Deodorant Without Antiperspirant

I can usually get away without wearing deodorant. I know - ewwww! But seriously, I'm Asian! East Asian, that is. East Asians sweat but we don't get stinky. Well, not as stinky as everyone else. And it's been proven! But still, with years of mental conditioning from growing up being the only Asian in my class, I have the need to own and occasionally wear deodorant. If only for the reason of not having to explain that I'm not totally arrogant thinking I'm not stinky. So I always have a stick of deodorant in my bathroom cabinet.

I do get slightly stinky after really strenuous exercise so the deodorant is always nice to have. But I am the exception rather than the rule in my family as I think I'm the only person who has any kind of body odor in my family regardless of the exercise. However although I support deodorant use I have never been a fan of antiperspirant. Something about antiperspirant makes me nauseous especially when I apply the stuff in the morning. So I quit buying antiperspirant and stuck to deodorants. Then I found these intriguing articles about the possible link between antiperspirant and neurological disorders. Well, the link isn't really between antiperspirants and neurological disorders but between the quantity of aluminum we absorb and neurological disorders. Antiperspirants contain some form of aluminum as an active ingredient to block the pores from sweating. Yuck! I think that grosses me out the most - that these companies shove aluminum up the pores to stop your body from sweating out the bad stuff from the body system. Anyway, this further convinced me to stop using antiperspirant.

But it's really difficult to buy just deodorant! Walk into any Duane ready in New York City and you will find an entire aisle of deodorant. And most of them will contain antiperspirant. The guys' section of deodorant usually has half and half - Half of the deodorants are just deodorants and the other half have antiperspirant. But the girls' section of deodorants all have antiperspirant included. I think there is only one brand without the antiperspirant - Tom's of Maine. I refuse to buy Tom's of Maine because I have had bad experiences with their products in the past. I just don't think their products are effective. Where did all the plain old deodorants go?

I still have my stick of deodorant from Lady Speedstick from a few years ago. I don't use deodorant that often so a stick every few years works fine for me. I'm worried that I won't be able to find deodorants without antiperspirants anymore in my local drugstore to restock my supply. It also frightens me a little bit that drug stores are stocking antiperspirants with little or no alternatives for women. I can either use Tom's of Maine or that stupid mineral crystal ball thing that you rub under your armpit. I guess they are just responding to demand from customers. Is it that men know more about the possible dangers of antiperspirant use? Is it that women are more paranoid about sweating?

I may just cut off deodorant use entirely as I don't really need it.