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.
