How Do I Get Rid of Dry Armpits?

My armpits have been like this since pretty much puberty, or at least since I started shaving. It's a big self-conscious thing, especially when I think of going to a school dance. I have to think of what to wear for sleeves to cover it up.

@popcorn - Thank you for suggesting this! I have had pretty dry, itchy skin for the past couple months. I thought maybe it was just do to getting older and the medication I take. But I am at least going to switch detergents, probably to an unscented kind, for sensitive skin, and see if this helps. If it doesn’t, at least I will know I need to go have a doctor look at it and see if their are any cures for my dry skin I have developed quite recently.

I actually have the opposite problem when it comes to my armpits though, I have excessively wet armpits most of the time, and I am not that active. It has been so bad that many of my shirts have pit stains and a pit smell, which is disgusting and embarrassing. Does anyone know of any home remedies for this and for getting the stains and smells out?

I have tried a few different deodorants with antiperspirants in them, but so far, none have worked. I have just started to use a clinical-chosen one that is dermatologist-recommended, and at least so far it seems to have helped some, although no cure yet. Does anyone know what to do to get dryer armpits, besides using an antiperspirant or seeing a dermatologist?

One thing that can really dry out your armpits is spray-on sunscreen. I used to be overzealous with it and apply it on every exposed area of my body.

This kind of sunscreen is really hard to remove, even when you scrub in the shower. Scrubbing also irritates the armpits.

After I noticed how dry they had become, I asked myself the obvious question, “Do I really need sunscreen under my arms?” I never laid out with my arms above my head. They never really saw the light.

I realized I was just being overprotective of my skin. I stopped using it on my armpits, and they returned to normal.

After years of normal armpits, I suddenly began getting a burning sensation under there. My skin turned red, and the inflammation was unbearable.

I had recently been unable to find my usual deodorant. So, I bought the closest thing I could find to it. Something about this new deodorant irritated my underarms intensely.

I found a different kind that is formulated to smooth and moisturize underarms. It’s also supposed to make them appear more attractive.

The first day with my new deodorant was a good one. The burning went away, and it smelled so nice that my friends asked what type of perfume I was wearing! I just hope I can always find this kind in stores, because I would hate to end up with another one that makes me burn.

I used to shave my armpits every night in the summer so that no stubble would show when I wore sleeveless dresses. This led to incredibly dry, flaky skin.

I figured out that I really didn’t get enough stubble in a day’s time to matter. I went two days without shaving before feeling it was absolutely necessary. This helped my skin feel much more comfortable.

I also switched to a razor with a moisturizing aloe strip attached. It seemed to put a smooth layer of lotion across my skin, and even after I rinsed away the shave gel, the area felt smoother than before.

I used to have dry, itchy armpits that burned. I figured out a simple way to keep them from becoming irritated, and I have used it every day since.

I shower at night, so I don’t really need my antiperspirant/deodorant then. I had been applying it as soon as I got out of the shower, as well as again in the morning before work. I stopped applying it at night, and instead, I applied some aloe vera gel.

The aloe vera moisturized my skin. It also helped soothe my armpits after shaving, which I did every other night. I think part of the burning may have been caused by the deodorant getting into nicked skin.

I've had a lot of good results from switching from antiperspirant to deodorant. A lot of people don't realize that they're actually different things. Antiperspirants keep you from sweating as much; deodorants make your sweat not smell as bad. Most products on the market are both.

But you can get natural crystal deodorant, which doesn't have the harsh chemicals in antiperspirant. It won't keep you from stinking if you're outside in the sun or working out very hard, but it's quite adequate if you shower daily and spend most of the day in air-conditioning, maybe hitting the gym for an hour after work.

I've actually never struggled with dry armpits, but I always had trouble with my clothes being ruined by sweat stains. Turns out, it wasn't a sweat stain at all - it was an antiperspirant stain. Since I changed, no trouble with that at all. It stands to reason that the harsh chemicals could be irritating and that some people might find relief by trying a natural deodorant.

@Mae82-- That is such a great tip! I go swimming all the time, so I will definitely try that out.

My armpits become really dry in winter especially or if I travel somewhere where there is really dry weather. My skin can't adapt so quickly and becomes very dry and irritated. It's so bothersome because if my t-shirt rubs up against it, it becomes all red and painful.

It's even worse when I go the pool although I love to swim. So I'm definitely going to apply some baby oil next time I go. Since it's slippery, it would probably prevent the irritation caused by rubbing clothes too, wouldn't it?

I had this condition too but mine was really a unique situation. Last month, all of the sudden, I started seeing these white areas on my skin. It was on my arms, my armpits, my hands and even some on my face! They were itchy and really dry.

I went to the doctor and he told me that I had a kind of skin fungal infection. After a test, they found out it was a kind of fungi that happens on pets! I was infected by my cat!

I guess when I stroked my cat and touched my skin, it spread on my skin and made those areas really dry, white and itchy. I've been using a medication for it, and so is my cat. It's almost completely gone now but if I hadn't gone to the doctor, I would have never guessed what it was. My armpits are also much better now.

If you find that your armpits get dry after going into a swimming pool there is actually a really easy solution. What I do is put a bit of baby oil under my arms before I go swimming. Not enough to make the pool dirty, but just enough to keep the water from getting at my armpits. You would be surprised how well it works.

What is also nice is that baby oil is a great moisturizer, so any dryness that is still there gets treated by the oil. It's a cheap and easy way to keep your armpits feeling right.

I have found that dry armpits can be caused by detergent you use to wash your clothes in. I was suffering from dry skin pretty much everywhere and it seemed like no matter how much lotion I used I was still itchy and getting flaky skin.

My mom suggested that I might be allergic to the detergent I was using, and you know what? She was completely right. I switched to a new brand and found that my skin stopped being so irritated and dry.

I think that you should really try and see what environmental factors are impacting your skin, as you might be able to help yourself by just changing some of the products that you use.

My new anti-perspirant deodorant was causing my armpits to become really dry. I had never experienced this before and it took me a couple of days to realize what was causing it.

I stopped using the deodorant right away and after showering applied a lot of vaseline moisturizer. I think vaseline works well because it keeps the moisture in so the skin doesn't dry out any more than it has. I used it for a couple of days and my armpits went back to normal.

I will never use that brand of deodorant again. I'm either going to get one with lotion in it or I might try an all natural one because it has less chemicals. I think the more chemicals in the deodorant, the more it will dry out skin.