We are familiar with detoxes: a juice cleanse for your intestines and kidneys or a digital detox to lower your stress level. It is good to wake up your system every now and then by not doing something. This also applies to armpits. If you use deodorant for years, quite a few chemical ingredients remain that can be harmful in the long term. In addition, there are sometimes deodorants that work with a cream that gets into the pores and causes them to block. This ensures that there are more bad bacteria on your armpit, making the sweat odor stronger. It helps not to put on deodorant for a while and to wear an anti-sweat shirt that prevents sweat spots. Another idea is to apply a mask to cleanse your armpits of waste and toxins.

A clay mask can kill bacteria and fungi under your armpits

You may have ever put a clay mask on your face. Some masks harden, causing pores to open even more, but even with masks that do not harden, clay has been shown to kill bacteria and fungi. And in addition, excess oil and sebum will also be absorbed.

“We apply a lot of artificial, chemical ingredients under our armpits. For example, think of deodorant that you may use every day. These chemicals can remain on our skin for weeks or even months. So a detox is a good idea for your armpits,” says researcher Mr Callewaert. For years he has been researching why people perspire and testing various effects against sweat odor. His nickname is 'Doctor Armpit'.

An armpit detox ensures a healthy balance of your pH value

The armpit detox is very popular on Tiktok. The hashtag #armpitdetox already has millions of views. There you will find armpit masks of different compositions. In principle, any clay mask is sufficient, but you can also make a mask yourself with, for example, clay and cider vinegar or lemon juice. Lemon juice and cider vinegar lower the pH value of your armpit. A neutral pH value is an acidity around 7. Everything below that is acidic and everything above that is basic. You can influence your pH value with food or supplements. The natural value of our skin is 5. Deodorant quickly has a pH value of 10 or higher and causes the bacteria under your armpit to become out of balance. Lemon juice or cider vinegar does the opposite and brings the acidity back into balance. In addition, it is very effective against sweat odor.

Would you also like to try a mask for your armpit?

Would you also like to try an armpit mask? Then put a little of the mask on your armpit and wait 1-2 days to see if you have an allergic reaction. Then you can do it weekly for about 15 minutes, for example. You can easily wash it off with warm water.

Ingredients for your armpit mask:

• 1 tablespoon of clay (you can also buy a ready-made mud or clay mask at the drugstore)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

Method for your cleansing armpit mask:

• Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Do not use metal but a wooden spoon.
• Apply a layer to your dry armpit and let it work for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the mask in the shower with a wet cloth.

Sandra van Beek March 10, 2023