Works for Me Wednesday: Healthy Deodorant

Posted January 23rd, 2008 by Jen in health/cooking/food, product review

Crystal DeodorantI’m not one to go around talking about underarm hygiene habits. But here goes. I finally found a deodorant I really like. It’s Crystal Body Deodorant Spray, and if you can read the label there, significant to my armpit health is the fact that this product contains no aluminum chlorohydrate. Nearly all conventional deodorant/antipersperants have aluminum. Not to make a big stink out of a lot of talk flying around, because I can’t seem to get to the bottom of this issue, but it’s been publicized for years that aluminum may be linked to both Alzheimer’s Disease and breast cancer. The flap is enough for me to take notice and make changes.

I used to use a sort of salt rock deodorant before I switched to the Crystal spray. It had basically the same minimal ingredients, but every time you used it, you had to wet it with water to moisten it up enough to roll under your arm. What a hassle. And honestly I didn’t think it was all that hygienic, all that wetting and rubbing. The beauty of this product is that it’s a spray and never comes into contact with your skin, so it maintains purity and can be used by multiple users.

The Crystal Body Deodorant Spray contains the following: purified water, natural mineral salts, and potassium alum. That’s it! This product is also fragrance and paraben free. Frankly, if you’re in a real bind, just rub some salt water under your arms and you’ll be okay. Just to clarify, the ingredient alum has a very different composition from the other forms of aluminum in question.

Also, note that I’m only addressing deodorant, not antiperspirant, which is a different thing altogether, and I would avoid it. Here’s how the FDA describes antiperspirants:

Antiperspirants have an aluminum-based compound as their main, “active” ingredient, which can be any number of compounds within an established concentration and dosage form. The active ingredient gives antiperspirants their sweat-blocking ability by forming a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin’s surface.

A temporary plug within the sweat duct? Most people say don’t sweat it, but I think I’d rather.

What Wikipedia has to say about aluminum:

Aluminum has been established as a neurotoxin.[15] Aluminum chloride, an aluminum salt that is commonly used in antiperspirants, is also commonly used in studies on aluminum-induced neurotoxicity.[16][17][18][19][20] Aluminum itself adversely affects the blood-brain barrier, is capable of causing DNA damage, and has adverse epigenetic effects.[21][22] Research has shown that the aluminum salts used in antiperspirants have detrimental effects to a number of species such as non-human primates,[23] mice,[24] dogs[25] and others. An increased amount of aluminum is also present in the brains of many Alzheimer’s patients, although this link does not currently seem to be causal.[disputed][26][27][28].

Dare you share what works for your underarm odor control? (Or your feet, for that matter. I just read on the back on the Crystal spray bottle that it can be used to eliminate odor on your feet).

You can find more Works for Me Wednesday tips over at Rocks in My Dryer!

12 Responses

  1. mrs darling January 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 am

    well now I have to try that. Ive always been worried about those studies!

  2. Jen January 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    Mrs. D, you should be able find it at a large grocery store, probably in the “natural/organic” section. And I forgot to mention the most important thing: it works! I read about a funny law in California - a library in San Luis Obispo or somewhere has a law against people with offensive body odors being in the library! So this is serious stuff, huh?!

  3. lisa (lost pezhead) January 23rd, 2008 at 12:28 pm

    i’ll check that out. i have such underarm issues, i sometimes have to use Certain-Dri which is like straigh aluminum chlorohydrate. maybe this will work for me!

  4. Mrs. G January 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    My dad has refused to use deoderant/antiper. for years because of the aluminum link. I’ll tell him about this (and myself, as I’ve been using baking soda and it ain’t working too well.

  5. Christie January 23rd, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    I’m liking JASON natural deodorant (lavender scented!).

  6. Janice (5 Minutes for Mom) January 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 pm

    i hope i can find that! all the natural ones i have tried never work for me. thanks!

  7. Jen January 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    Lisa, aackk, straight aluminum chlorohydrate, are you trying to kill yourself?! :-)

    Mrs. G, this product is promoted as being “for Men or Women,” so maybe your dad would give it a try.

    Christie, I’ve used quite a few JASON products myself. Not all of them I like, some do have parabens - at least several years ago I noticed a shampoo that I wish I wouldn’t have bought….

    Janice, good luck finding this. I got mine at Fred Meyer, but I don’t know if you have that where you live. You can always order online - I haven’t checked but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was pretty accessible.

  8. Julie January 23rd, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    This sounds good. I’ve tried other “natural” deoderants (like Tom’s and plain old baking soda), but they don’t work so well. I’ll have to try this - if I can find it somewhere. Thanks!

  9. Grace January 23rd, 2008 at 10:16 pm

    I hope I can find this here…will definitely need this in summer!

  10. e-Mom January 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am

    Golly, you’re good at PR!

    Funny, I already use this product regularly. Good old-fashioned rubbing alchohol is also a wonderful deoderant… and cheap! :~D

  11. Jen January 29th, 2008 at 7:53 am

    Grace, hmm, finding this in Dubai? Do your stores have many products from the U.S.?

    e-Mom, I’ve never heard of using rubbing alcohol! Hey, it’s good to have all these tips because you never know when you’ll be in a bind!

  12. SolidInfo February 9th, 2008 at 6:46 pm

    Very interesting article. I have a few articles on the relationship between antiperspirants/deodorants and breast cancer/alzheimer’s disease:

    http://www.controlyourimpact.com

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