Does deodorant cause pit stains?
Yeah antiperspirant causes pit stains. For instance, I’m not very sweaty, and I use only deodorant, and I have no pit stains on my shirts. My roommate is more sweaty, and he uses quite a bit of antiperspirant, and he has stains on his t-shirts. Some of these stains actually get sort of hard and crusty, and it’s from caked-on antiperspirant. Most of the color in these stains comes from the aluminum compounds in antiperspirants, although sweat alone can stain too. If sweat alone is staining clothing, the substance responsible is what is called urea, which is a bodily waste product also found in urine. The thing is, both aluminum salts and urea are difficult to remove from clothing. Why? They both have a tendency to dye the clothing. Urea is used to help dyes set into clothing. The aluminum compounds in antiperspirant can create a sort of rust that is almost impossible to remove. Most stain-removal guides I read say that armpit stains are some of the most difficult to remove, next to ink.
