While checking out at the grocery store? Yeah, me neither. But you know what I have done in grocery stores? Googled mysterious ingredients on my phone.
I’ve already shared with you my man-stink killer deodorant recipe along with my sensitive skin formula and my fave pre-made option, but have I really explained why it’s so important? NO? Oops.
So here’s the deal: There are literally thousands of synthetic chemicals on store shelves in our grocery stores, but information about how these chemicals affect us wasn’t on a high school pop quiz. We learned about square roots and the fact that William Shakespeare married to a woman named Anne Hathaway, but not this. And you guys, that’s a problem because everyone has to eat. (And though it’s not absolutely necessary, I presume most of us bathe at least occasionally, too!)
Despite the fact that they’re added to food, personal care products, and household cleaners, many of these chemicals have never been tested for safety. (source 1, source 2) When I realized that, I began switching over to products free of synthetic chemicals, starting with the products I use most often.
Because it was so easy to replace and there were definite concerns about its use, deodorant was the first to go. Here are are the top five reasons I ditched conventional deodorant, and why you might want to consider doing it, too.
5 Reasons To Ditch Conventional Deodorant
Aluminum
Many deodorants and antiperspirants – including some “natural crystal” deodorants – contain forms of aluminum, which inhibit perspiration. This controversial ingredient is classified in this review, which was written by an oncologist, as both a genotoxin and hormone disruptor.
It was found by one study to “change the way breast cells divide, even at low concentrations.” (source 1, source 2) And in this study, aluminum levels in nipple aspirate fluids were compared in breast cancer patients versus healthy control patients. The cancer patients had significantly higher levels of aluminum, and researchers concluded that the “reasons for the high levels of aluminium in NAF [nipple aspirate fluid] remain unknown but possibilities include either exposure to aluminium-based antiperspirant salts in the adjacent underarm area and/or preferential accumulation of aluminium by breast tissues.”
Triclosan
