You invested in recycling bins and enforced a strict rule for organizing waste in your home as soon as you got your own place. You gave up eating trans fats a long time ago after that documentary that opened your mind. And all-natural makeup is available pretty much everywhere, from department stores to your local drugstore, and it now fills your makeup bag. So why haven’t you switched over to natural deodorant yet? It’s something that many resist, but we need to face the reality of the dangers of the antiperspirant you’ve grown to love.
Photo: Courtesy of Lone Body
Antiperspirant vs. deodorant
Many people love the effects of antiperspirant because it helps to slow or stop the production of sweat under your arms — something that requires aluminum to accomplish and something that is overall bad for your health. Antiperspirants block the apocrine sweat glands with the aluminum in their ingredients, which then leads to your body absorbing hormones that could contribute to cancers, and cancel pheromones that would normally be expressed.
The dangers of antiperspirant
Although there’s not nearly enough research on the subject, there are studies that link the aluminum in antiperspirant to the risk of breast and prostate cancer. They potentially block estrogens and androgens into the glands that have the ability to synthesize these cancer-linked hormones and increase long-term exposure to them. And because antiperspirant is something we wear every day without even thinking about it, that’s a lot of blocking and a lot of exposure. The use of antiperspirant has only grown, which means our exposure to aluminum and more harmful ingredients has grown as well. Propylene glycol, phthalates, parabens and triclosan are all found within, messing with our hormones and putting harsh chemicals on our most sensitive areas.
Beyond the effects antiperspirants have on our bodies, the same ingredients are also a burden on our environment and ecosystem. Aluminum is toxic and can harm the fish and plants surrounding the water where it’s dumped. The mining and refining process that gives us aluminum also emits harmful sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide in addition to chemicals that result in acid rain. Synthetic fragrances compromise the ability of small animals like mussels to be able to rid themselves of other harmful toxins. So when we’re dumping these ingredients into our surroundings, we’re pushing our poor decisions onto the whole ecosystem.
The media’s influence
Unfortunately, it’s not very common to discuss what kind of deodorant you use. Most of us just buy whatever our moms bought us during puberty or what’s been advertised in our favorite magazines. Comparing and contrasting ingredients and how these products work isn’t something that’s widely done. But why wouldn’t you want the safest and most effective products in your medicine cabinet?
Finding something that works
All natural deodorants are not, however, all created equally. Different leading ingredients can affect the effectiveness of the product, and some can even have negative reactions with certain skin types. Many people with sensitive skin struggle with baking-soda-based natural deodorants, but unfortunately that’s one of the more popular ingredients. Lone Body’s natural deodorant is made without baking soda, making it great for those with sensitive skin, and it just works better. What better way to protect your health and keep you smelling fresh all day?
So what are you waiting for? Your body deserves products that help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, not that block you from living your best (and most health-conscious) life.
This post is brought to you in collaboration with Lone Body.