What makes a
deodorant more suitable for a man than a woman?. Indeed is there any real differences between the two product ranges for men and women?.There are several factors that influence this including fragrance, strength, marketing, packaging and good old personal preference. We will look at each of these factors in turn to see if there are any real differences.
Fragrance
Obviously deodorant (or antiperspirant as the case may be) carries a certain fragrance and this fragrance is targeted towards a certain gender. Deodorant for men is particularly important because women are far more sensitive to smell than their male counterparts (up to 1000* more sensitive). Male fragrances tend to be stronger and more defined than female fragrances and also tend towards the earthy / musky end of the spectrum (wood, smoke, vanilla etc) whereas female products tend to be more floral (particularly lavender)
Strength
As men tend to sweat more than women when at the same levels of activity men require a deodorant that is more powerful than that for women.
Deodorant for men contains more active ingredients per unit volume - this can lead to irritation of the female skin if they choose to use a male deodorant. Having said this it has actually been found that certain brands of deodorant have no difference in the levels of active ingredient between the male and female product ranges. So whereas one particular brand of male deodorant may cause skin irritation in women another brand may not.
Packaging / marketing
As in many decisions in life the choice of deodorant is influenced by fashion and what is being marketed aggressively at the time of purchase. The cosmetics / personal care industry is very marketing orientated and seems capable of dreaming up almost endless ways to entice us to buy their products. It is probably marketing rather than any other factor that determines which type and brand of deodorant we purchase. Who can forget the power of the Lynx / Axe adverts that appeal to the male basic instincts by promising that simply by using a liberal squirt of their deodorant you will become irresistible to women!.
Of course the above factors hold true not only for deodorants but also for antiperspirants ( just to recap: deodorants work by masking or neutralising the odour that arises from sweating whereas antiperspirants work by attempting to prevent sweating in the first place - either by inhibiting the pores or other methods). Therefore you can apply the same criteria to antiperspirants when deciding if you need a male specific product.
In conclusion there are no absolute factors that determine that a deodorant can only be used for a man or a woman - it is more down to personal taste, preferences and the not insignificant influence of the
cosmetics industry marketing machine. So, apart from strength issues (which may or may not exist), just go with the product you feel best with - even if it is just because it is what all your friends are currently wearing.
