You may have heard or seen ads about clinical antiperspirant. How is clinical antiperspirant different from other antiperspirants? Is it worth the price? Don't all antiperspirants work the same way to prevent sweat?

What is clinical antiperspirant?
Usually, these antiperspirants have been clinically tested or clinically proven (i.e., studies or tests were performed on people) to reduce perspiration and protect against wetness. Non-clinical antiperspirants may not have done these studies.

The active ingredient of antiperspirant is usually aluminum salts. Different antiperspirants will use different aluminum salts (e.g., there's aluminum chloride and aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex gly). Another active ingredient used in antiperspirants is methenamine.

No matter the strength of the active ingredient or the type of metal compound, non-clinical antiperspirant and clinical antiperspirant both work by plugging the sweat ducts to reduce sweat.

Who uses clinical antiperspirant?
Anyone who wants to have protection against sweating or who is worried about excessive sweating can use clinical antiperspirant.

Is it worth the price?
Clinical antiperspirants tend to cost more than regular antiperspirants. Whether it's worth the price to you is a decision only you can make. It may depend on several factors, including:

  • how much and how often you sweat
  • how much sweat bothers you
  • where you sweat (e.g., underarms, face, hands, feet)
  • whether you've tried other antiperspirants
  • your budget

After considering these factors, decide whether you want to pay a bit more for clinical antiperspirant. Clinical antiperspirant has been clinically tested to reduce perspiration and protect against wetness. If you've tried other antiperspirants and they didn't seem to work or they didn't work as well as you wanted, you may want to try the clinical antiperspirant.