Does Edible Deodorant Work?
Rose By Any Other Name Georges Seguin/WikipediaOne intrepid Popular Science editor eschews antiperspirant for a week to see if Deo candy really works. The makers of Deo Perfume Candy claim that if you eat a few of their pink lozenges, the odor compounds contained therein will travel through your body and start oozing out of your pores, giving you a vague and pleasant rose-smelling aura. That's right. It's edible deodorant. But don't throw out your Speed Stick just yet. I tried it for a week, and suffice it to say "pleasant" is a wild overstatement. First, how it's supposed to work: The theoretical mechanism of action is pretty easy to grok if you know something about chemistry. The "active ingredient" in the candy is geraniol, a monoterpene alcohol found in rose oil, citronella and geraniums. It is used in perfumes and in artificial flavors such as raspberry, peach and lime. Those...