Aluminium free deodorant seems to be a popular trend, but why are people trying to avoid aluminium in the first place? And why avoid it in deodorant in particular? Are there any other ingredients that aren’t getting as much attention that need to be?
Investing some time into exploring the ingredients in your body care products is an important component of living an overall healthy lifestyle. It’s not just about what you’re munching on that makes an impact, but also what you put on your skin, because it can absorb the chemicals it comes into contact with. Various cosmetic ingredients have been found to work their way through the body and have been found in urine, the brain and alarmingly, in high concentrations in cancer tissue too.
It has been rightly said that ‘there is no better place to start eliminating toxins from your skincare than deodorant’. The axilla (armpit) has a high concentration of sweat glands capable of releasing toxins from the body. They also readily absorb anything applied and their close association with lymph glands and breast tissue have raised understandable concerns over certain synthetic ingredients, especially aluminium salts - e.g. aluminium chloralhydrate, found widely in mainstream deodorants and antiperspirants.
Fresh perspiration is both sterile and odourless, but in the confines of the warm axilla, the skin’s natural bacterial flora feed on the fatty acids it contains and break it down into odorous organic acids. Clogging up this area with toxic metals or contaminants does not help the process!
Why you should avoid aluminium in deodorant:
It has been demonstrated that the skin absorbs aluminium from antiperspirants, which isn’t great news when it is linked to so many health concerns:
- One study found high concentrations of aluminium in the brain tissue of Alzheimer patients.
- Aluminium is considered a neurotoxin and can cause neuroinflammation.
- Aluminium is estrogenic and can disrupt hormone balance, which can lead to all sorts of problems.
- Aluminium is part of a group called heavy metals, which can accumulate in the body and trigger a wide variety of health problems.
When there are so many other wonderful, beneficial ingredients that you can treat your skin to, waving goodbye to aluminium-laden products is easy!
Although using aluminium free deodorant is a great place to start, synthetic deodorants contain a lot more ingredients that are worth a closer look…
Potentially toxic deodorant ingredients:
Triclosan
Triclosan was first registered as a pesticide in 1969 – so why on earth is it added to deodorant? Although it has antimicrobial agent and can kill bacteria, it can also disrupt hormones.
Parabens
Synthetic deodorant is often full of parabens…and we’re not happy about it! Parabens, which are used as a preservative, have been found to have
estrogenic effects and have been found in high concentrations of breast cancer tissue.
Talc
Talc is used in a wide range of skincare and cosmetics. Talc came under fire in recent years when Johnson & Johnson were ordered to pay out $417m in compensation to a customer who claimed it had caused her ovarian cancer (this was just one complaint from many thousands of women). The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies talc as ‘possibly carcinogenic’.
Fragrance
Not all fragrance is harmful, but you’ll want to make sure it’s entirely natural. Synthetic fragrance is a term used to cover a multitude of unlabelled chemicals that have been linked to dermatitis and allergies. No one wants sensitive underarms!
At Odylique, we take the precautionary principle - if any research casts doubt over the safety of an ingredient to humans or the environment, we will not use it in our products.
Finding a safe deodorant
With all the ingredients you need to avoid, it can feel like your options are limited – but don’t sweat, they’re not! And you won’t have to learn every ingredient from A-Z to help you decode what is or isn’t safe to use.
Think natural. Unless you have a specific allergy to a natural ingredient, they tend to be a lot less problematic or linked to serious health concerns than synthetic ingredients. To find a truly natural deodorant (which also means without pesticides & fungicides), opt for an independently certified organic deodorant.
There are lots of companies who market their products as ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ when they aren’t really so. This is because there aren’t strict advertising guidelines in place to prohibit this. Rather than trusting the company trying to sell you the product, trust independent certifiers, like the Soil Association who certify products based on their own set of rigorous guidelines to ensure that the product is truly organic.
Say no to antiperspirants!
Another way to ensure you’re only using the best for your body is to put the antiperspirant down and stick with deodorant only. Antiperspirant prevents you from sweating by blocking your sweat ducts – usually with the help of aluminium. But aside from the toxic ingredients, stopping yourself from sweating stops your body from detoxifying through the skin – sweating isn’t just a cooling mechanism. Preventing perspiration is not a healthy practice – whatever ingredients you use.
Instead of buying an antiperspirant, stick to deodorant and let your body function as naturally as possible!
Odylique Natural Deodorant
Odylique’s certified organic, 100% natural deodorants are been designed to prevent odour and work with your body…not against it.
Our Lemon & Aloe Vera Natural Deodorant contains:
- Aloe vera juice. This ingredient has so many benefits for the skin (which is why we love using it in a range of our products!). Aloe has been found to be a safe and effective treatment in psoriasis, improve skin elasticity and wound healing and also an anti-inflammatory & antifungal agent.
- Calendula & horsetail. These herbs are packed full of antibacterial agents. This is important when it comes to a deodorant, because the not-so-appealing scents associated with underarms is often because of an abundance of bacteria that resides there to breakdown the protein in sweat.
- Essential oils of lemongrass, lemon & bergamot. Essential oils have a powerhouse of benefits, but we also love using them because they smell so wonderful!
If you’re looking for a healthy, aluminium free deodorant, we challenge you to go natural and experience the benefits for yourself!
15% Off Our Natural Deodorants
We're
so sure you're going to love going natural, that you can have 15% off your order of either of our deodorants by entering code FRESH15 at checkout.
"I’ve been looking for a natural deodorant that works and this is the one. I found the fragrance lovely and fresh. It’s been a game changer"
Laura, Odylique Customer
This is a great product as it smells lovely and works very well. I can also use it in confidence as my mum recently recovered from breast cancer and this deodorant has no nasties in it, like aluminium oxide.
Deborah, Odylique Customer
If you'd like any advice on skincare or deodorant, please do email us at customercare@odylique.co.uk, phone us on 01638 491022, add your question as a comment below – we've been working with natural cosmetics for over 30 years, and we're here to help!