Archives of dermatological research
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Arch. Dermatol. Res. · Oct 2014
Deodorants and antiperspirants affect the axillary bacterial community.
The use of underarm cosmetics is common practice in the Western society to obtain better body odor and/or to prevent excessive sweating. A survey indicated that 95 % of the young adult Belgians generally use an underarm deodorant or antiperspirant. The effect of deodorants and antiperspirants on the axillary bacterial community was examined on nine healthy subjects, who were restrained from using deodorant/antiperspirant for 1 month. ⋯ Especially when antiperspirants were applied, the microbiome showed an increase in diversity. Antiperspirant usage led toward an increase of Actinobacteria, which is an unfavorable situation with respect to body odor development. These initial results show that axillary cosmetics modify the microbial community and can stimulate odor-producing bacteria.