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This Is Why You Should Use Deodorant Without Aluminum

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Casper Libero chapter.

The climate that affects most of Brazil’s region is the tropical, maintaining high temperatures almost the whole year, personal hygiene and the daily use of cosmetics became essential in our population routine to avoid the disgusting effects that sweating in large scale can cause. Because of that, the use of deodorant and antiperspirant with aluminum in the formula and why it should be avoided, has been discussed a lot in the past few years, suggesting then more sustainable options, without aluminum, free of aggressive ingredients and harmful to the health of the person or the environment depending to the type of product it is on discussion. In the modern society, the people are trying to live more of a healthy, sustainable life by means of positive actions that can start with their meal to choose to use a deodorant/antiperspirant with or without aluminum.

Take a double look at the labels

One thing to consider before choosing a product with aluminum or not, it is to know the difference between deodorant and antiperspirant, respectively, the main propose of the first one it is to decrease, combat the bad smell that exists in the areas of the body that occurs the production of sweat, while the second has as its main objective, to control sweat and can have the role of a deodorant because most part of the antiperspirant have on their composition a substance that combat against the bad smelling in that specific part of the body, but mainly of the deodorant cannot act like a antiperspirant.

In addition to this, when choosing a deodorant in a market or pharmacy it is important to be careful, it is always good to know if your skin is sensitive or not, if you are allergic to some type of product or not, check if they are hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested and in case of more doubts or still have some doubts about it, it is necessary to talk to a dermatologist and ask which one it is more appropriate for you and your type of skin.

Apart from that, it is relevant to have knowledge about the ideal model of this cosmetic and your advantage and disadvantages accordingly with your type of skin, having as some examples that exist on the present market, the model in cream (moisturizes the skin but because it is creamy it takes a certain time to dry, so it is not very practical), the two types of deodorants that are more popular are the roll-on and the aerosol, respectively, while the roll-on (that have a better attachment and longer to the skin, but it has a tendency to take time to dry) the aerosol ones, are the real problems and have a lot of disadvantages if you analyze, when you are buying this type of deodorant/antiperspirant it is necessary to be sure that in its formula does not contain the polluting gases that intensify the global warming and the greenhouse effect, polluting more our environment.

This kind of deodorant it is the fastest of them all to dry, some people consider refreshing, it can cause some trouble possibly because of the elevated number of toxins that the formula have, and as result of that it can maybe stain on your clothes and your skin depending on the frequency of use can develop some damage too for the organism and for the environment.

How the product acts

On behalf of that, action of sweating is a way that our body finds of regulating body temperature and eliminating toxins, however sweat itself does not have a bad smell, the bad smell comes from the bacterial action in the area. The deodorant with their role to disguise bad odor and antiperspirants to prevent the body from producing sweat, and may contain compounds harmful to health, among them are, aluminum (the most prejudicial one) triclosan, propylene glycol and parabens.

Firstly, the component that is the easiest to find in formulas in the products that sells in popular grocery stores is the aluminum, that nowadays is part of our society in many ways, and that imminently penetrated the body of humans since it is a metal that it is capable and can accumulate in our system through the skin, inhalation, or ingestion.

In case of the deodorants and antiperspirant, aluminum it is part of it because it is an ingredient that causes when applying on your skin the pores in your body are blocked preventing the perspiration, because when there is more aluminum in your body, there is less sweating. It is evident that, there is also in the composition of deodorants parabens, which are preservatives and can cause allergies to the skin depending on the person. There are other elements too, that maybe are not as famous as parabens and aluminum, but in general it is important to be aware of it, they are respectively, triclosan, propylene glycol. Whereas the first one, has the purpose of decreasing the bad aroma of the armpits, the second one is tasked with leaving the cosmetic with a smelly fragrance. Certainly, it is necessary to take care of and be aware because if used frequently can have health consequences, as well as almost all types of deodorants that have aluminum or some of the elements mentioned above.

