want to bias the results I applied it without using my usual bathroom poof. In doing it this way, it was much harder to generate a good amount of foam. More foam doesn’t mean it’s cleaning better but it would’ve improved the experience.
The packaging is nice. You open it once and then squeeze out the product whenever you need it. It’s a good experience but I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it. I’m not sure if the extra step is worth the extra time. Wonder why they don’t just make a whole body wash with the chelating ingredient in it. hmmm
Do you need this product?
People with “pit stains” on their favorite blouses could definitely see a benefit from this product. Are you listening Left Brain? You might also see a benefit if you don’t like how your underarms feel, if you scrub extra hard on them or you just can’t seem to get them clean. The extra chelating ingredient could actually help get you cleaner.
Beauty Brains Bottom Line:
Clarsskin is an interesting product that attempts to solve a problem that affects at least a portion of the population. If you have a problem with stained shirts or just don’t like how your underarms feel, this product is certainly worth a try. We can’t say for sure it will work for you, but there is at least some science suggesting it might.
If you want to try Clarsskin yourself, take a look at their website.
How big is this problem? Do you think you need an extra product to get your underarms clean? Leave a comment and let the Beauty Brains community know.
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I used to have problem removing deodorant, which was particularly annoying when I needed to shave (buildup…). However, after being diagnosed with some skin allergies that required me to change soaps, I discovered that while commercial soaps do nothing to remove deodorant, all-natural coconut-oil based soaps do an excellent job of it. There are probably other oil-based soaps that would work this way too, but I haven’t tried them.
I would guess that any old clarifying shampoo that contains a chelating agent (like Suave, for instance, at $2/22 oz) could be used for this purpose and work just as well as Clarsskin at $22/4 oz. It’s an interesting idea, but the price per ounce is absurd.
Hmm.. interesting, Kelly! I’m a little disappointed with this Clarsskin, but thanks for doing a review!