Wearing natural deodorant at night is an interesting topic. I have been asked more than once whether it's safe or necessary to wear a natural deodorant at night. The answer is YES. What's more interesting though is the huge amount of information we found on the topic of wearing deodorant at night and a little experiment I created by accident when I went out one morning in a rush and forgot to wear deodorant.

Natural Deodorant at night vs Antiperspirant. What's the difference?

To put it very simply, a natural deodorant still allows you to sweat and is formulated to kill the bacteria that causes the smell under your pits. An Antiperspirant is formulated to clog your pores and stop you from sweating. So while I think wearing a natural deodorant at night is a great idea if you need or want to, I do not believe that doing this with an antiperspirant is a good idea. And I'm not the only one. Our consulting naturopath is not a fan of the idea, nor is any other natural health professional I have spoken to. Wearing it to the gym when you're sweating a lot is just madness. You sweat for a reason.

Does applying antiperspirant at night make it more effective?

There are mulitple sources online dated in 2015 suggesting that antiperspirant works better if you apply it at night, it gives the best 'pore clogging' experience. Apparently even when you shower the next morning, it won't wash off and the pores remain clogged so you don't sweat. Sound like a good idea to you? It doesn't to me.

Does applying natural deodorant at night make it more effective?

No. We're not clogging pores here, but applying it twice a day can be of benefit to those going through a particularly stinky period. While the roll-on from Weleda is marked as 24 hour, not every natural deodorant will give this length of protection. If you're someone who sweats a lot at night, even if it's just in the humidity of summer or if you're unwell (you will always smell different and sweat differently when you're unwell), applying deodorant as you go to bed and again in the morning will give you a more effective coverage. If you want some assistance drifting off to sleep, try one with lavender essential oil in it, it's great for relaxation and helping you drift off to sleep.

My accidental experiment

A couple of weeks ago, in the humidity, I had an early appointment and forgot to apply deodorant. Surprisingly, I didn't smell too bad a a couple of hours later. My application from the morning before, despite an evening and morning shower, was still offering some lingering coverage. And yes, it was a natural deodorant, a roll-on from Fresca. I decided to be brave and just leave it off all day. By the time nighttime came, I did smell, had a shower, didn't quite get rid of all the smell, and then went to bed. I woke the next morning, had another shower and still couldn't' quite get rid of all the smell UNTIL I applied my deodorant. As soon as I did, the smell was gone.

This little experiment leads me to the conclusion that, for me at least, the natural deodorant I use offers protection beyond the 12+ hours I would expect it to. Showering does not always remove all the odour, but reapplication of the deodorant does.

My experiment was done with an unscented deodorant, so there was no assistance from any essential oils in this experiment.

Life Hack

In a pinch, magnesium oil or a natural hand sanitiser will help you get rid of unwanted odour until you can bathe and/or apply a deodorant.

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