How do I stop my black merino shirts getting sweat marks?

I have tried aluminium-free deodorant, but that sucks compared to aluminium-full deodorants but I think that’s where the white marks are coming from?

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Being a big guy who is prone to melting in the heat and spent most of my adult life in subtropical areas, an alum stone twice a week while showering has been a godsend.

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What’s that?

One those black exfoliant rocks?

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So I could buy one at any hippie/health-food/whatever kinda shop?

We have a few of those in town: on account of all the hippies sittin’ round doing nothing but holding the mountain in place - they are numerous enough to keep several stores in business, so the food-coop shop or the health-food store would both probably stock em.

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I get mine from industrial suppliers but hippie shops will have them for a massive mark-up.

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I’ll check-out how massive the mark-up is I spose, and if it’s in-line with some the $20 deodorant/antiperspirant I’ve bought I’ll give it a bash.

Course I don’t really know whether it’s sweat or aluminium in the deodorant causing said marks, but since they turn into light discolouration around the armpit area of the shirts and I sweat down my back plenty but there’s no discolouration there, assume it’s the deodorant.

Well, “Antiperspirant” of the aluminium, rather.

MAYBE they sell something that’ll wash it out, but I don’t have time to pre-soak every black shirt before washing it.

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It think it still costs around £10 for a piece the size of half a small schoolboy’s head wholesale and around £5 for a small soap bar sized one cheaply at retail.

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That’s alright: 5 pounds would probably equate to approximately what expensive supermarket deodorant would cost :+1:

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And alum pieces can last a very long time.

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Yah and buying locally will let me know quicker and with lower investment whether it works, whereas a child’s head sized glob, well… that could still be an interesting decorative piece if it doesn’t, but we shall see!

For $80/shirt, I’ll try something new if it keeps the suckers black, because I KNOW the white discolouration doesn’t wash out with standard laundry liquid.

Takes a while for these white (or rather lighter black) areas to start appearing, but once they do - it’s like an accumulation that doesn’t come off/out.

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Well I know that many alum retail brands are Australian based, so should be easy for you to find one.

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I’m sure they’ll have wicker baskets filled with odd-shaped lumps of the stuff, along with the hand-made soaps and goats-milk moisturisers :slight_smile:

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My local one has lots of smug sticks and crystals. I tend to remind them that their Waite Rider reprints are massively overpriced.

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I don’t know what they’ll have locally, though I’ll snap a pic of whatever I end up with and update on it’s efficacy once I’ve slathered it on in and out the shower.

I expect unbranded, plain blocks in irregular shapes :smirk:

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Ok. just avoid shower selfies.

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I just had my shower actually, and I hate them in winter: in summer they’re fresh, but winter…

It’s not the water of course, it’s that time between getting out and getting dressed that NO heater in the world can make warm…

Gotta force myself to shower in winter because of that - that few minutes of wet drippy coldness - god I loathe it: makes me feel like a cat that’s been forced under a garden-hose :angry:

Anyway I’ll thank you later, if it works :smirk:

Bed now.

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Sweet dreams. I am having to shout at morons driving around with megaphones trying to sway voting. I have only been swayed to pick on breaking down the funding of candidates to find the one responsible.

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You can buy alum blocks from most on-line shaving stores. Osma is a great brand, but any of them work. I use a block as part of my after-shave routine (I am a traditional wet shaver who uses single blade, double edged razors, and soaps with a brush. It is a hobby and gives me mindful satisfaction and better shaves.) I also use alum as a deodorant because I am allergic to some ingredient in every type of deodorant and antiperspirant. Not sure what is available in your neck of the woods, but here in the states places like Italian Barber, Maggards or West Coast Shaving are great vendors.

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I couldn’t find any Alum blocks in their natural state!!

Closest there was - even in the hippy health-food store, was commercial deodorants with Alum in them, which I dismissed since there were just so many other ingredients, who’d know which is doing what :thinking:

I’ll have to order online looks like.

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