Imagine having to never buy or apply deodorant again? Yup, just like the picture says! Well I may have found something that can give you that freedom. It’s called miraDry and was created for those with Hyperhidrosis aka excessive sweating. Now I don’t have excessive sweat but I do have a, ahem, funk problem. Like I will wear a top for a few hours and I already know the armpits smell; cotton, poly, I’ve tried them all and they all have the same outcome, funky armpits.

Now I don’t mind my body odor smell and I’ve never noticed anyone move away from me because of it but I sometimes wonder. And then there’s shopping! I tend to shy away from most items that have to be dry cleaned, especially if they lie snug under the arms.

And I’ve tried every deodorant out there, the time-release ones, the clinical strength ones etc. The only one that seems to have been helping a little lately in the keeping-me-dry category was Fresh Sugar Deodorant Antiperspirant. 

So as you can imagine, I was quite excited to meet with Carla at Marina Plastic Surgery in Marina Del Rey, CA. Discussing my issues with her, she said I was an ideal candidate as miraDry doesn’t just help with wetness but also with odor.

What it is: miraDry is a FDA-cleared procedure that uses microwave technology to destroy the sweat and odor glands under the arm and once they are killed, they are gone for good. This treatment is permanent, unlike Botox, which lasts only 3 to 6 months at most! MiraDry recommends one treatment but I’ve also read the two really is the best at making sure all the glands are terminated. You may think, "Don't I need my sweat glands there though?" Actually, only 2% of the roughly 4 million glands are found under the arms so anything that inhibits underarm sweat does not interrupt that body's cooling down system. 

The procedure: Carla applied like a temporary tattoo to mark the area so she could activate the hand piece in each area. Then, she numbed my underarms. Yup, with a needle. Yup, about 12 shots under each arm. Yup, not fun but it did get easier after the first one. Then the device is activated in each area of my underarm and took about 25 minutes for each armpit.

Afterwards: I was supplied with an ice pack under each arm pit and left their offices with them firmly in place. When I got home, I switched them out with new ones from my freezer and did this dance the rest of the evening and got up once to change them during the night. I was sore and swollen but after about 24-hours I didn’t need the ice packs or Ibuprophen anymore. My skin bruised a little bit under each arm but not bad at all and I think my odor has been cut by about 85%.

Now it’s been 10 days since the treatment and I have only applied the Fresh antiperspirant once since (noticed a tiny smell). Carla said to lay off any exercise/heavy lifting for a week while healing so now that I can do that again, I have taken Zumba twice and wow, and my odor and wetness is almost non-existent! Yeah!

I do notice that I still feel a little sore if I gently press under my armpits in the middle and I am still a little numb in places but Carla said this can be expected for a few weeks to a few months, depending on the person.

The procedure costs about $3,000 and is not usually covered by insurance but it could be in certain cases. Find a doctor in your area here and read more about miraDry on their site @ miradry.com.

Disclosure: The procedure was provided gratis for this story.