Talk to Your Partner About Anything — Including Underarm Irritation
By Lifestyle Blogger Rach Parcell
As part of our mission to keep underarms irritation free, we asked specialists to contribute their unique expertise to the Dove Men+Care Deodorant “The Guide to Complete Underarm Care” publication. This article comes from lifestyle blogger, Rach Parcell.
Relationships are wonderful, complex things. And each requires its own style of care. In August, my husband Drew and I will celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary. Looking back, one thing that makes our partnership work so well is how direct we are with each other.
When it comes to health and care, honesty makes a big difference — even (or especially!) when the topic is personal, like skin irritation. I’ve teamed up with Dove Men+Care Deodorant to share some of my experiences and show how delicate conversations don’t need to be uncomfortable ones. I hope my story can provide some guidance for you guys.
From our very first date, Drew and I had a natural ease with one another. To be perfectly honest, I used to sweat frequently on first dates. If there’s ever an awkward silence, that’s when I start to sweat — but Drew is hilarious. On our first date, if there was silence, he would make a funny joke.
We both liked each other, because it wasn’t ever weird or awkward.
That comfort has been part of our relationship ever since. We talk all the time, and we try to do it in person. I’ll stop by his office and pick him up for lunch, or we’ll take our dog and our little girl to the park, and we’ll just talk about everything.
The ability to talk openly about health and hygiene is super important. With my personality, I just come out and say what needs to be said.
After Drew gets home from the gym, I’m not afraid to say, “Don’t touch me. Get in the shower right now.”
Drew grew up in the sun, and was stubborn, so he hardly wore sunscreen. And, yes, he has some wrinkles coming in around his eyes! Thankfully, we talk about skincare openly, which allows me to make (gentle) suggestions about ways he can protect and care for himself.
Given that he’s active and builds homes for a living, Drew is attentive to his hygiene (he takes a shower every day… sometimes more than one). So while he doesn’t usually deal with irritation, he ran a marathon two summers ago and afterwards he had red bumps on his underarms. I remember him saying, “Oh my gosh, I’m way irritated right here.” So we figured out how to soothe his skin together. I love that he comes to me and trusts me with his health questions.
The important conversations — about skincare, or irritation after his marathon — all that stuff was face-to-face.
How should you talk to your partner?
My recommendation is to be straight up. I would just come out and say, “Honey, you’ve got to get it under control. Quit your deodorant.” If that didn’t help, I would take matters into my own hands and go buy him something.
Everybody is different, but for issues like Drew experienced after the marathon, you can’t go wrong with an antiperspirant with a clinically proven non-irritant formula, like Dove Men+Care. I believe in being proactive, and trying new things if you’re experiencing discomfort.
Drew is a huge jokester, so he would probably flip it around on me or make some joke about it, but ultimately he’d listen to me — I hope your significant other would do the same!
In the end, my best advice is: Trust your relationships. Be direct and proactive. That way, you can keep both your communication and your skin irritation-free ;)
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