Most Common Questions About Deodorants
1. Do deodorants leave white residues on textiles?
Some deodorants, particularly antiperspirants containing aluminium salts like aluminium chlorohydrate (ACH), can leave white residues on clothing if not applied correctly. To prevent this, it is essential to shake antiperspirant sprays thoroughly, ensuring an even distribution of the aluminium chlorohydrate powder on the skin. Allow sufficient time for the antiperspirant to fully absorb or dry on the skin before dressing to avoid white residues. If white marks do appear, they can usually be removed by brushing. NIVEA Invisible for Black & White products offers a potential solution for those seeking to avoid white marks on clothing.
2. How can I effectively remove yellowish stains?
Yellow stains that already exist cannot be removed or reduced through frequent or repeated washing of clothes in some cases, this can even cause the stains to solidify. If you encounter stains, it is recommended to rinse the clothes in cold water before washing them with laundry detergent. In many cases, soaking the clothes in a 5% citric acid solution for approximately 24 hours has successfully removed the stains. It is crucial to rinse the clothes thoroughly with clear water before proceeding to a normal wash cycle using liquid detergent at 30°C. However, we cannot guarantee the success of this procedure for all stains and types of clothing. Take caution when dealing with delicate and colourful fabrics and clothes with "mother-of-pearl" buttons, as the acid solution may cause damage. Testing the product on an inconspicuous spot before applying it to the entire garment is advisable.
Warning: To prevent skin irritation, eye damage, tissue destruction, and respiratory irritation, it is important to avoid breathing in citric acid dust and always wear protective gloves when working with citric acid.
3. Do deodorants cause yellow stains in textiles?
The yellow color comes from how skin lipids, sebum, laundry soap, and antiperspirants work together. From what we've seen, there are several factors at play, such as how often antiperspirant is used, how much is used, how often clothes are changed, how hard clothes are washed, how sweat is made, what minerals or trace elements are in the tap water, and what the fabric is made of. The best way to keep your clothes from getting yellow stains is to let the deodorant dry completely before putting them on.
4. Do deodorants cause coloured stains (such as green, brown, red, or blue) in textiles?
How coloured stains form on fabrics is similar to how yellow stains form. The colour of spots on concrete could be affected by trace metals in the tap water, such as copper, manganese, or iron. In some cases, fluorescent brightening agents (optical brighteners) could change how colours look. Coloured spots can also appear on light-coloured clothes when a coloured piece of clothing worn underneath or on top bleeds dye. This is often done if the dyed cloth can't keep sweat out.
5. Why is it necessary to shake my NIVEA antiperspirant or deodorant spray?
Antiperspirant sprays like NIVEA DRY Spray must be shaken to evenly spread the active powder (aluminium salt). Otherwise, the substance could be sprayed out in a concentrated form and block the valve or leave a white residue on skin or clothes. Alcohol-based NIVEA deodorant sprays, such as Fresh Pure, Fresh Natural, Fresh Flower, and Fresh Comfort, do not need to be shaken.
However, yellow stains can arise without antiperspirant chemicals, such as a yellow collar, where skin lipids and airborne dirt particles cause permanent stains. Fabric dye bleeding can discolour. NIVEA Invisible for Black & White products can eliminate yellow spots on garments.
6. How long should I wait to use aluminium-containing antiperspirant?
When you shave, a small amount of the top layer of skin is taken, but the skin and its protective layers are not always damaged. However, minor accidents can still happen. In this case, aluminium-based deodorants shouldn't be used if the skin is sensitive or hurt. Even if the skin under your arms is sensitive or hurt for some other reason, you shouldn't use an antiperspirant.
7. Is inhibiting perspiration with antiperspirants harmful?
Using antiperspirants doesn't change how the body controls its temperature. The total area of the underarms is 200 cm2, which is less than 1% of the body surface. So, this area is much too small to affect how the body keeps its temperature. Many studies have shown that antiperspirants are safe to use, and their use in cosmetics is okay.
8. Why do we Perspire?
Numerous things cause sweating. Sweating can result from a high body temperature or physical exercise. Evaporative heat loss regulates body temperature with this type of sweating. Eccrine sweat glands emit water and salts as perspiration. Emotional or psychological stress can cause sweating. Your armpits, soles, palms, and forehead sweat more in this situation. Both eccrine and apocrine sweat glands create this sort of perspiration. Skin microorganisms metabolize lipids and proteins in apocrine sweat to produce body odour. Stress-induced sweat is part of the "fight-or-flight" reaction and helps us communicate nonverbally. NIVEA Protect & Care Roll-ons for men and women combat stress-induced perspiration.
9. Is My Product Free of Alcohol?
The word "alcohol" can describe a wide range of chemicals. They all have the same group of atoms in the molecule, making them all the same. Most of the time, though, the word "alcohol" is only used to refer to the drinkable substance ethanol, which has the chemical name ethyl alcohol. Any product that says "alcohol-free" doesn't contain ethanol, so it doesn't contain "alcohol" or "alcohol, denat." However, the word "alcohol" may appear in the ingredient list (such as "stearyl alcohol"), which means it does contain alcohol.
10. Why do NIVEA antiperspirants contain aluminium salts like ACH?
To avoid sweat stains, many consumers want deodorants with sweat-reducing properties. Effective antiperspirants contain aluminium salts like aluminium chlorohydrate. These salts generate temporary gel plugs in sweat pores. This reduces sweating. These plugs eventually fall off due to friction and skin renewal.
Antiperspirants have employed aluminium salts safely for over a century. The European Cosmetics Directive regulates cosmetic components' safety and scientific analysis at the European and national levels.11. Why Do We Smell?
Fresh sweat is a fluid that doesn't smell. The foul smell only happens when skin germs in the armpit break down certain sweat parts, such as lipids and proteins. Your armpit is a great place for skin bacteria to grow because it is moist, has a higher pH, and has a good source of nutrients from sweat and sebum glands.
