Whole body deodorants get popular

If you suddenly feel as if you are being inundated with advertisements for something called "whole body deodorant", you are not alone.

The personal care product, which is being advertised as a solution to sweat and body odour that cannot be controlled by traditional underarm deodorants, exploded in popularity in 2024.

Whole body deodorants are made to be used on areas like the groin, feet and breasts, and act similarly to those designed for armpits.

According to Google Trends, searches for the product have skyrocketed.

Sales for Lume, one of the original whole body deodorants, more than doubled in 2023 to US$125.8 million (S$166.6 million), according to The Wall Street Journal.

In 2024 alone, Dove hit the market with Whole Body Deo, Secret started a Whole Body collection and Native released its own "cruelty-free" whole body deodorant spray.

Dr Susan Massick, a board-certified dermatologist and a clinical associate professor of dermatology at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said that whole body deodorant has become "the answer to a problem people didn't even know they have".