When you reach groggily for your Xtreme Arctic Blast antiperspirant in the morning, I’ll bet you’re not preparing to climb Mount Fuji. No, you’re preparing to spend the day at your desk, in a suit, smelling like an eighth grader. All those hyper-scented armpit armors—the ones emblazoned with "Sport" or "Fresh" or "Intense"—are brutally, unnecessarily strong. You know the guy in the office three cubicles down who talks too loud on the phone? Don’t let your armpits be that guy.

Think: Do you really want a $5 stick of blue gel overpowering your $100 bottle of carefully chosen cologne? And please don’t say you’re relying on your pit protection as your only fragrance. That should have stopped around the same time you quit telling "yo’ momma" jokes. Even guys who make deodorants agree: "If you want to use a scent, add one," says Andrew Goetz, the president of Malin + Goetz. "Don’t use one that’s meant to cover up a smell." Another reason to go easy on the underarms, as if you need one: They’re a sensitive area that artificial fragrance can easily irritate.

What you want is a product that’s naturally—and, at most, lightly—scented. Malin + Goetz’s Eucalyptus Deodorant ($18, malinandgoetz.com) is barely there, while Kiehl’s Superbly Efficient Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant ($16, kiehls.com) is completely scent-free. And they’ll both get you up Mount Fuji just fine.

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