To deo or not to deo at night?

Here’s the take of the global beauty brand Dove on the new skincare debate

Ready to call it a night? Your skin isn’t–as a matter of fact, it never is. This is why nighttime skincare routines exist. 

While this isn’t news for the skincare savvy, the newest skincare essential might come as a surprise for most. It’s not for the face, it’s not for the body, and no, it’s not the serum we’re used to or have probably heard about. 

It’s actually a deodorant.

Global beauty brand Dove released its first-ever Night Repair Deo Serum, the newest addition to its Dove Radiant + Care Deodorant line. Formulated with trusted skincare ingredients such as niacinamide and hyaluronic acid for radiant underarms, coming in two formats: The dry serum and the roll-on. This once again expands Dove’s wide range of skincare innovations.

The deo debate

Since the new product launch, there have been as many raised brows than raised arms. 

One question by beauty queen Megan Young in a now-viral TikTok (“do you, and should you, have an underarm care routine at night?”) launched a thousand questions. Other social media personalities such as Marj Maroket, Hannah Pangilinan, and Angelina Cruz also joined in on kickstarting the conversation–enthusiasts tried to make sense of it, doubters frowned and tried to make a case against it, but notably, it got everyone thinking. 

Typically used at the start of the day, if not midday, deos are often associated with protecting one from sweat and odor before kickstarting the day. So why put deo on at night, right as you’re about to sleep, when you have nowhere else to be but in the comfort of your bed?

Unilever Dove Deos Philippines Business Manager Bea Joson sheds light into what others might have been in the dark about. The skin actually absorbs skincare ingredients better at night, which introduces a strong case for the use of deo during the evening: A deodorant infused with skincare-ingredients becomes as essential as any other nighttime skincare essentials.

“The skin acts to protect during the day, but it repairs and renews at night,” said Joson. “Dove’s newest deodorant serum is designed for nighttime use. Because the skin loses more moisture at night, triggering inflammation and itching, there is a need and a great benefit to apply hydrating ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid at night.”

Putting a focus on one of the key ingredients, the brand expounds on how Hyaluronic Acid boosts moisturization to repair the skin barrier at night, making it a good partner for what our skin is already capable of doing naturally, and ultimately, revealing more radiant underarms.  

What dreams are made of

Dove’s new night serum for your underarms contains 3% niacinamide, its highest concentration of niacinamide in a Dove deodorant yet, boosting the journey to achieving radiant underarms.

It is also infused with hyaluronic acid, which provides moisturization to repair your skin barrier as you sleep, revealing more radiant underarm skin in the morning.

Mix it all together, and you get 40% more radiant underarms in just one month.

“Dove has always worked to be at the helm of skincare innovation that speaks to the direct need of the everyday woman,” shared Joson. “In this case, it’s taking advantage of what our body does for us–the work it renders overtime–even when we’re fast asleep. It’s arguably an untapped need to find the right product with the right ingredients to make the most out of this repair time, and with Dove’s decades-long history of leaving no stone unturned when it comes to finding the best in skincare, this new innovation is the next step towards a more radiant tomorrow for Dove girls all over.”

All this in mind, we’d like to think that the score has been settled. There is great merit to adding deodorant to our nighttime skincare routines–which in turn also completes our day-to-night routine with Dove’s Radiant + Care range–and the global beauty brand says all it takes is to “#DreamWithDove”

And with this, the challenge presents itself: As you prepare to rest, put Dove to work.

Photos from Unilever Philippines