a woman showing her beautiful underarms

For such a small, mostly hidden part of your body, underarms can sure cause a lot of grief – sweat stains can be embarrassing, dark pits can make you feel diyahe, and your natural smell can leave you feeling self-conscious. Below, we list the problems you might have with your pits and recommend some effective women's deodorant brands to address them.

Problem 1: Sweaty Armpits

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably experienced underarm sweat at some point in your life, whether it’s due to stress from a big presentation, a vigorous , or simply from living in a hot and humid climate. It’s only natural for your pits to get damp, but it can be cringe-worthy if it leaves visible sweat stains on your clothing, not to mention bad armpit odor.

You might be wondering why this still happens even though you put on deodorant. A female with strong body odor could have smelly underarms from various causes. One possible reason: You’re not using the right product.

While deodorants protect you against foul-smelling, they don’t stop you from sweating, so what you should be reaching for is an antiperspirant.

Meanwhile, the active ingredients in an antiperspirant for underarms work by temporarily blocking your sweat glands, thus keeping perspiration from making it to the surface.

Find your underarm sweat solution with Rexona Women Powder Dry Roll-on Antiperspirant Deodorant. With its groundbreaking MotionSense technology, it can protect you from sweat and odor for up to 48 hours, even as you move.

Problem 2: Body Odor

Everybody gives off their own signature smell, sometimes undetectable and sometimes rather pungent. While sweat itself is odorless, it can mix with bacteria in your underarms and cause smelly armpits. 

If you notice that your natural body odor has changed, one of three things may be the culprit: your diet, stress, or a medical condition. Some adjustments to your diet can keep bad odors at bay – garlic and vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and arugula, for example, have compounds that the body can’t break down completely, so it ends up releasing these compounds through odor. Cut back on these foods and you might notice your smell go back to normal.

If you’re not a fan of your own natural musk, then you can Rexona Shower Clean Roll-On has a light, airy scent that gives you that just-showered feeling all day. Even if you don’t have a particularly strong natural smell, putting on deodorant can give you a confidence boost to help you power through the day.

Problem 3: Dark Underarms

Dark underarms are fairly normal but that doesn’t stop people from being self-conscious about them. The discoloration is mainly due to inflammation, whether it’s from repeated shaving, over-exfoliation, or friction from tight clothing.

Before you try a home remedy, know that some home remedies do more harm than good – lemon juice, for example, can cause irritation, which may lead to further discoloration. Instead, use a deodorant that not only addresses smells and sweat but also helps even out the skin tone on your pits.

One to try: Rexona Natural Deo Dry Serum Fresh Sakura. It’s a breakthrough deodorant that comes in cream form, which you apply directly onto your skin. It dries faster than roll-ons and has natural brightening ingredients like Vitamin E, Vitamin B3, licorice, and natural botanical extracts.

Problem 4: Dark Marks

If you’ve had to rely on shaving or waxing to get rid of unwanted underarm hair, you might have dark spots on your pits. These can be a result of repeated friction, inflammation, minor cuts, or ingrown hairs. Your underarm care routine has to take care of these issues.

While laser hair removal is the ideal preventive option to keep from getting nicks and dark marks, the cost can be prohibitive. A more pocket-friendly option to address existing marks and brighten underarms is Dove Intensive Renew Dry Serum Collagen + Vitamin B3. The best deodorant for dark underarms moisturizes skin and adds fragrance. The combination of collagen and Vitamin B3 helps repair underarm damage and armpit irritation and correct dark marks while leaving a subtle floral scent. 

Problem 5: Ingrown Hair

Ingrown hairs are the result of poor shaving habits and aftercare. A deodorant can't solve this problem, but a few adjustments to your routine can. For example, always prep your skin with warm water before shaving to soften the hairs and open the pores. Shave in the direction of hair growth and make sure to store your razor in a cool, dry place.

Problem 6: Visible Pores

Smooth, flawless underarms is the dream, but sometimes visible pores get in the way. You can blame naturally large pores but take note that dead skin cells and other debris may get trapped in them, stretching pores and making them look more noticeable. 

It thus pays to take extra care when cleaning your underarms: exfoliate them to scrub away any trapped pore-enlarging dirt. You can also use Dove Intensive Renew Deodorant Dry Serum Collagen + Vitamin E, whose active ingredients minimize pores and have been clinically proven to accelerate skin renewal for smoother-looking underarms. 

A good deodorant for women can give you the confidence to raise your arms high and wave your kilikili problems goodbye!

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