Our body health

As a result of, of the excessive use of deodorants and antiperspirants, the health of the individual in question can be very compromised, generating some problems in his well-being. These dysfunctions can be considered simple or even worrying Antiperspirants and their function to hold back sweat, is considered one of the most notorious dysfunctions because perspiration is a vital function for the organism of humans, when it is blocked, it does not happen and consequently there is no thermal balance and there is no release of toxins from the body, which can cause diseases. In deodorant formula has the presence of alcohol, which can result when applying on your skin a dryness, even if it is not instantaneous, leaving your skin way more sensitive. There are several allergic reactions that can happen on your skin, and take on account of the chemicals substances that exist in deodorants, the most common are redness, irritation, itching, swelling etc. Still in relation to the skin, some conditions can make the appearance of spots, because when the skin is injured, it can happen the production of melanin that makes that area darken. As a result, if deodorants composed of aluminum and/or other components mark the skin of the user of the product in question, it is evident that these products will also leave marks on the clothes used, which are caused by the aluminum present in the formula that usually accumulate in the tissues and cause the stains.

Are there risks?

Probably because most of deodorants contains aluminum and it is hard to find options without, and people use this cosmetic everyday of their lives and applies deodorant in their armpits, a suspicion began to emerge, some doctors/scientists and researchers have notice that there had been an increasement in the number cancer breast among women, and they suspected that it could be related to the use of deodorant/antiperspirant with aluminum since this substance is not good for the body and deodorant is applied in a region close to the area where breast cancer develops.

However, according to Anvisa (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária) there is no significant information to make statement about it, and now all theories have been denied, with the explanation that women have more breast tissue, and this is not related to the location and that in the routine of living beings more aluminum is absorbed by our body than using deodorant. Aluminum has small molecules, facilitating the penetration into the blood of humans, this accumulation of metals can result in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases (cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s, among others) in the case of Alzheimer’s and its relation to deodorants/antiperspirants that present aluminum in the formula, it was not really confirmed anything, some studies came out in the initial phase, claiming that the presence of aluminum is much higher in this case, but later proved that there was no scientific basis to confirm the risk of using deodorants without aluminum.

Regardless of this, the research and results are not yet decisive and accurate, but should not fail to warn it about the possible risks of using deodorant and/or antiperspirants with aluminum.

The daily experience of using deodorant without aluminum

Given the above, it is possible to conclude that the products that are sold to society in general, have many toxins and that do a lot of harm to the body, preferring to have natural or organic products, which the chances that previously existed of getting sick by a disease by metal poisoning, as aluminum, are practically zero. The dermatologists may indicate to people formulas of deodorants manipulated making a specific recipe for each patient without toxic components. Also, with the growth of this new trend, Green Beauty, brands have started to invest in this market and produce deodorants without aluminum, which can be natural and/or vegan some of these products may have the same purpose, to prevent the smell and not possessing all the toxic substances in their formulation.

But, manufacturing your own deodorant can be the best option, as there are numerous advantages, among them it is possible to highlight the fact that when producing your own deodorant, will be much cheaper, the waste production consequently will be lower, these two ideals are linked to conscious consumption, and to choose to develop this cosmetic with this homemade production line ,avoiding industries, and still helping to reduce the problem of water contamination and often even the mistreatment of animals that happens in the factories.

To tell you a little bit about her experience with deodorants without aluminum, and even encourage anyone who wants to start using, but does not know anyone who uses, we invited, the law student of Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC), Jeniffer Mazzini Pina to talk to us.

“In my experience, I believe that aluminum-free deodorants last longer daily, for example if I want to use them for a long period of time, I can. Regarding the smell, since I started using this product, I felt that the bad smelling apparently it is really on a low level and in relation to stains in the armpits, I can say that I think because the model of my deodorant without aluminum it is a roll-on one, they no longer appear so much, but I didn’t have so much time using the product to know if the dark spots really brightened or not, I would need to use more time to know. However, in relation to stains on my clothes I had a very good experience because I felt that does not stain my clothes, as a deodorant with aluminum used to made. When it comes to waxing, I think it improved, but I cannot really tell because I use another method of waxing, but I think it is improved. I really like using deodorants without aluminum and I until this day did not have had a bad experience with this kind of deodorant.”

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The article above was edited by Beatriz Cristina.

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