People even say that anymore?

No.

They do not.

Salty.

So gross.

Hey there sweaters, Trace and Jackie here for DNews!

Welcome Jackie!

Thanks!

Deodorant, the bane of the absent-minded person's existence.

How many times have you left the house and forgotten to put on deodorant?

All good?

Gross.

The antiperspirant-deodorant market topped 18 billion dollars last year.

That's a lot of pits.

Including yours.

But do you really know what you're slathering on your skin?

The first deodorant was patented in 1888 with a goal to help uptight Victorians stop worrying about their body odor.

But the odor wasn't really their fault.

It was BACTERIA!.

Let me back up though.

On your skin, you have between two and five million sweat glands; they come in two flavors: eccrine and apocrine.

Sweat is mostly water, but not entirely.

The eccrine glands excrete primarily H2O, but the apocrine glands (located on your scalp, in your crotch, and under your arms) put out a thicker fluid with fatty acids, urea and ammonia (protein byproducts).

Once the sweat is on your skin, bacteria go to town on it,

chomping and eating up all those proteins (on the skin) and pooping out stinky chemicals like trans-3-methyl-2-hexenoic acid -- which is the main chemical that makes humans stank.

Most animal funk is used to tell other animals different things.

For example dogs can be trained to smell low blood sugar in diabetics, people can tell what you've eaten by your sweat, and chemosignals can reveal emotions, like if you're stressed, or happy.

But, at some point, we decided we wanted to cover up the sweaty informational smell.

Even before deodorants as we know them, people would perfume or cologne up to cover their distinctive odor!

The first deodorant, called Mum, is from the late 19th century and it allegedly used zinc oxide -- a byproduct of zinc smelting to control bacterial growth.

Fewer bacteria, less smell.

Antiperspirants were also invented in the early 1900s and used alcohol and aluminum chloride.

(When applying the deodorant onto the skin) the alcohol would evaporate leaving behind Al-Cl-3, which, according to the American Chemical Society, would stop up those eccrine glands, cutting sweat production.

But remember, it's the apocrine glands that excrete the stinky, bacteria-buffet.

Which is why most products combine both antiperspirant and deodorant.

They plug the eccrine and keep the bacteria off the apocrine!

But, like anything, there are consequences for messing with bacteria in our underarms.

Deodorants and antiperspirants control bacterial populations.

Some contain the now-enemy-of-the-FDA: triclosan; an antibacterial agent that's helping cause the rise of superbugs.

Others contain preservatives called parabens, which, if they get into your bloodstream through razor nicks (or other open cuts), have possible estrogen-like properties, and are connected to breast cancer tumors.

All-natural deodorants cover up the little buggers with essential oils, salts, or alum, but whether they work depends more on the person, and their situation.

But, before you say, YOU FORGOT.

No, antiperspirants themselves do not cause breast cancer.

No. Nope. No. No.

A study of nearly 1600 people in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found no evidence whatsoever of antiperspirant or deodorant increasing the risk of breast cancer.

What they can do is alter your microbiome -- the bacteria that live on us all, sometimes helping us live healthier lives.

A study in PeerJ looked at the microbiome of a small number of people who used deodorants and antiperspirants, and found people who used antiperspirants were altering their armpit microbiome!

Once people stopped using antiperspirant or deodorant, the number of staphylococcal bacteria skyrocketed!

In comparison to those who didn't use any Anti-Ps or Dee-odes... I'm still working on that.

I don't know how I feel about that.

What does this mean?

No idea!

The study was ridiculously tiny, but it does show daily hygiene can mess with bacteria in unknown ways.

The researchers said, "We have no idea what effect, if any, this has on our skin and on our health.".

"Is it beneficial?".

"Is it detrimental?".

"We really don't know at this point.".

As you all like to say, more research is needed.

The thing is, you don't actually need deodorant.

Some people don't produce the chemical that bacteria eats to make smelly by-products!

And you'd never know if you're one of those people, unless you stop deodorizing.

Or if you have dry earwax.

What?

Of the two percent of the human population who don't have the gene for stinkiness, that same gene gives people "wet" earwax.

If you have dry, flaky earwax, you probably don't need deodorant.

I have to go find a cotton swab...

Look, everyone wants to smell awesome, but what about pheromones…

These incredible chemicals allegedly tell people all about you… through the power of smell.

This is assuming humans can sense pheromones at all...of course.

Have I incited enough excitement and doubt?

Click here to watch the video explaining it all.

Pheromones are powerful chemical signals sent by one organism to trigger something specific in another.

Though, this is usually males and females telling each other "How you doin'".

They can also do other things though.

For example, orchids signal pollinators, and ants signal friend or foe.

Are you one of those 2% who do not need deordorant?

Or do you just think you are?

Have you asked your best friend?

Let us know down in the comments, make sure you subscribe for more DNews and thanks for watching.

Also, tell us your thoughts over on Twitter or Facebook I'm @jackiekoppell and he's @tracedominguez .