By Emma Nadler
This is One Thing, a column with tips on how to live.
Let鈥檚 be honest, we鈥檙e all sweating this summer. It鈥檚 hot, it鈥檚 sticky, and the days are long. The cool gusts of fall air are months away. Luckily, I鈥檝e found something that helps freshen me up in seconds flat.
My friend Kate hipped me to the multitude of uses for this product, and now, I don鈥檛 travel without it. I can鈥檛. I won鈥檛. It鈥檚 not fancy, expensive, or procured overseas. You can find it at your local drugstore or retail chain. It鈥檚: spray deodorant!
You can apply it to your armpits, of course, but I even spritz it on top of my clothes in the armpit area when I haven鈥檛 had a chance to shower in a while. Yes, I add it over the outfit, like a perfume (if your pits wore perfume). Or, it adds an extra layer of protection directly to the underarm when you are out and need a reset.
In colder weather, you can even try it on the inside of a sweater or a coat after you schvitz too much. I spray the stuff on the soft inner lining of my favorite non-washable jacket, and the body odor is gone鈥攁lthough I can鈥檛 guarantee this will go well for all fabrics, so tread lightly and test before dousing anything important.
I prefer Weleda Wild Rose Deodorant Spray, with the old-school pump. My scent becomes transformed from 鈥渨hoa there鈥 to 鈥渉erbaceous rose garden.鈥 And who doesn鈥檛 want to smell like miles of woody perennials? Deodorant is unlike an antiperspirant because it only aims to improve your smell, not block sweating. The one I use comes out clear, which is important if you鈥檙e spraying it around willy-nilly, as I do (although the packaging says don鈥檛 use it as an air freshener鈥攖his stuff is not meant for universal application or inhalation).
Regardless, I would like to extend a big, non-sweaty thank you to my dear friend Kate. This natural spray deodorant has changed my life, or at least the way I smell.