A 3-Day Deodorant That Actually Works
It's not just marketing hype. With this stuff under his arms, our writer found he could go a full 72 hours and not piss off the people next to him on the bus.
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Travelers who pack light need to pare their personal hygiene products down to the essentials. And for many of us, a good deodorant is truly a must-have, especially on trips where you won’t be able to shower daily.
Enter Lavilin, a roll-on first developed by an Israeli company that wanted to find a deodorant for soldiers living in close quarters that didn’t neutralize the body’s ability to sweat. The product is marketed to last for 72 hours—an especially tall order given that the product is aluminum-free, made instead with a blend of starches, herbs, and essential oils.
But on a recent weeklong trip to Rome, I had to reapply just once, even though I showered every day. The stuff’s designed not to wash off, which it didn’t. At first, the product had a sweet, floral smell, which went away after a few hours. After several days of wearing Lavilin, I found it was not simply masking the smell of my body—it was actually addressing whatever microbes were causing my underarm funk. Even with sweat, I didn’t smell. Several days could pass between applications before any stench began to creep back in.
Now with less funk in my travel gear, I need fewer clean T-shirts in my bag, which makes it easier to pack light.