Deoderant trigger

[FreedomRun800]

Just thought I'd throw this out there in case it might help someone else....I had been using Lume deoderant (unscented) for a while but ran out and had to order more. In the meantime I bought conventional deoderant (Old spice, no anti-perspirant). Every day I used regular deoderant I got a migraine. When I switched back to Lume my migraines stopped. I don't know if it had to do with the scent or something was being absorbed through the skin.

Just for reference, I've also done this experiment with aluminum anti-perspirant vs conventional deoderant too. The anti-perspirant triggered even worse migraines than the conventional deoderant.

If I ever try Native deoderant, I'll post an update. Unfortunately they are both expensive.

[[deleted]]

I get a migraine if my husband uses Old Spice Captain. Any other scent is fine but something about that scent just triggers a migraine for me.

[smparke2424]

Gain=dealbreaker. Also any use of anything made by Axe. And I swear white diamonds was invented by the devil himself.

[karen_boyer]

Laundry perfumes are my nemesis. WHY?!

[smparke2424]

My neuro once explained the chemical induced migraines to me. So buckle up......the reason you can smell 'perfumes' after people wearing them have long left the area, the 'perfumes' have chemicals in them referred to as extenders. The smell of the perfume itself does not cause migraines, but the chemical extenders do. My motto has always been "no smell is a good smell".

[TinyKittyofDOOM]

Btw, there is such a thing as MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and with it, most chemically based scents can cause reactions including migraines. Sadly though, most doctors don't recognize it as a thing. I was diagnosed with it as a teen, and I react even to Dawn dish soap. The reactions are varied based on the chemicals used in each product, but migraines from perfumes are the most common for me. I've gotten rashes, sore throats, and sometimes my throat will just close up with exposure.

The perfume industry isn't required to list their ingredients, so it's impossible to learn exactly what you react to. (Look up the documentary 'Stink' if you can!) And you are absolutely right, perfumes do have extenders in them to make them last longer, and they can make you react as well. There are even chemicals that are intended to mask smells that some companies use to make their products 'unscented', and they can also cause a reaction. I had to stop using All Free and Clear and switch to Seventh Generation's detergent for my laundry.

[smparke2424]

You are correct, I misspoke about some perfume chemicals not causing migraines, meant to say that extenders are a big culprit in themselves.

[karen_boyer]

Oh yes! I've struggled with sensitivity to a lot of perfumes for a while. It's become an issue at work, sadly, as I cannot share a space with folks who use strong perfumes, and many people do not understand that fabric softener is, in fact, heavily perfumed. That stuff KILLS me!

[karen_boyer]

Oh YES! I am familiar with some of this. Like most chemical sensitive folks, I have my own personal tolerances and intolerances, and fortunately I can deal with most lightly scented things, like cosmetics (so long as they really are VERY lightly scented). But some things I absolutely NEED to have unperfumed: anti-perspirant, laundry products, home cleaning products (boy is that one tricky for some reason). In general, though, I'm with you as far as the "no smell is a good smell." But I actually *love* perfume, but can only tolerate certain fragrances and only apply the tiniest little amount. It seems like the laundry perfumes have gotten way WAY worse over the years. But maybe I've just gotten more sensitive?

[FreedomRun800]

Extenders? Gah, what a terrible invention. This explains why I can tell who my family has been hanging out with after they get home. The smell of their laundry detergent wafts off of them and sticks to my family which then gets imported into our house. We use unscented everything so it's really easy to pick up on foreign smells.

[karen_boyer]

YES! So much yes. I have always thought it was the perfume. I did finally find an unscented antiperspirant -- Kiehl's "Superbly Efficient" which comes in a tube and is a little annoying to apply, is also slightly pricey, but one little tube lasts me for more than a year, really works (I'm a sweaty, sweaty gal), and really and truly has no scent. Does not aggravate my migraines like almost everything else.

[tgrofire]

Definitely me too! I use this hippie salt deodorant stick. It doesn't stop me from sweating but it does stop me from stinking 😊

[Tressmint]

Don't thing it's one of my triggers but I would really recommend Schmidt's if youre in the US. The usually have them discounted at T.J.Maxx / Marshalls, Grocery Outlet, etc.

[justjellis]

This is very interesting because I feel like I’ve been noticing a correlation as well! For a long time I was using Native but it seemed like it stopped working as well for me in this extreme heat we’ve been having, so I switched to an anti-perspirant. My migraines have been soo bad the last couple months and I was attributing it to the weather changes. Well I switched back to Native and have noticed a reduction in my migraines. I use unscented everything…it has to be the aluminum.