If you’re like me and live in a hot state, the oncoming of summer means one thing: sweat. And with temperatures rising, I’m right back to my old routine of being disappointed in my deodorant, desperately wishing for some kind of deodorant hack. For all the 24-hour promises in the world, the flowery scents just don’t stand up the sweat of a South Carolina afternoon.
While antiperspirants definitely help more than a standard deodorant, they still don’t live up to the promise of all-day freshness. At least, until now. Thanks to the Probiotic Underarm Toner ($27.50) from Bella Skin Beauty, we finally have a deodorant hack that can improve deo performance and lead to long-lasting freshness.
You read that right—this toner is designed specifically for your pits. More specifically, it’s made to eliminate the specific bacteria that exist in our armpits and cause the smell of body odor. While soap and water are a critical part of your shower routine, they aren’t acidic enough to actually kill those pesky bacteria.
Designed to be applied before your stick or spray deo, this toner functions as a deodorant hack, improving the performance of your deodorant by cleaning out all that bacteria.
I was immediately interested in this product, and eager to try it. And to myself, I pitched a little experiment. Thankfully, I accepted immediately. (And since you’re reading this, so did our editors).
For a week, I would wear the toner on only my left underarm, taking very scientific sniff tests at various points throughout my day. By the end of a week of wear, I figured I would know for sure how well the toner worked.
Testing Probiotic Toner as a Deodorant Hack
Nearly every deodorant hack you’ll find is about how to make it work if you forget deodorant. But this one is about making your deodorant work better. Bella Skin Beauty promises that a few sprays of their toner is able to eliminate odor-causing bacteria and that doing so will improve the performance of your deodorant.
Trying it for myself meant picking a scent, and I’m a sucker for anything that’s honeysuckle-scented. It isn’t a common choice for a fragrance, but we had a bush on our fence growing up. And this scent definitely took me back there.
To really put the toner to the test, I decided to conduct my experiment over the weekend I moved apartments.
Using the Toner
Post-shower, four sprays of the Probiotic Underarm Toner went on my left side. Per the directions, I dabbed up any excess liquid. As the scent faded (it’s designed to not interfere with your deodorant’s scent), I put on my lilac deodorant as normal.
It may seem a little awkward at first to basically drench the area you probably just towel dried, but I quickly adapted. I also loved the glass bottle it came in, giving the underarm area a bit of luxury that deodorant doesn’t really have.
The Performance
One move across town later, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this toner works.
I was performing heavy labor, so of course I still sweat a decent amount. But all throughout the week, the difference between my left and right underarm was noticeable. A simple sniff test was enough to tell that the lilac scent of my deodorant survived on my left side, but was beaten out by the smelly bacteria on my right.
Of course, it’s not going to stop you from sweating or erase every other sign of body odor. In fact, this was created with only the underarm in mind, given its unique climate and bacterial environment.
That said, it is a bona fide deodorant hack. This product increases the performance of your deodorant, leading to a noticeable freshness that persists when deodorant alone is not enough. And for me, it makes a no-brainer addition to my routine, as it keeps me fresher for longer. As a result, it has a permanent place on my vanity.
