ABSTRACT
Bodily odors may originate from a number of sources including the oral cavity, scalp, crotch, and feet. Arguably the most characteristic and stigmatized of these is, however, axillary odor. The often offensive nature of axillary odor has been recognized for thousands of years, as have approaches for its counteraction. The ancient Egyptians placed balls of incense-flavored porridge in the axilla, and deodorant body rubs were made of ostrich egg and tortoise shell roasted with gallnut from a tamarisk tree (1). Following the advent of soap, the most basic of hygiene measures were found to be effective at causing an immediate diminution of odor. The need for counteractive measures over and above this was, however, prompted by the inability of large sections of society to adopt a personal hygiene regimen. It also became recognized that in a significant proportion of individuals, washing alone only prevents the buildup of perceivable odor for a finite time. This period may be drastically reduced in situations where apocrine sweat production is increased (2). For these reasons many individuals require "protection" from the buildup of axillary odor, usually by means of an externally applied product.
