Pits perfect

MANILA, Philippines - Raise your hand if you’ve ever hot-waxed, scrubbed, dry-shaved, or perhaps rubbed the half of a calamansi onto your armpits, all in the hopes of smoother, whiter underarms. Considering how abrasive all these methods are, I doubt you would.

You are not alone. At the #DoveGoShave party held recently at The Greenbelt Greens, hosts Saab Magalona and Patty Laurel-Filart encouraged influencers and celebrities alike to confess to their underarm shaving habits. Some even admitted to doing it as often as daily with a man’s razor and shaving cream just to feel clean and fresh.

Despite all the hair removal and reduction options in the market today, 70 percent of Filipina women still shave their underarms, and 40 percent of these women do it once a week. There’s no surprise there; shaving remains to be the most cost-effective, convenient, and surprisingly, one of the safest methods of underarm hair removal (more on that later), but as it’s done with sharp razors, it has obvious harms.

According to Philippine Dermatological Society member Dr. Anna Palabyab-Rufino, one-third of what shaving actually sloughs off are living, healthy skin cells. She adds, “It’s a sensitive area and you are inflicting trauma on the skin. Trauma results to irritation, which manifests in redness from inflammation, which progresses to darkening. Asian skin has a tendency to hyper pigment once the inflammation settles down.” The clinical term is post-inflammatory hyper pigmentation. She clarifies that it can also be caused by hormonal changes.

But as shaving is a likelier necessary evil, Palabyab-Rufino emphasizes the importance of softening and prepping hair with a shaving cream or gel applied against the grain for a closer shave. On its own, that’s not completely irritation-proof. You have to strengthen the skin’s bond so it has a barrier that protects and allows the skin to heal itself from the trauma of friction from shaving.

You’ve applied lip balm to chapped lips and soothed a burn with aloe vera gel; your arm pits, rubbing itself all day, deserve moisture, too. Dove Deo regional research and development manager Owie Lim demonstrates Dove Deo’s moisturizing properties by shaving a patch. Marks appear on the patch indicating the trauma that we only feel as stinging and itching while shaving. An application of Dove Deo roll on makes the marks vanish.

She explains, “Dove delivers a three-way moisture boost that helps the underarms recover from shaving faster than other deodorants. Dove is the only deodorant in the world that delivers Unilever’s best anti-perspirant technology and Dove’s 1/4 unique moisturizing cream. “

Palabyab-Rufino adds there are more ways we could be damaging our already-sensitive underarms. “I sometimes prefer shaving or waxing because when not properly done, when the wax is too hot, that can inflame the skin. Waxing can cause ingrown hair when the hair is not pulled in the right direction. Hair removal by waxing opens up the pores, which can lead to bacterial infections,” she says.

If you think that scrubbing the underarm area thinking the darkness is caused by dead skin cells, stop. “It’s never that dirty. It’s also applying friction like shaving does, so shave only as needed. The less often you do it, the better it is for your underarms,” she advises. She recommends laser hair reduction for those with thick underarm hair. “It doesn’t get rid of har completely but it lessens the (need to apply) friction.”

Already having dark underarms is not the time to be trying out home remedies like applying calamansi halves on dark armpits to whiten it. “It’s actually very acidic, very irritating!” There are lightening agents — hydroquinone, arbutin, and kojic acid, among others — that a dermatologist can prescribe.

“But even if you use these, you’re only treating the problem but not preventing the cause,” Palabyab-Rufino goes back to the importance of moisturizing.

By using Dove Deo for long-term use, you’re not only protecting yourself from body odor. Its moisture cream content also puts an end to a cycle of irritation from friction and trauma while allowing the sensitive skin of your armpits to heal, whether or not you shave. It’s a win-win.

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This summer, show off your perfect pits in Palawan. With every purchase of a regular roll-on or aerosol, you get a limited edition Dove Deo pouch for free and a chance to win a Dove Deo getaway to El Nido, Palawan with two friends by redeeming the code inside to join the raffle.