Deodorants & Antiperspirants: The dangerous battle against sweat and malodor

Deodorant is, along with soap, the most necessary personal care and hygiene product. Every women and men use it every day, throughout the year, summer and winter, especially during the warm months, and generally whenever there is a chance for intensive sweat, for example in the gym.
Therefore, in order to deal with sweat and malodor, in the market there are thousands of types and brands of deodorants and antiperspirants (in roll-on, spray, stick, cream, powder or crystal form).

Deodorants vs. Antiperspirants
Deodorants, as the name implies, are used mainly in the armpits and feet, but also throughout the body, and aimed primarily to reduce the unpleasant odor that emerges from the body when it sweats.
Their composition contains mainly antibacterial substances which kill bacteria that grow in areas with intense moisture, causing the unpleasant body odor, and perfume to cover the bad odor, giving us the feeling that our body smells nice even in difficult sweating conditions.
Deodorant leave the body perspires and it just fights the unpleasant odor caused by bacteria that grow in areas with profuse sweating.

Antiperspirants, on the other hand, are mainly used only in the armpits, where there is the most apparent and malodorous perspiration of the body, and are intended to reduce the secretion of sweat in this body area, giving us a clean and fresh feeling.
Their composition contains mainly components (such as aluminum compounds), which react with the sweat creating a film on the skin's surface and thus clog or shrink the pores. That way they keep sweat trapped in the sweat glands of the body without allowing it to be expelled from it.
Therefore, we have the illusion that we don’t sweat, since the parts from which sweat would normally be expelled remain dry, without unpleasant moisture and malodor.

Unpleasant results...

• Harmful chemical ingredients. The excessive use of deodorants and antiperspirants and their questionable quality and composition has been implicated in breast cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other health problems, like allergies and irritations to the eyes and skin, respiratory problems, hormonal system disorders, etc.

Responsible for these disorders are various toxic chemicals contained in the composition of most deodorants and antiperspirants, such as:

 - Aluminum compounds (aluminum salts , Aluminum chloride, Aluminum chlorohydrate, Aluminum zirconium, Aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly, aluminum zirconium trichlorohdrex gly)
- Antibacterial (triclosan)
- Preservatives [Imidazolidinyl Urea, Diazolidinyl Urea, Tetrasodium EDTA (formaldehyde releasers) and parabens]
- Perfume (fragrance, aroma or parfum)
- Phthalates
- Moisturizing factors (Propylene Glycol)
- Silicone derivatives (Dimethicone)
- Talc
- Mineral Oil (Paraffinum, Petrolatum)

- Nitrosamines (TEA, DEA, MEA)

These are some of the most commonly used chemicals in deodorants and antiperspirants and are considered to be the most dangerous toxic substances for our health.

• Hydradenitis. It is the most immediate, unpleasant and painful consequence mainly from the use of antiperspirants. It is an infection of the skin caused by the clogging of the skin pores, through which sweat, sebum and other useless substances to the body should be extracted. As these substances can’t be removed from the body, they accumulate under the skin (in the pores and glands), where bacteria grow, the area gets infected, and the result is a painful swelling of the skin, which often requires surgical operation and medication.

How to choose the right product...

• We should always choose to use a deodorant and not an antiperspirant product. It isn't bad thing to sweat a little, quite the contrary. If the problem of sweating is really serious (there are pathological factors that someone sweats intensely) it is advisable to consult a doctor.
• Read the ingredients of a product before buying it. In spite of how "innocent" a product indicates it is, always take a closer look at the ingredients, choosing the one that contains the most harmless substances for our body.
• Try to make a homemade natural deodorant. This way you will be certain of the quality of the ingredients and it might prove to be as effective as a store bought product.