I WAS WRONG ABOUT LEMON JUICE FOR BODY ODOR. Dermatologist @DrDrayzday on using lemon juice for body odor. Is lemon juice a natural deodorant? I review a study on how to use lemon juice for body odor.
Is Aluminum safe?
How to stop excessive sweat
Myths about sweating
Panoxyl benzoyl peroxide wash
#naturaldeodorant #bodyodor #lemonjuice
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For me a sign of character is the willingness to admit when you are wrong. 💜💜💜
Yes! And this is not the first time I’ve seen Dr Dray come back with new evidence and a different opinion.
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My mother grew up on a Mexican island and all they ever used was a lime or lemon as deodorant.
Mexican island? Where?
I have very sensitive skin and have been using Panoxyl on my underarms in the shower for a couple of years with no irritation. I apply it and leave on for about 5 minutes, then rinse it off. It works very well, especially during the hot/humid summer. 🥵🌞 For me personally, I can’t imagine applying citrus juice of any kind to an area that is shaved. 😮
During lock down I couldn’t bother keep shaving my underarms and I found out to my surprise it helped loads with sweating.
Also, about a year ago I stopped using deodorants/antiperspirants completely as I randomly tried this deodorant stick which is basically a stick of solid piece of rock salt. You use it like a deodorant, after shower, and I haven’t smelled any funk since.
I bought one last June and there’s still more than half of it left!
Hair is there for a reason. It dissipates sweat so it can evaporate. Deodorants only mask odor with fragrance. If you want to stop odor, use glycolic acid or as in this video, the citric acid makes the environment inhospitable for bacteria to grow.
Yeah but has other people said you don’t smell? Like genuine people who would tell you!
@Violet
So does high concentrations of NaCl apparently, which is why it’s been the main agent used by humans in food preservation for thousands of years now, because too much salt in their environment dehydrates microbes pretty reliably. IDK why this simple idea that has been known forever wasn’t tried first & had then become the default solution for this age-old problem.
On some people works drinking homemade kombucha, it helped me and my sister. I still sweat but there is no smell. Kombucha kills some bad bacteria in our bodies, so I guess that is the reason.
@The life & death of a mad woman 💃🏻 Yeah, my sister who I live with would absolutely tell me that I stink. So would (at least some) of my friends.
My husband grew up in a small village in Mexico and mentioned lemon or lime juice would be used for a lot! For food, underarms and even styling their hair (that one shocked me). No doubt they would’ve used it to clean too, it smells so good not to haha. I use to do those DIY face masks way back in late 2000’s- early 2010’s.. unfortunately one was lemon. No reaction but never again after googling the burns ppl got from them. Not an option at all for underarms imo but when you’re poor.. better than smelling like onions! 🧅 Happy Monday! 🙂
Very interesting video. Some comments I’d like to share: Lemon juice (basically citric acid, among other things) I found tremendously irritating under my arms. Tried that many years ago, and I remember stopping just after a few days, and never again, way too irritating.
On the other hand, I find natural “alum blocks” (potassium alum “crystal” deodorants) pretty much perfect. You moisten them with water and gently rub them, that’s it. In principle these stones have been used since millennia as natural deodorants, but I discovered them not too long ago from shaving products. They are used as antiseptic aftershaves, and they happen to also work as coagulants, so they help stop bleeding from minor skin cuts. They do sting a bit when entering an open cut no matter how small, but the sting goes away quickly, and it does cut the bleeding very effectively. Completely odorless, yet as far as I understand they make the area where it gets applied extremely inhospitable to bacteria -> hence a deodorant. Most importantly at least for my skin, not irritating at all. I have even made my own DIY sprayable liquid version of it, putting the alum blocks in water in a garden sprayer, and using that as my personal DIY deodorant bottle after I shower. I would suggest anyone rather try alum block stones as deodorants, instead of something so potentially irritating as lemon juice.
PS. Fragrances are reverse-engineered (by cloning companies) using gas chromatography. So I guess automated detection of odors (good and bad) for health reasons could be done the exact same way, using gas chromatography.
Thank you for acknowledging that some people with depression can find maintaining basic hygiene difficult. I can also vouch for PanOxyl. I don’t smell bad and do okay with just deodorant. But sometimes I stay in all day and don’t use it at all, which can lead to stinky armpits. I bought PanOxyl for my face acne which works wonderfully alongside with Differin. I was curious one day and left on some PanOxyl under my armpits which I later washed off. IT REALLY WORKS. My armpits don’t smell at all which is a cool trick for when I wanna be extra diligent about my body odor.
I used to rub lemon under my armpits and it really works as a great anti-perspirant. However, it caused really bad itching therefore I ditched using lemon as a deodorant.
As a black woman with dark skin, I would not be comfortable taking the risk. However, I appreciate Dr. Dray discussing the pros (as well as the cons) of lemon juice for body odor.
