Skin care under your arms tends to be neglected for some reason. Perhaps it is because it tends to be one of those spots that has a bad reputation and we would prefer to ignore it, or put something on that hides it. But skin care does not discriminate where you should pay close attention; skin care means every spot of skin, so if you are going to do it, do it right.

The thing with underarms (with the not-so-welcoming other name of armpits) is that people associate the areas with sweat and smelliness. The problem is that most people do not know the whole story. Sweat is natural; you sweat all over your body and it is a way for your body to try and cool itself off. The smell you may notice is not the sweat at all, but instead a buildup of bacteria in the area, as bacteria tend to thrive in warm, moist areas. What we also forget is that our bodies are full of various bacteria as it is, many of which we need in order to survive; a win-win situation for both us and the bacteria.

Many skin care products contain chemicals that kill bacteria. It does not matter if the bacteria are good or bad, the product will kill them all. A bit of a problem when some of the bacteria are there to help assist us in various ways, such as balancing out what some of the other bacteria do. So now what? You may have a chance at running around without any underarm deodorant/antiperspirant one day and smell perfectly fine, but you still want to stop the wetness, right? And besides that, you need to continue washing yourself, so what do you do to try and keep some of that useful bacteria alive?

A lot of chemicals are going to kill bacteria as it is. You may have been thinking of going natural or organic (and yes, there is a difference), and this is yet another reason of why doing so could be a good idea. Organic products, if created right and meant to be completely organic, will have no chemicals involved, and natural products are likely to have very few. Your goal is to find a skin care product that has as few chemical and synthetic ingredients in it as possible; this means soaps and deodorant/antiperspirants because both will be going over your underarm skin. You want to get rid of dirt, but not the natural oils your skin makes or the helpful bacteria on your skin.

There are a lot of natural ingredients out there that make for great skin care products. When it comes to deodorants/antiperspirants, you might have to adjust to the switch from a chemical version to the organic one, and also may find yourself using the organic version more often in order to help stop wetness. It will all boil down to how much you want to do for your skin. Either way, you should try looking for several of these ingredients if possible, as they will help your skin as well as smell great on your body: lavender, green tea, aloe vera, colloidal silver, St. John’s wort, witch-hazel, myrrh, lemon grass, sweet orange, sandalwood, chamomile, olive leaf extract, calendula, and grapefruit.

These ingredients have several different functions. Some will act as astringents, others as antiseptics, help to heal any little nicks from shaving, some act as anti-inflammatory agents, and still others simply help ease skin if it is irritated, which can be great if you have sensitive skin. Knowing your skin is in better hands with these oils and other plant extracts can help relax your mind and feel better about the skin care products you are putting to your skin. It can take a bit of time for your skin to adjust, but if you find the right skin care product, you can see a real difference and your skin will thank you for it.