Throw Away Your Deodorant

Deodorants and antiperspirants are an integral part of personal hygiene with global sales estimated to reach $12.6 billion by 2015. And while deodorants and antiperspirants do keep us smelling great, they may also contain harmful substances like aluminum and parabens.

This may not seem like much of an issue for something you put on top of your skin, but it's important to remember that what you put ON your body goes IN your body. Applying chemicals to the skin may be even worse than eating them because this route avoids the detoxifying organs designed to prevent dangerous substances from going directly into sensitive tissues.

What Causes Underarm Odor?

The widely-held belief is that underarm odor comes from sweat, but this is untrue, sweat is actually odorless. Instead it's the bacteria on the surface of the skin that produces odors.

The body uses two types of glands to sweat: eccrine, which open directly onto the surface of the skin and make up the majority of sweat glands, and apocrine, which open into the hair follicles in the armpits, nipple region, and genital areas. It’s probably not hard to guess which type is responsible for BO. That's right, apocrine glands secrete a thicker form of sweat into inherently warm, moist places where bacteria thrive and the end result is body odor.

Beauty companies thought the obvious solution was to block the apocrine glands, preventing sweat in the malodorous areas and allowing the unscented ones to cool the body. And this is where aluminum entered the picture.

Aluminum

Aluminum is added to most antiperspirants because it does a good job of physically blocking the pores, preventing sweat from being released. Unfortunately, research has demonstrated that the aluminum in antiperspirants is absorbed into the body. [1]

The estimated aluminum absorption for humans after a single underarm application of antiperspirant is approximately .012 percent. This is a small amount but it does accumulate over time because the body has a difficult time removing aluminum. Only iodine has been shown to increase the excretion of aluminum and it is has been largely removed from the modern food supply.

Aluminum is regarded as a neurotoxin with no useful role and there is some evidence that Alzheimer's disease may be linked to aluminum content in the body. Analyses of the aluminum content in brains of Alzheimer's patients have shown increased levels, although brain aluminum levels vary greatly. [2]

For this reason it is advisable to steer clear of antiperspirants that contain aluminum, which also includes natural products such as "crystal" deodorant sprays and stones. These "crystals" contain alum, which is another form of aluminum.

Regular deodorants are preferable to antiperspirants because they lack aluminum, but also because they allow the body to naturally eliminate toxins through sweat.

Other Problem Ingredients

On top of aluminum, mainstream underarm products generally contain a number of other ingredients that have been implicated in health problems:

• Parabens - an endocrine disruptor that has been linked to breast cancer
• Phthalates – disrupt hormone receptors and has been linked to birth defects
• Triclosan – classified as a pesticide and a probable carcinogen

It is our opinion that most of these things will eventually be removed from beauty products but it doesn't make a lot of sense to wait for that day when safe, natural products are available today.

Natural Alternatives

Whichever product you choose, a good rule of thumb is to avoid ones that contain chemicals you've never heard of and are difficult to pronounce. Here are some products we like:

Botanical-Based Deodorant

This roll-on deodorant is one of the author’s favorites, offering a pleasant fruit scent.

Natural Essential Oils of Lemon and Orange

These offer oils natural antibacterial action with a pleasant scent.

Baking Soda

One of the simplest, natural deodorant alternatives is baking soda. Apply a small amount of baking soda to a damp washcloth and rub under your arms.

Lemongrass & Tea tree Oil Soap

Lemongrass offers a nice scent while tea tree oil provides natural anti-bacterial action.

If you have a favorite natural solution of your own, please feel free to share it in the comments below!

References

[1]. Pharmacological Toxicology April, 2001;88(4):159-67
[2]. Goyer RA: Toxic effects of metals. In Klaassen CD, Amdur MO, Doull J (Eds): Casarett and Doull's Toxicology the Basic Science of Poisons, 5th edn. New York, McGraw-Nill, 1996 pp 691-736

The information presented is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure disease. Please speak with your doctor before starting any diet, exercise, or supplement program.

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