Deodorant

A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask (hide) body odor due to bacterial breakdown of perspiration in the armpits, groin, and feet, and in some cases vaginal secretions. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents sweating itself, typically by blocking sweat glands. Antiperspirants are used on a wider range of body parts, at any place where sweat would be inconvenient or unsafe, since unwanted sweating can interfere with comfort, vision, and grip (due to slipping). Other types of deodorant allow sweating but prevent bacterial action on sweat, since human sweat only has a noticeable smell when it is decomposed by bacteria. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration classifies and regulates most deodorants as cosmetics but classifies antiperspirants as over-the-counter drugs. The first commercial deodorant, Mum, was introduced and patented in the late nineteenth century by an inventor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Edna Murphey. The product was briefly withdrawn from the market in the US. The modern formulation of the antiperspirant was patented by Jules Montenier on January 28, 1941. This formulation was first found in 'Stopette' deodorant spray, which Time magazine called 'the best-selling deodorant of the early 1950s'. There is a popular myth that deodorant use is linked to breast cancer, but research has shown no such link exists.. There are many deodorant brands such as Secret, Arrid, Rexona, Sure, Degree, Right Guard and many more. The human body produces perspiration (sweat) via two types of sweat gland: eccrine sweat glands which cover much of the skin and produce watery odourless sweat, and apocrine sweat glands in the armpits and groin, which produce a more oily 'heavy' sweat containing a proportion of waste proteins, fatty acids and carbohydrates, that can be metabolized by bacteria to produce compounds that cause body odor. In addition the vagina produces secretions which are not a form of sweat but may be undesired and also masked with deodorants. Human perspiration of all types is largely odorless until its organic components are fermented by bacteria that thrive in hot, humid environments. The human underarm is among the most consistently warm areas on the surface of the human body, and sweat glands readily provide moisture containing a fraction of organic matter, which when excreted, has a vital cooling effect. When adult armpits are washed with alkaline pH soap, the skin loses its protective acid mantle (pH 4.5 - 6), raising the skin pH and disrupting the skin barrier. Many bacteria are adapted to the slightly alkali environment within the human body, so they can thrive within this elevated pH environment. this makes the skin more than usually susceptible to bacterial colonization. Bacteria on the skin feed on the waste proteins and fatty acids in the sweat from the apocrine glands and on dead skin and hair cells, releasing trans-3-methyl-2-hexenoic acid in their waste, which is the primary cause of body odor. Underarm hair wicks the moisture away from the skin and aids in keeping the skin dry enough to prevent or diminish bacterial colonization. The hair is less susceptible to bacterial growth and therefore reduces bacterial odor. The apocrine sweat glands are inactive until puberty, which is why body odor often only becomes noticeable at that time.