We all use deodorants to keep our underarms dry, to keep us away from sweat or to prevent from stinking smell. But, we are unaware of the fact that by doing so we are also disrupting bacterial 'community' that resides in our armpits. As per new study by researchers, it is unclear that whether the disruption causes any dire effects or whether it could even be beneficial. But, the latest study published online Feb. 2 in the journal Peer J highlights the important fact that our modern lifestyle alters the human 'microbiome'.
Team of researchers here refer microbiome to the trillions of bacteria and other microbes that inhabit the human body, inside and out. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), we all know that our human skin is covered in a range of microbes most of which are either harmless or beneficial. There exists some beneficial microbiomes protect the skin from invasion by harmful bugs and may play vital role in educating the immune system cells that dwell the skin. Julie Horvath, lead researcher and the head of the genomics and microbiology research lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, in Raleigh, said that it is known that skin microbes interact with the immune system, so it is important to consider our daily habits and what they do to the skin's microbiome.
During an eight-day experiment, Horvath's team recruited 17 volunteers. Seven of the men and women regularly used antiperspirant, five used deodorant, and five used neither product. On day one, all volunteers followed their normal hygiene routine. On days two through six, they refrained from all underarm products. On the final two days, all used antiperspirant. On the first day, the researchers found, armpit swabs from the antiperspirant users tended to show far fewer bacteria, compared with both nonusers and deodorant users. Deodorant users actually had the most bacteria. Among the people who usually used no products, the most common bacteria belonged to a group called corynebacteria accounting for 62% of the microbes in their armpit swabs. Staphylococcaceae bacteria made up another 21%.
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