You Don’t Need to Worry About Aluminum in Your Deodorant
There is a whole market for aluminum-free deodorants. They are marketed as natural or primitive or somehow more suitable for you . But wait a second: why are you avoiding aluminum, which (unlike these natural deodorants) can actually stop you from sweating? Everything is fine.
Aluminum – yes, the same metal that foil and beverage cans are made of – is found in trace amounts in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and in breast tumors. However, people who work with aluminum are no more likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s than anyone else , and aluminum is found in healthy breast tissue at the same rate as in tumors . There is no evidence that avoiding aluminum will reduce the risk of any condition.
So where did we get the idea that the aluminum in your deodorant is the problem? It takes time for the American Cancer Society to debunk the myths set forth in a chain of letters from 1999 or earlier ( refuted by Snopes here ). That email said antiperspirants work “by preventing the body from flushing toxins from under the armpits.” According to this story, undefined “toxins” accumulate in the lymph nodes in the armpits and cause breast cancer in the areas of the breast closest to the armpits.
This story is wrong: the sweat glands don’t work like that. This is not how lymph nodes work. This is not how cancer works. Most breast tumors are located in the “upper outer quadrant” of the breast, but only because this area has the most breast tissue. Research on the relationship between aluminum and cancer has yet to provide conclusive evidence .
What does aluminum actually do?
Aluminum-containing ingredients are found in deodorants – technically only in those labeled as antiperspirants – because they can clog sweat glands. They literally keep you from sweating.
When sweat appears on the skin, bacteria eat up the sweat and release smelly chemicals. Thus, other active ingredients in deodorants (natural or otherwise) either kill bacteria or create a scent to hide the stench. Some non-aluminum deodorants will contain an ingredient like cornstarch, which helps absorb moisture, so even if you’re still sweating, you won’t feel wet.
If you prefer aluminum-free deodorants, great! But it seems that people often suffer from natural deodorants because they are afraid of aluminum, not because they like alternatives. “I tried 11 natural deodorants in search of one that actually worked,” says Greatist in a review . Chatelaine claims to have found 10 non – aluminum deodorants that actually work , but the review quotes: “Our specialist tester said her body odor eventually leveled off, but emphasizes that the deodorant works ‘in stages,’ so you you can smell it along the way. “
So if you are avoiding something that actually works because you fear it will harm you in some way, relax. Little is proven in this world – researchers are still working on the link between aluminum and cancer, just in case – but that’s not what keeps you awake at night.