The unfortunate reality in life is that some people just have really sweaty feet. And then there are those who work in construction trades with heavy boots. You have hikers, joggers, cyclists, and everything in between where sweaty feet are just a part of the game. What can you do to stop the sweat and the inevitable smell?
Deodorant, as it turns out, just might be your newest best friend. After all, there are a lot more sweat glands in your feet than there are in your pits and deodorant is every bit as effective inside your shoes as it is beneath your arms.
It’s something you might not have considered before. Deodorant can feel a little weird when it’s coating your heel or sliding between your toes. However, deodorant was designed to combat that sort of thing and there’s nothing about the human foot that disqualifies it.
Why Would You Put Deodorant on Your Heels?
There is more than one good reason to put deodorant on your feet. In fact, putting it on your heels is a pretty good idea, especially if you are breaking in a new pair of boots or you are starting to develop a friction blister back there.
There are two types of deodorant (in general)—the first is antiperspirant and the second is, you guessed it, deodorant. Of course, even if you only see “antiperspirant” on the front of the deodorant stick, people still call it deodorant, even though that is not technically true.
The combined version (antiperspirant and deodorant) is also a pretty effective lubricant. If you are having problems breaking in a new pair of boots, it’s often a good idea to apply some deodorant to the spots on your feet that are giving you the most trouble. The heel is usually one of those spots.
When your feet sweat, it increases friction between the skin of your feet and the sock. The sock becomes wet and slides back and forth across the skin as your foot moves around inside the shoe. Applying deodorant to your heels lubricates, soothes, and reduces friction.
A happy side effect of this friction reduction is the fact that it makes your feet sweat less and smell better.
Can You Put Deodorant on Socks?
You certainly can and it will knock down the smell some, especially if you are far from a washing machine and need an emergency option to reduce your foot odor. What you should do is flip the sock inside out and apply the deodorant, then flip it right side out and apply it again.
It may feel really weird inside your shoe because of the lubricating effect of deodorant but it will effectively knock down the odor. Be careful not to grab a stick of antiperspirant. You should always check to ensure that the stick of deodorant you’re buying is both an antiperspirant and a deodorant.
Without one or the other, it will quite literally be half as effective. You may have noticed this if you have ever put your hands on some deodorant-only products. Sure, it will be an effective deodorant right up until the moment your start to sweat.
The sweat runs the deodorant off your armpits and before you know it, your armpits smell like the local county landfill.
Where Do You Put Deodorant on Your Feet
You can technically apply deodorant anywhere you want on your feet but the majority of the smell comes from the bottom of your foot, where all of the sweat glands are located, not the top.
When you apply deodorant to your feet, you should always apply it across the bottom of your foot and around the heel. If you suffer from friction blisters because you spend a lot of time on your feet, extend the application to those areas of your feet that suffer the most.
Usually, friction spots on the feet are worse on the sides and on the heel. The lubrication on those spots will reduce the friction and heat while the application of deodorant on the bottom of your feet will help with all of the sweating and the resulting smell.
In the long run, it also does a good job of freshening up your shoes. This is especially true if you frequently struggle with smelly feet, as some people do. Even if you only apply it to your feet under the socks, the deodorant will work its way through your socks and onto the surrounding shoe material.
Why Do People Put Deodorant on Their Legs?
There’s nothing about the legs that would make most people think that they need to put deodorant there. However, a lot of people have problems with chafing, which is the friction blisters and raw skin from their thighs rubbing together throughout the day, even when wearing something like jeans.
As the pants rub together, it creates friction and friction creates heat. That heat can lead to all kinds of things, none of which are very good. Someone who has to do a lot of walking can wear the skin on their inner thighs down in a hurry.
Applying deodorant to those areas provides a fantastic level of relief. Not only does it help reduce the heat and the friction, but it also lubricates and smooths the skin, which is incredibly helpful throughout the day, especially if you have to do a lot of walking.
Another excellent use of deodorant is to apply it to all of the skin on your legs to slip into jeans. Jeans, especially right when they roll out of the dryer, don’t always want to cooperate when you are trying to pull them on.
Applying some deodorant to your legs will lubricate the skin enough to help those jeans slide up and over your hips with a lot less grunting, sweating, swearing, and effort.
Bottom Line
There are far more uses for deodorant than just applying it to your armpits after a shower or in the morning, especially if you purchase deodorants strong enough to last throughout the whole day.
Applying it to your feet is one option that happens to work very well and for a wide variety of reasons and issues. So next time you feel that blister trying to crop up on your heel, grab a stick of antiperspirant/deodorant and apply it to your feet.
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Here at FullPersonalCare.com our main goal is to help you in your personal care and solve all the question you could have about any of the accessories you will normally use to take care of yourself.