It was never my dream to put the story of my right armpit into the public record. But here I am.
While my left underarm works at a regular pace, my right side is prolific. It is the Pablo Picasso of armpits. I can step out of the shower and dry off, and already my right side will smell like it’s 5 p.m.
For years, I tried to tame it in every way imaginable: prescription-grade antiperspirants, crystal sticks, antibacterial soaps, alcohol-based sprays, and an array of deodorants from the “natural” to the highly unnatural—all of which were felled, one by one, by the tireless intransigence of my right armpit.
Then, desperation led me to order the longest-lasting deodorant I could find: Lavilin’s 72-hour deodorant. The claim that it would last 72 hours seemed implausible bordering on impossible. But three days after it arrived, I found myself standing baffled and stink-free on a crowded subway platform in the heat of a summer afternoon.
That was 10 years ago. I have been stink-free ever since.
In all of my trials with various deodorants, I came to agree with the reputation that “natural” deodorants have as being somewhat ineffective—especially because they often tend to lean heavily on fragrance to cover up body odor. So I was somewhat surprised that my favorite deodorant falls into the loose definition of a “natural deodorant,” with no aluminum, alcohol, parabens, or antiperspirants.
Lavilin’s formula includes zinc oxide, an ingredient that neutralizes odor-causing bacteria. “Zinc oxide creates an environment that is hostile to the bacteria that like to feast in your armpit, and without that bacteria, your sweat doesn’t smell,” says Cari Casteel, clinical assistant professor in the department of history at the University at Buffalo, who is currently working on a book about the history of deodorant.
With its stink-eliminating potency, Lavilin outshines all of the deodorants I’ve tried. Last August, I sweated through my shirt on a five-mile run and remained odorless. In the decade-plus that I have been using Lavilin, I’ve walked miles through heat waves that make New York City feel like a Turkish bath house; I’ve survived road trips in cars with broken air conditioners; and I’ve worn wool suits to summer weddings while roasting like a vegetable under the late-afternoon sun—all without my right armpit ever making an appearance.
I find the roll-on formula to be comfortable through humidity, too, at least compared with the Old Spice and Gillette deodorant sticks I grew up using (the kind that look and feel like a bar of soap). That classic deodorant always left my underarms feeling sticky at the end of a long day, and by evening I desperately wanted to wash it off. This roll-on deodorant, on the other hand, leaves behind a feeling of cleanness. It dries almost as soon as I put it on, and I quickly forget I’m wearing it. And unlike aluminum-based antiperspirants (which can leave unsightly pit stains on clothes because the aluminum reacts with sweat), this deodorant never leaves a mark.
Perhaps even more impressive is that I don’t need to use this deodorant every single day to see results. That 72-hour claim might seem like a gimmicky, Billy Mays marketing figure, or something that Mark Cuban might balk at during a pitch on Shark Tank. But having stress-tested the limits of Lavilin, I’ve found this number to be surprisingly accurate. I don’t even need to reapply it if I shower or swim during those three days—and that has emboldened me to skip packing deodorant at all for quick weekend trips. Most importantly, I’ve never had to reapply deodorant throughout the day—even during New York’s most brutal heat waves. Yes, my overactive right armpit endures, patiently waiting for me to go just a few too many days without wearing deodorant, but it has been defanged.
At first, Lavilin does have a faint, vaguely floral scent, which fades not long after application. And its broader scent over two days is probably best described as true nothingness. If you have sensitivities to strong scents, then Lavilin may be a good choice for you. However, even though the product claims to be hypoallergenic, it does list “fragrance” among its ingredients, so people with allergies might still experience some irritation.
What I like least about Lavilin is the bottle. It’s made from flimsy plastic that tends to crack or warp easily. On two occasions, this has led to deodorant leaking inside my suitcase when I’m on a trip. I strongly recommend double bagging it.
At about $18, this deodorant is more expensive than most drugstore sticks. But it isn’t out of line with what other natural deodorants can cost, and I also find myself using less of it (one bottle lasts me roughly six to eight months).
For me, where Lavilin truly excels is that it has almost entirely done away with the notion of body odor itself. I move through the world divorced from a thing that was once a point of stress. It would be an impressive feat for an ordinary person to go so many years without ever once having to ask the question, “Do I smell?” And for me, such a thing would have seemed almost absurd. Yet, thanks to this deodorant, I went from being a man who could stink up a clean tee in an hour to one who can wear the same shirt for three days straight.
This article was edited by Katie Okamoto and Maxine Builder.
