I'm not sure on the deodorant/anti-perspirant ? Our uncles (all family drs told us not to use anti's as they block the pores) but the Oxi-cleans really work on my sons shirts, add it to the laundry every time - launder the shirts in it before you wear them the first time. I even found the oxi-clean generic at our local Aldi's grocery store (exact same ingredients) it also removes blood, ketchup, chili sauce: make a paste of it and scrub in the stain with a toothbrush. Eldest son works in a restaurant so fascinating things hit his clothes. Youngest son is a weight lifter/football player and the sweat issue seems to be over here. Also, when they were younger and played Little League/Pop Warner I used a bar of Felsnaphta (I'm spelling phonetically) I found at the local grocery store chain. Wet a toothbrush, rub it on the bar, and the scrub the stains: it removed red clay, grass stains, blood, etc from white baseball/football uniforms.

I use Fels Naptha too. It takes some rubbing but works very well on some stains. Don't know about perspiration though.

I had heard about the Oxyclean stuff, but will it remove the hardness? That's what bothers me the most. I wore a shirt yesterday that had that and it started pinching at my skin and armpits when I put it on.

The OxyClean can certainly help but it's important to use VERY hot water. I boil about a couple gallons of water in a non-reactive stock pot on the stove, remove it from the heat, add a scoop of OxyClean and mix to dissolve, then add the shirts and let them sit (off the heat, of course) for several hours. I've saved some hopeless looking yellow-stained white shirts with this method.

who makes the mineral salt deoderant? what exactly would I be looking for?

Fels naptha soap is supposed to be good for poison ivy too...ha! I could never find it when I needed it though!

That salt mineral deodorant may work for some but it "ate up" my under arms. I'm really allergic to it! I used it one day and my underarms were raw for several days.

There are a few main companies that make the mineral salt deodorants. The easiest to find are usually "Crystal Body Deodorant" (CVS online carries it, and I've never NOT seen it at any CVS I've been to) and "Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal" which I picked up at the local supermarket. I can't tell any difference in the brands, although the Naturally Fresh brand plastic roll up dispenser thing seems to be slightly stronger if you drop it.

Bizarre, arkansas girl! Had you used one of the spray kinds that maybe had alcohol in it? If that ever happened to me, I think I'd just cry. I can't wear "normal" deodorant/antiperspirant and baking soda alone just doesn't cut it.

Well back to the original problem with the yellow underarm stains. I know this doesn't help a whole lot but I believe the secret to this problem is prevention. When my husband had to wear dress shirts and a tie to work, he got horrible yellow stains under his arms and around the neck. I finally realized that I needed to spray Shout on the neck and underarms each and every time I washed and this stopped the problem from happening.

It's been a while since I used the crystal but I looked at some pictures in google and I'm pretty sure it was Naturally Fresh and no it wasn't a spray, it was just a crystal of "salt" in a little plastic tube. Seems like you got it wet and smeared it around under your arms. I gave it to a friend that was telling me that's all she uses and she had no problem with it.

Ultraviolet; Those mineral rock ARE antiperspirants.

Gailee; Look for them in health food stores. Theya always carry them. I think they are just a marketing gimic, personally. Some mainstream chain stores carry them displayed with all the other deorderant/antiperspirant products they sell.

The Salt crystal rock is a more natural deodorant. What it does is block odor causing bacteria from forming, while still allowing the body to sweat. This is not an antiperspirant.

I use this crystal and found it to work for me just fine. There is truly no odor. You will sweat, but that is good. Your body was made to do so. Granted, there will be someone out there who will not be able to use it. I would suggest that you experience it with a travel size. That is what I did. I found mine at a Healthfood or Natural Food store.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crystal Body Deodorant

Thank you. I did some reading up on crystals and I may have previously been misinformed.

I am still skeptical though. There were quite a few things on the website I disagree with. For instance the website that you link to says "It is impossible through natural means to get water to permeate the skin." Obviously this person has never soaked in a bathtub and come out all wrinkled.