How Long Does A Stick Of Deodorant Last?

Today, deodorant is such a common product that many people use on a regular basis to get rid of body odor. However, not every deodorant product comes with an expiration date so you may ask: “ How long does a stick of deodorant last?” and “What can I do to make it last longer?”. This article will answer all of your questions and carefully explain to you everything in advance.

Some Basic Definitions

To answer any questions, it’s always important to fully understand every keyword. We’ll guide you through a simple explanation of some words that will repeatedly appear in the article so you will not be confused about anything:

• Body odor: It is the smell that your body gives off and in this article, this terms refer to an unpleasant scent. Also, you need to know that your body’s bacterias play the leading role in that smell, not your sweat itself. Bacteria thrive on your body’s nutrition, break down some organic substance and turn it into thioalcohol (a compound notoriously stinks); your sweat just gives them a better environment to grow with humidity and nutrition.
• Deodorant: Whether you are using it or not, you probably heard of it and knew that deodorant is the substance that is applied to the body to prevent and cover the stinky smell coming off from it. A deodorant works as an antimicrobial to kill off bacteria, which is the culprit, and as a perfume to shield yourself with a pleasant smell. It can come in many appearances like a stick, spray or paste and stick-deodorant is one of the most common forms.
• Antiperspirant: Even though the terms “ deodorant” and “antiperspirant” are often used interchangeably, antiperspirant is different from deodorant. According to Food & Drug Administration(FDA) of the USA, antiperspirant is in drug-group whereas deodorant is placed into cosmetics category[1]. Its mechanism is keeping your applied-area dry by covering sweat glands to inhibit the growth of bacteria, and people usually use it for an excessive sweating issue. However, to make it easy for you, in this article we will refer a deodorant product as either antiperspirants or deodorants.
• Expiration date: the date that is determined by the producer whether the product should no longer be used as the product’s age can affect its safety. It is the day that they can still guarantee the efficiency and safety of their products even though many of them work for weeks or years after the expiration time[2]. Still, you should use any products within the manufacture’s given time for your right because if something goes wrong after the expiration day, you can not sue the company or make any complaints about it.

How Long Does A Stick Of Deodorant Last?

An expiration date, of course, is the most reliable index to answer that question as the producer knows about their baby better than we do. But expiration date does not always mean that much, as we said before, it is not present in every product and the process of using deodorant can greatly affect your deodorant’s shelf life. Based on these factors that we listed, you can have roughly estimate how long does a stick of deodorant last, and by saying “last,” it means your deodorant is still usable:

1. Its origin

Based on the origin of deodorant’s ingredients, you can divide it into two main group: natural product and synthetic product:

• A natural deodorant will be a wonderful choice for sensitive skin or people who are allergic to chemical substances in a mainstream product; it is safer to use, by the way. Unfortunately, since it is not composed of preservations, it loses its effectiveness quicker than conventional deodorant. Not to mention the fact that, it will get contaminated since natural-originated compounds offer a greater environment for the growth of bacteria and fungi.
• Applying a contaminated deodorant can give you skin or health problems from as mild as rashes to as severe as infection and can even lead to death. So how long does a stick of natural deodorant last? The answer is that you should only use it within a year or less since the time you opened it.
• On the other hand, chemical substances in mainstream deodorant are pretty stable and can stay unchanged after a long time. Usually, a cosmetics manufacturers will recommend you to use their products within a year or more after opening it to prevent contagion. But deodorants work by killing off bacteria so even its effect may decrease due to the fade of fragrance, you can still use it after the product’s recommendation, theoretically.

But for the sake of your safety, please stop when you have some skin reaction like rashes, irritants or at least change your deodorant after three years (if you are still using the same one, of course). It is also a way to refresh yourself with some new smell and catch up with the latest scent in the market. Renew yourself!

2. Your deodorant is an antiperspirant or not

As we explained earlier, even though the term “ deodorant” can work for either deodorants group or antiperspirants group, they are two different things and have distinctive “available” interval of time.

• Antiperspirant fall into an over-the-counter category, so they have to carry an exact expiration date on account of FDA’s regulation. Deodorants, on the other side, do not need one but the company usually still put in on though. It probably because they need you to change deodorant and buy their new product constantly. They also need a timeline to protect themselves from lawsuits if the clients have any health problem because of their product after manufacturer’s expiration date.
•  How to tell: Usually, the company will print it on the description of the product. You can also look at the ingredients of your deodorant whether it contains aluminum-based compounds or not- the active substances that are widely used by most antiperspirant to block sweat gland.