In Caribbean cultures lime fruits are commonly recommended to “cut” body odors. I could see how daily use would be irritating, if it _is_ left on the skin, but it isn’t. It is rinsed off at the end of a shower/bath. Surprisingly, they don’t use it everyday and it still keeps body odor at bay for a few days, no irritation. Of all the theories postulated, its mechanism may be closest to the manner in which lemons/limes “cut” the fresh scent of fish or other meat, by reacting with the amines or other odor-producing compounds. If this remedy caused that much problems, its use would come with a caveat, for the cultures all over the world that choose to use it and it would not have been around as long as it has, _globally_ This would be especially true for S.E. Asian and Latin American cultures, where they wouldn’t encourage the use of something that causes skin discolouration. Again, no one leaves the lime or lemon juice on their skin. It is rinsed off at the end of a bath/shower. They also don’t smell like lemons or limes.
I didn’t see a link to the study but it would be good to know if they really had the subjects marinating their underarms, in acidic lemon or lime juice.
The same in Africa. They have been using line and lemon for thousands of years.
I’m not doing it either. It’s an acid. Icky.
A thousand times YES for Panoxyl! I so appreciate this tip from Dr Dray. It’s quick, easy and works perfectly for me. I rarely even use anti-perspirant anymore. I’ve been vegetarian for about 40 years, and after starting with the once-a-day Panoxyl in the shower, the only time I I’ve ever had break-through stink was the day after I accidentally ate pork sausage on a pizza.
IMO the biggest issue with this lemon study is that people were allowed to self-rank their stink levels, which seems particularly subjective. I have a super-sensitive sense of smell, and I am astounded at how many people don’t realize how ripe they are. I once had a boss who would fish a used t-shirt out of his gym bag to go for a run on his lunch hour, and then sit around in the stinky sweaty t-shirt all afternoon. Whoof!
Sweating is your body’s natural detox system (Its actually good to sweat… just replace with pure water & eat clean) The solid (clear rock) mineral salt deodorants you find at healthfood stores works amazing for odor control… just have to use after washing. (Plus, these last a very long time!)
sweating is how your body maintains body temperature
Agree. Been using the crystal rock deodorant for over 10 years
In Caribbean cultures lime fruits are commonly recommended to “cut” body odors. I could see how daily use would be irritating, if it _is_ left on the skin, but it isn’t. It is rinsed😮 off at the end of a shower/bath. Surprisingly, they don’t use it everyday and it still keeps body odor at bay for a few days, no irritation. Of all the theories postulated, its mechanism may be closest to the manner in which lemons/limes “cut” the fresh scent of fish or other meat, by reacting with the amines or other odor-producing compounds. If this remedy caused that much problems, its use would come with a caveat, for the cultures all over the world that choose to use it and it would not have been around as long as it has, _globally_. Again, no one leaves the lime or lemon juice on their skin. It is rinsed off at the end of a bath/shower. They also don’t smell like lemons or limes.
I didn’t see a link to the study but it would be good to know if they really had the subjects marinating their underarms, in acidic lemon or lime juice.
Salicylic acid has a better effect, and is perhaps a safer alternative for some. I use the Paula’s Choice brand 2% liquid version. I typically use it right after shaving, and it definitely works (though it may sting a little until you get used to it, but I rarely have problems unless I have a deep cut). It also lightens your armpits, and helps even out skin. And most importantly, I have not had any issues with irritation either. I love it as an option to reduce odor. Interestingly, I found a youtuber who uses non-coated crushed aspirin to treat their dandruff, and another who also uses the PC acid to treat their dandruff as well, so apparently it’s very versatile (never tried the aspirin/dandruff approaches, but I do think that they’d likely work just as well). I think the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties are what really helps. I have heard of the peroxide thing, so I may try that in the future for a slightly cheaper alternative.
I use Salicylic acid wash too!
As a Mexican this it’s almost an ancestral remedy, I understand the necessity of having to base everything with a study but I think the testimonials of thousands of people among decades can also work as a way to consider something as a fact, the lemon it’s used a couple of minutes before shower once or twice a week, not every day, and then it gets rinsed, that’s why the chanses of irritation or burns are very low, some people even combine it with baking soda.
Been using lemon juice for years. It’s the ultimate life hack lol
Applying lemon juice once a week 10mins before showering really helps to cut down odour. Always thought the acidity did something
I’ve been using crystal rock deodorant for the over 10 years. Best thing on the market and you can use it anywhere on the body.
Lemons worked for me . Used it for years with no issues. As others have said, I rub a little slice on before a shower , then shower and rinse it off. No burning or irritation. If you’re going to shave, use the lemon first and rinse it off and then shave.
Also, never had an issue with the skin darkening, in fact it may have even lightened the skin some .
I’ve been told you can also use fresh oranges and orange peels in the same way, but I’ve never tried . Might be less irritating than lemons.
I use Crystal stick, which is mineral salt. It works unbelievably well and has never irritated my skin. Thanks to your videos addressing underarm odor, I now also use Panoxil in the shower and apply Vanicream antiperspirant after the mineral salt. I have found that combination to be bullet proof for underarm odor.
Do you have any info on BUG spray? Can we apply directly to the skin? Which ones are least harmful to apply? Thank you for all your helpful info thus far :)
Hi, Dr Dray, I just love your videos! I am a medical doctor myself (not a dermatologist) and I would really love if you can make a video or share at least here in the comments your opinion about DMAE in skincare. Are there enough studies and evidence it is worth including in our skincare routine? Thank you so much in advance!