The Health Risks Behind Antiperspirants and Deodorants

About 10 or so years ago, I read a report about the dangers of using antiperspirant and/or deodorant containing aluminum. I didn't do any further research; instead I immediately sought out to find an antiperspirant or deodorant that was aluminum free.

First off, all antiperspirants contain aluminum. So the first step I took was to switch to a deodorant. I was told that "natural" was best, so I gave "all natural" Crystal Deodorant or body stone a try. It worked quite well as far as odor protection, but was rough on my underarms. For those of you not familiar with the deodorant rock, you must wet the stone before each use and then roll it under your arms. It actually dissolves unevenly leaving some jagged edges on the rock (which was rough on my armpits) and it can also be quite messy.

Next, I tried a "natural" deodorant by Jeunique. This worked fabulous but at $8 a bottle, I quickly decided to try something else. Also, after reading the ingredients, I was convinced that the deodorant wasn't so "natural" after all. After several months of using Jeunique, I went to the liquid or roll on Crystal Deodorant which also worked well but still seemed to cause some sensitivity to my armpits.

Over the next year I tried several other "natural deodorants". One was by Tom's of Maine, a company well known for it's natural products. Although it smelled wonderful and was soothing to my armpits, I had a few embarrassing moments in which I made sure to stay at least 10 feet away from any human who knew my name. It was horrible! This deodorant might stop working at any time and a foul odor came from my armpits as if I were a teenager all over again. Several other attempts at "herbal" deodorants had me either taking a few showers a day, and/or left with raw armpits. As I write this today, I have sore armpits. It looks as though I've had a chemical burn from my last attempt at an herbal deodorant by Herbal Clear that contained Tea Tree Oil and Vitamin E.

Before I torture my armpits once again with a so-called "natural product", I thought I'd take some time and learn the truth about the health risks concerning antiperspirants and deodorants.