Antiperspirants and Deodorants---Should You Be Worried?

There has been a lot of information online and elsewhere about the possible dangers of using commercial antiperspirants and deodorants.  What is truth and what is fiction?  

How Do Antiperspirants and Deodorants Work?

Antiperspirants contain chemicals that contain aluminum based compounds.  The ions in these compounds serve to block or clog the sweat ducts in your skin’s pores.  They do this by entering the cells, swelling, and therefore closing or blocking the pores. This causes you not to sweat (as much).  There are many names manufacturers use for the word “aluminum.”  Sometimes the ingredient will actually contain the word aluminum, however, there are ways of disguising the fact that aluminum is an ingredient, so consumers are sometimes duped. 

Deodorants are added to most antiperspirants.  They are generally chemicals that neutralize smell or just cover it up. 

 For the rest of this article, I’ll be referring to both antiperspirants and deodorants as just “Deodorant,” since that is how most of us refer to it.  

Some Things to Sweat About

Besides the possibility that chemicals being applied to our largest organ, the skin, may have something to do with dangerous diseases and health risks, there is more to worry about than just that!

Did you know that sweating is good for you?  Our bodies were made to sweat!  

We sweat in order to cool down, for one!  With a lessened ability to sweat, our bodies sweat in other places besides our pits!  The fact is, we must sweat---

More importantly, sweating is one way our bodies release toxins from our system!  It needs to happen every day!  Your armpits are one of the main sweat points on the body, and by blocking this up, toxins are more likely to be stuck.  Where do these toxins go?  They end up being stored in fat cells (cellulite or weight gain anyone?), clog up or over power our filtering systems (liver and kidneys), or end up being stored in other areas. Besides cellulite and weight gain, this toxic build up presents itself in a huge range of health problems including acne, bloating and gas, chronic disease, and possibly cancer. 

Blocking your pores in your pits may also cause skin eruptions in this area!  Cysts, boils, etc. are not uncommon in people who use deodorants and are thus unable to sweat normally. 

So How Safe is Antiperspirant, Really?

The aluminum used in deodorants has allegedly been linked to a variety of health concerns.  From breast cancer to Alzheimer’s Disease to kidney disease, aluminum has been blamed.  Some doctors believe that you can’t absorb enough aluminum through your skin to harm yourself.  And the research studies have been inconclusive or have lacked definitive evidence to link aluminum to any of these health issues.  The World Health Organization has, however, found that people with higher frequencies of using deodorants have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.  Still, there is just no clear link between aluminum and kidney, mental, or cancer diseases. 

In addition to aluminum, there are large numbers of other suspect ingredients to worry about! These include but are not limited to parabens, propylene glycol, triclosan, TEA, DEA, colorants, talc, and more.  These additional ingredients are believed by some to be correlated to breast cancer, allergies, kidney and liver damage, and other cancers.  Many of these chemicals are known to be carcinogenic, neurotoxins, or just plain toxic.  

Confusing?  It is for me!  

It is definitely a challenge for the average consumer to determine just how safe a product is when manufacturers are often not clear or truthful about what is being added to products and what the potential harmful effects may be.  So, although the research is inconclusive, I would say to err on the side of safety.  

Go Green!

How to Find a “Natural” Deodorant

Here is what I do:  I read the label, and if I don’t know for sure what each ingredient is and does, then I just try not to use it.  

My personal deodorant dilemma began many years ago.  I am a big “sweater” so to speak.  And as a young woman (or even an older one), how embarrassing is that?  On top of that, I, like many people, women included, tended to get stinky when sweating.  So after decades of trying this deodorant and that one, from the ultra powerful Clinical Super Aluminum varieties and everything in between, I became seriously depressed about ever being able to stop sweaty (and stinky) armpits.  

THEN I read about all the chemicals that may cause potential health problems, and I was just ready to give it all up and go au naturale.  But, I wasn't yet ready to bring myself to go there.  I decided to try out the “natural” deodorants in the health stores.  I have to be honest.  They really didn’t work well for me.  From crystal deodorants, to Tom’s, to a slew of different brands---And THEN I discovered that even some of these had some of those “other” chemicals (like TEA) embedded in them as well.  

Can you trust anyone?

That’s when I found handmade deodorant containing just five ingredients:  baking soda, arrowroot powder, coconut oil, shea butter, and essential oils.  WOW!  I knew what all of those were!  So I gave it a try. My first try with handmade deodorants came from the Crunchy Betty website, in case you want to take a look.  Highly informative and great recipes too.  

Here is what I found out:

My skin is allergic to coconut oil.  I found this out by using not only the natural handmade deodorant I purchased from an etsy seller, but also because in experimenting with making my own lotions and creams, it make me itchy and actually more dry than before using it.  I know that coconut oil is supposed to be the wonder oil of the century, but for me it didn’t work. Therefore, even if it was a great handmade and natural deodorant, if it contained coconut oil---it was a no go.  

I also found out that natural deodorant actually DID work!  WAY better than the commercial products, too!  I think the essential oils used in the product really did more than make it smell good.  They happened to be oils that are antibacterial and antiseptic, so the bacteria couldn’t create the smell!  Awesome!   

And best of all, I found that after using it over time, I actually sweated LESS than before!  I still sweat, but it is no longer a problem.  I am now confident that I won’t have to deal with that huge sweat stain under my pits and an overworked body trying to get rid of extra toxins.  

I now make my own natural deodorant, and I LOVE it.  I will be posting the recipe in a later post.  But for now, if you want to check out a ready made product that works for me (and I think for you, too), please click here.

The bottom line, if you are interested in getting rid of potentially toxic chemicals in your life, then go green, and go natural!