eTopical Precious Finds
The use of Milk of magnesia deodorant is increasingly popular and has since given birth to the concept of MoM deodorants such as the one by People’s Pharmacy. This article will explore this topic more closely and includes a MoM recipe as well as reviews from users of commercial products in this category.
How to Use Milk of Magnesia as Deodorant
Before we highlight how to use milk of magnesia as deodorant for excessive sweating, let us first of all the concerns about safety. Milk of magnesia is mainly magnesium hydroxide suspended in purified water, with a little sodium hypochlorite added.
A research conducted in 1981 by Stewart and Downing showed that milk of magnesia (magnesium hydroxide) helped to break down wax esters and steryl esters from the human skin oil. This gave rise to the idea of using milk of magnesia for oily skin reduction and as a primer for makeup.
Opponents of this remedy however expressed concern about the high alkalinity of magnesium hydroxide (10.5) which may neutralize the film of acidic substances found on the skin, called acid mantle, which helps to maintain optimum pH for beneficial bacteria and prevent a proliferation of harmful bacteria.
When the acid mantle is neutralized from long term use of milk of magnesia on the skin, harmful bacteria may proliferate on the skin leading to numerous health problems including acne breakouts.
This then brings us to the concern about using milk of magnesia as a deodorant; a suggestion that sounds downright counterproductive. Well, there is a balancing action involved. The underarm tends to get very sweaty and moist which creates an environment that is ideal for bacterial and fungal action. While the increase in pH from the use of milk of magnesia deodorant could encourage bacterial and fungi growth and action, the resulting reduction of sweat balances this effect out.
Now going back to our topic of discussion, i.e. how to use milk of magnesia as deodorant, you basically have two options. The first is to prepare your own deodorant at home and the second one is to get one of those commercial products that are popping up on the market every day. These two potions are discussed in more details in other sections of this article.
Milk of Magnesia Deodorant Recipe and Ingredients
Milk of magnesia has long been used in Cuba to curb armpit odor and the rest of the world has since caught up to its effectiveness. We spent some time looking for a milk of magnesia recipe and here is what we came up with:
Ingredients and items needed:
- A bottle of milk of magnesia e.g. Phillips
- Cotton balls
Instructions
- Pour some milk of magnesia into the lid
- Pour a nickel sized amount of milk of magnesia into your palm
- Apply it to your armpits using your fingers
- Allow it time to dry off before wearing your shirt. Some people suggest using a blow dryer to blast some heat on to the milk to make it dry quicker but that is up to you to decide.
- Discard the milk remaining in the lid
One major downside to this natural home remedy is that it takes a bit longer for the milk of magnesia to dry compared to commercial deodorants.
Whether this is really a natural deodorant is also subject to differing opinions but this is reportedly such an effective and popular option that the People’s Pharmacy decided to create a commercial deodorant with magnesium hydroxide as the active ingredient.
Keep in mind also that this milk of magnesia recipe so to speak is a deodorant and not an antiperspirant. That means that it will help to keep odor at bay but will not prevent sweating. In addition to your milk of magnesia, you may want to rub a little baking soda or baby powder to address this shortcoming.
Milk of Magnesia Deodorant Dangers
You might right now be wondering what risks (or dangers if you like) are associated with using milk of magnesia deodorants. As we have already pointed out, the reduction of moisture in the underarms counterchecks the risk of bacterial proliferation from pH increase.
Tanya Russo, MD, a pediatrician at Lexington Medical Center in South Carolina Shares a similar opinion saying, “…topical application [of magnesium hydroxide] should pose no health risks”.
The People’s Pharmacy however expresses reservations about using sodium hypochlorite on the delicate tissues in the armpits on a regular basis and have addressed this issue by removing this ingredient from the People’s Pharmacy Milk of Magnesia Deodorant formulation. We have discussed more about this roll on in a subsequent segment of this guide.
Milk of Magnesia Roll on Deodorant
The concept of milk of magnesia roll on deodorant was introduced by the People’s pharmacy. As a matter of fact, the term milk of magnesia or MoM roll on deodorant is almost synonymous to the People’s Pharmacy MoM Deodorant.
According to the People’s Pharmacy, the concept came about from their getting overwhelming number of positive reviews about using milk of magnesia laxative as a body odor gag. After trying to use the off-the-shelf milk of magnesia products, they found the remedy so effective that they decided to develop their commercial alternative.
The People’s Pharmacy Milk of Magnesia Roll on Deodorant is notable for a few points. First of all, they excluded the sodium hypochlorite typically found in oral MoM laxatives as they reportedly had some reservations about long term application of sodium hypochlorite to the sensitive underarm tissues.
The manufacturer also claims to have worked alongside some natural products chemists to improve upon the messy feel of the common store-bought milk of magnesia.
Some users praise the deodorant for its being aluminum and parabens free and yet others are attracted to its fragrance-free formulation.
Milk of Magnesia Deodorant Reviews
Reviews never lie. They give us an insight into people’s experiences with products and provide a perfect basis on which to base our judgment about such products.
We scoured all over the internet looking for milk of magnesia deodorant reviews and the first thing we appreciated is that the People’s Pharmacy Milk of Magnesia Deodorant is the undisputed king of their jungle.
In the light of that, most of the reviews we could find related to this product and here are some of them:
“…I’m very pleased with the performance and have recommended it to several women. I sweat a lot at our gym three times a week, but do not suffer the embarrassing odor that I did with the other brands”
She however expressed dissatisfaction with the long drying time for this product saying
“… My only criticism is that I have to dry my underarms with the hair dryer after application, otherwise the roll-on rubs off on my clothes…that takes less than one minute and is well worth the time…”
Another reviewer said:
“…there is no irritation like I have had with some antiperspirant…”
Overall, this deodorant roll on product from People’s Pharmacy seems to be getting all the rave reviews and is worth the try if the reviews are anything to go by.