3. Yourself

The way you use your product or your physical characteristics itself can significantly affect how long does a stick of deodorant last:

• You simply pick the wrong deodorant: each of us have distinctive body’s features so not every deodorant will work for you. Some will help you stay dry and fresh all day; some will become nonsense in a sec and give off such weird mixology of smell: your body odor and its fragrance, nobody will use such kind of thing for too long obviously. There is nothing wrong with the product itself, it may still work for others, but it is just not “the one” for you.
• You preserve your product the wrong way: Heat and organisms in the environment can decrease the quality of deodorant. Bacteria and fungi can get your deodorant contaminated when you constantly forget to cover it, especially with the natural-origin product as we mentioned previously. Heat can promote the growth of bacteria and breakdown preservatives- which boost the contamination process even more.
•  Your body rejects the product: The first time you use it, it works perfectly fine, but it stops doing the trick after two or three months, you get crazily sweaty and become stinky again. This problem usually goes to antiperspirant and sadly, there hasn’t been any explanation yet. The reason behind that probably is because your body finds a way to unplug the ducts of sweat glands or somehow it develops a compensatory mechanism. The sweat glands that are not affected by antiperspirant produce even more sweat to make up for ones that are already blocked.

This phenomenon has been noticed in patients after surgery to treat disturbing severe sweat problem( not only in armpits though). A study has suggested that 85 percent of patients who undergo thoracic sympathectomy(a procedure is used to treat excessive sweating, facial blushing, Raynaud diseases and reflex sympathetic dystrophy)develop compensatory sweating after the surgery [3].

What To Do To Make Your Deodorant Last Longer?

I mean, you can always buy a new one if your deodorant is shown to be useless or spoiled but having to buy this kind of thing constantly is inconvenient. Besides, keeping your deodorant lasting a little bit longer for sure can save you some money:

1. Try to change your current deodorant

Some deodorants can be last better and work better than the others if you can’t use your current one for too long, it’s time to change:

• Switch to more suitable brand: depending on your problem and personal traits, you can decide which deodorant you should pick based on its ingredients, fragrances or even its form.
• It may take a long process of testing until you find what best fits for you. If you feel like it will be too complicated and want to make a shortcut, please CLICK to see THE BEST DEODORANTS FOR MEN that our team already chose. After choosing the perfect one, you’ll see the difference.
•  Replace your deodorant: If you already pick a favorite antiperspirant, this is a good way to prevent “immunity” of your body towards it by confusing those sweat glands, just make sure two deodorants have some different ingredients.

Besides, if you choose a synthetic deodorant, even though it can last much longer than a natural one, replace it with a new one after the manufacturer’s expiration date or an appropriate amount of time that we discussed earlier. Take notice of the applied skin as well, throw it away immediately if you see any skin reactions like rashes or irritants.

2. Treat your deodorant right!

It’s hard to find a perfect deodorant already, if you have your favorite one, use it effectively and preserve it well:

• Get the best out of your product: taking a shower or washing your armpits before and then wait for it to dry until you put on deodorant. Wet armpits can affect how long deodorant last by washing the formula away and leaves hideous marks on your outfit. When you are trying to apply deodorant, put an even coat on your armpits with 2 to 3 clicks per arm with a stick of deodorant.
• Preserve your deodorant: no product will last for long if you keep storing it in either too warm or too cold condition, just put them in environment’s temperature. Besides, avoiding touching and applying when your skin is still wet as your fingers or water can add up more bacterias and fungi to the product.

Key Points Of How Long Does A Stick Of Deodorant Last

Deodorant is used to prevent body odor caused by the growth of bacterias in your body. Deodorants and Antiperspirants are two different things, but the term “deodorant” can work for both of them so we will use “deodorant” to refer as both of them in this article, except when it requires distinguishing those two.

How long does a stick of deodorant last can depend on three factors:

• Its origin is natural or synthetic
• Whether it is an antiperspirant or not
• You – the consumer
•  What can you do to make your deodorant last longer
• Try to change your current deodorant
• Use it right

Conclusion

We just have answered the question”How long does a stick of deodorant last” for you in great detail, but briefly, it depends on the product’s origin, ingredient and yourself. We even have some extra methods for you at the end to help you keep your deodorant last longer. If you have any questions, please contact us, we are always available to answer your questions. If you feel this article is helpful, please share it on your social network or sign up for our newsletter for more great stuff like this every day!