Today, for the first time in my life, I know what it's like to have an allergic reaction to a skin product.
For a few years I've been using Mitchum's antiperspirant. They claim, "So strong, you can skip a day," and they're right—it's utterly effective. The price for that effectiveness is aluminum sesquicholorohydrate, which deposits itself in the armpit creases of one's undershirts like orange-yellow starch. After throwing away a few undershirts, I decided to switch to a hippie deodorant.
A few weeks, or maybe over a month, ago, I bought Tom's of Maine lemongrass deodorant. I like supporting hippies, and this one even had a foldout which explained the purpose of every ingredient in the deodorant. I was impressed.
Once my mom commandeered my lemongrass deodorant because she loved the smell, I switched to the "long-lasting" apricot variety of the same brand. I've been using this one for at least two weeks and have had no complaints. Tonight was different.
I took a shower in the evening, then applied the deodorant so I can watch a movie while basking in apricot. About half an hour into the movie I realized that my armits are itching. Trying to ignore the problem, I watched another half hour. At the end of that, I had my hands interlocked on top of my head and alternating blowing air on each armpit to relieve the discomfort. I can't find a proper adjective to describe it... it wasn't painful, it didn't burn... The closest I can come to describing it is: imagine someone gently rubbed your armpits with fine sandpaper for a few seconds.
Eventually I decided that perhaps tonight is a bad night for deodorant, so I went into the bathroom to wash it off with soap. Upon examination under bright lights, I saw that a part of the deodored skin is red and looked flaky. More than anything else, I was relieved that the discomfort was justified and I wasn't just imagining it. After washing it off with soap, I feel right as rain.
Tonight I joined the allergic-reaction-to-Toms-of-Maine club.
Now I understand why hippies smell.
I've used something called Certain Dri for a while now and have had the same thing happen occasionally since I shower at night and have to put it on at night (at least according to the instructions) The instructions also say not to apply it after showering, but it's usually fine as long as I wait a while.
Although I don't think I've ever turned red...hm.
I joined the allergic reaction group today, 4/6/09. I've been using the Long-lasting care lavender for 3-4 weeks without issue until this morning. I am really red, burns like crazy, tender to the touch and the shower to wash off the product was terribly painful. I even went to the doctor this afternoon because I had started peeling. He gave me a heavy duty cortisone and anti-fungal cream, told me not to shave for 4-5 days, wash with a mild soap and use a powder (baby powder or the like) in place of deodorant for the next few days. Thankfully it isn't August in Dallas! I tried Weleda last summer and it worked better than any of the other natural products I've tried so far. I think I'll go back to them! Thanks for your post I found it very helpful this morning.