A Brief History of Deodorant (2024)

FAQs

A Brief History of Deodorant? ›

Deodorant was introduced in the late 1800s.

In 1888, the first modern commercial deodorant, Mum, was developed and patented by a U.S. inventor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Edna Murphey; the small company was bought by Bristol-Myers in 1931. In the late 1940s, Helen Barnett Diserens developed an underarm applicator based on the newly invented ball-point pen.

For millennia, far before commercial deodorant and antiperspirant products were invented, perfume and natural scenting agents, like essential oils, were used to mask odor¹. In more recent history, absorbent fabric was used under the arms to wick sweat before it could soak through to clothes.

During the medieval period, people believed that bathing could lead to illness, so they turned to perfumes and other scented oils and powders to mask body odor instead.

The ancient Romans used a mixture of charcoal and goat fat as deodorant. In the 19th century, lime solutions or potassium permanganate were used. These substances work disinfecting. The first commercial deodorant was patented by Edna Murphey in Philadelphia, PA, USA, in 1888.

But by the late 1800s, perspiration, sour breath, and other body odors were increasingly perceived as socially unacceptable, as marks of poor hygiene, and as issues to be solved through the use of products.

Soaps, colognes and perfumes made from available natural substances. The Egyptians are often credited with being the first to apply deodorants they used carob because of the abundance of Carob trees in their part of the world. They also used various natural substances as a way to combat body odor.

The first deodorant that killed odor-causing bacteria was called Mum and it was trademarked in 1888. It was a waxy cream that came in a metal tin and used zinc oxide to fight odor.

Other than everyday soap (or occasionally the root of a plant called Yucca or soapweed) they did not bother. They were not around women that much to worry about it and they did not care what they smelled like to other men.

Deodorants are Ancient History

The Egyptians didn't use deodorant as we do now, their methods were a little less convenient and some were even downright weird. They would take a scented bath followed by the application onto the underarm of scented oils to cover up bad smells.

How long can you go without deodorant? ›

(As for how long you can go without deodorant, that's totally up to you. It could be a couple weeks, or it could be forever.) Even if you feel like deodorant is a necessity that's hard to say goodbye to, you might be pleasantly surprised with the alternatives to deodorant below.

Researchers have found that two per cent of the population have a genetic variant that means they do not suffer from under arm body odour yet more three quarters of them continue to use scents. The 'cultural norm' in Britain is to use deodorant every day whether body odour is a problem or not, the researchers said.

Deodorant usage is generally frowned upon in Europe, but among the Czechs, there is more than simply hesitation. The frequency and potency of the smell suggest that it is a direct protest against proper underarm hygiene. But everyone is affected; it's not just one individual.

The Egyptians and Greeks bathed frequently in water liberally scented with fragrant oils, applied aromatic oils to their bodies and used incense to perfume the air. Greek poet Homer, even went as far as to suggest that a good host should offer their guests baths and aromatic oils immediately upon their arrival.

The lowest average deodorant use occurs in East Asia, where roughly 90% of people do not use deodorant. Nor do they necessarily need to, as most East Asians possess a specific genetic genotype that makes their sweat less odorous.

Mum, the first branded deodorant to hit the American market, was patented in 1888. It is still sold today although its formula has changed. Initially, Mum was sold as a waxy cream that users rubbed into their armpits. The cream was also applied to the feet and to sanitary napkins.

Aluminum salts, which clog pores and prevent sweating, were sold as Everdry starting in 1903, and under other names in the years that followed. One popular brand, called Odo-ro-no, was invented by a Cincinnati surgeon with sweaty palms in 1910 and sold around the country by his daughter.

Usually, this happens when females are 8–13 years old, and males are 9–14. But it can also be normal to start puberty earlier or later. Bathing every day, especially after a lot of sweating or in hot weather, can help with body odor. So can wearing clean clothes, underwear, and socks each day.

An inventor for the company, Helen Barnett Diserens, developed an underarm applicator for deodorant, based on the new ballpoint pen at the time – the first roll-on deodorant applicator. Bristol-Myers began marketing this roll-on product in 1952 under the name Ban Roll-On.