The Best Natural Deodorant Hack: The Inkey List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick
How does the Glycolic Acid deodorant hack work?
If you’ve been following my blog and social channels for a while now, you likely know a few key things about me.
I bet you’re aware I’m no fan of hyperbolic marketing and overpriced “luxury” skincare. You probably assume that I love my cat more than the people in my life. And you must know I was an early adopter of a now popular hack for Glycolic Acid.
Six years ago, I gave up my go-to Old Spice deodorant stick and began applying a Glycolic Acid toner to my underarms every morning.
Since that day, I have probably gone through two dozen bottles of The Ordinary’s Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner – probably the brand’s best-selling product. I’ve used up an equal number of The INKEY List’s Glycolic Acid Toner, too. At just $14, it makes the best natural deodorant!
I first read about the crazy skincare hack for Glycolic Acid in a February, 2018 article on the website Racked titled, “The Best Natural Deodorant Is Acid”. I immediately tried it myself and have never looked back.
So every day for more than six years now I have massaged Glycolic Acid into my underarms. While each acid toner from The Ordinary and The INKEY List is highly effective, rubbing liquid into my underarms has never been all that pleasant. As you can imagine, it can be messy. But it’s ridiculously effective at stopping odor.
I’ve waited all this time for a brand to introduce a conventional stick deodorant with Glycolic Acid. And the wait is over. Kind of! Recently, The INKEY List introduced Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick. Formulated with 7% Glycolic Acid, it makes the perfect deodorant – though INKEY doesn’t call it a deodorant and doesn’t make any deodorant-like claims.
So my favorite hack continues.
Catch my full product review of it below…
How does the Glycolic Acid deodorant hack work?
It all comes down to simply chemistry. And a little astronomy!
One of the features of Glycolic Acid is its ability to neutralize the surface of the skin, making it inhospitable for odor-causing bacteria to thrive in.
And here’s where that college astronomy class finally comes in handy. Think about Mars. What’s one thing you probably know about the Red Planet? Likely that it barely has an atmosphere. Well, that lack of atmosphere makes it nearly impossible for life – even bacteria – to exist on the surface.
Glycolic Acid does that when applied to your skin. It makes the skin surface an inhospitable place for microscopic bacteria to live.
Why? Because Glycolic Acid has a very low pH of about 2.0, which in turn lowers the skin’s pH when applied. This newly acidic environment is a hostile place for the proliferation of odor-causing bacteria. In fact, it can reduce body odor for up to 72 hours after application!
Sources: InStyle: Should You Really Be Using Glycolic Acid for Armpits? Experts Explain; WebMD: Glycolic Acid - Uses, Side Effects, and More
Product Review
The first thing to know about The INKEY List’s Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick is that it’s not a deodorant. Despite the fact that I’m using it that way, and that it’s literally shaped like a deodorant product – it’s not a deodorant.
At least it’s not marketed as a deodorant.
Even though it makes the perfect underarm deodorizer! Straight up, the brand’s new Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick is exactly what INKEY says it is: an exfoliating stick with Glycolic Acid.
Imagine all the uses for something like that. According to The INKEY List, their cool new, “specialist treatment delivers deep, effective exfoliation and is proven to tackle stubborn concerns including KP bumps, ingrown hairs, rough skin, and body breakouts in as little as 7-days.”
So it does a lot of amazing things for the body. But deodorizing isn’t one of them?!
There are so many amazing uses for this thing, it’s almost funny to me that I’m using it for something it isn’t even intended for.
Like KP, or keratosis pilaris, for example. Anyone who struggles with KP bumps will tell you there aren’t enough effective treatments for it. The skin condition has been traditionally difficult to treat – and is simply under-treated, even ignored.
One of the only and best KP treatments I’ve come across is the Skinfix KP + PsO Smoothing Body Treatment.
So The INKEY List’s new Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick is a welcome, less expensive option if you’re a KP sufferer.
The other notable usage that INKEY claims for their Glycolic Acid stick is underarm discoloration. Whenever I post about my Glycolic Acid deodorant hack, I get questions about whether it’s also good for fading hyperpigmentation in the underarm area. Personally, I haven’t had the need for that and have no evidence of it.
But hey, folks, here’s a potent Glycolic Acid treatment that’s actually intended to do just that. In fact, the brand claims that in a 4-week consumer study of 100 people, it was proven to “reduce the appearance of underarm and bikini line discoloration in 28 days.”
But back to how I use it: as a daily deodorant.
With 7% Glycolic Acid, The INKEY List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick has about the same concentration of the alpha hydroxy acid as my two go-to toners – though INKEY’s Glycolic Acid Toner is formulated with even more Glycolic Acid at 10%.
What makes the new exfoliating stick a better option is two fold.
First, it’s a solid, not a (runny!) liquid. As effective as a Glycolic Acid is, it’s never been all that convenient or pleasant to apply something with the literal texture of water to my underarms. Plus, you can’t travel with it unless you’re a bag-checker. I haven’t checked a bag in decades.
The other important point is the addition of 10% Shea Butter. The rich, plant-derived emollient is super soothing and highly effective at preventing the dryness and irritation common to Glycolic Acid.
One more thing!
You only need to swipe it into your underarm once every three days. That’s right, it fights odor for up to 72 hours. Yes, I’ve put it to the test…
Pros & Cons
What I like about it: The INKEY List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick is a welcome product for treating so many things. But for me, it’s the perfect Glycolic Acid deodorant hack. Given its optimal 7% concentration of the deodorizing AHA and 10% shea butter, it doesn’t get any better. It prevents irritation while fighting odor for 3 days. Oh, and it’s just $18.
What I don’t like about it: I like everything about it.
Who it’s for: All skin types.
SHOP THE BLOG: Want to try it for yourself? Purchase The INKEY List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick for $18 here.
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The INKEY List Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Stick
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner
The INKEY List Glycolic Acid Toner
Paula’s Choice 6% Mandelic Acid + 2% Lactic Acid Liquid Exfoliant