I've been using Mitchum deodorant for several years now, as I do tend to sweat quite a lot and need a heavy duty anti-perspirant which Mitchum seems to lead the pack on. Over the last year or so, however, I've begun to notice that the formulation must have changed, and I've been frantically searching for an alternative so I can stop using it!

First of all, why have I been using it for so long? Well, it really does work. The bottle claims 48-hour protection, which I've never tested because, well, I still like to wash every day regardless of whether I'm sweaty or not! I do find though that it lasts a day of work, sports, dashing about a city on holiday, whatever. It really does work.

The specific version I'm using at the moment, Advanced Control, also claims to minimise white marks. I'll say that it does, but it doesn't necessarily leave clothes unmarked, the marks just aren't white. That's strike one, as far as this goes. It does take quite a while to dry and feels a bit tacky and gross for a couple of minutes, which means I can't dash out of the door quite so quickly, and it does somewhat spoil the shower-fresh feeling. Once it is dry, however, it's not noticeable. I've noticed a few marks on some of my tshirts, which rather than being white are somewhat greasy-looking and dark. Not that pleasant but mostly do wash out.

There isn't a huge choice of scents as far as Mitchum goes, which isn't a problem for me as I prefer mine to be either unperfumed or shower fresh, both of which are within the range.

So the deodorant works, smells inoffensive and doesn't completely ruin my clothing, so why am I desperate to change it? Well, it has started literally burning my armpits! I noticed this a couple of times after chopping and changing deodorants, and finally linked it to when I've been using Mitchum. I recently picked up a newer version, hoping they would have sorted it, but no, it's definitely this deodorant.

I mentioned this to a colleague who confirmed she had also suffered this, and a quick Google proves we're not the only ones. I believe the culprit to be the aluminium zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly. While I couldn't tell you what half of that means, I do know that I have suffered reactions to metals in the past before and have heard of it causing irritation in deodorants. Yes, it causes them to work, but sadly at a cost.

To say that this irritated me would be a vast understatement. It wasn't even a case of it burning after shaving. No, this would appear innocent enough upon application but throughout the day I would get an intense itching which, frankly, was quite embarrassing when I had to constantly scratch my armpits. I once made the mistake of bringing Mitchum with me on holiday, having not used it for a while. As I had nothing else to use, by the end of the week I had been scratching so I was almost bleeding and there were visible chemical BURNS on my armpits.

I've switched to the aerosol now, having not found a suitable alternative to Mitchum yet that can keep me fresh and dry, and do find that the aerosol doesn't cause me to be irritated...yet! Interestingly the spray does not contain as much aluminium, and of a different form.

If you suffer from heavy sweating and need a good strong deodorant, I would recommend this, but if you suffer at all from skin sensitivity please be forewarned! You can find these deodorants from supermarkets, Superdrug, Boots etc and they are generally priced at around £3 with deals often on such as BOGOF. I find that a bottle will generally last me about two months.