Deodorant Must-Know's

So, if you're like me and are fairly new to the green living, getting toxins out of your life adventure, then you might not know about what yucky things are in your...deodorant.

Yes, that stuff that keeps you from being stinky when you sweat perspire.

There is information all over the Internet about the chemicals that are in your regular old Dove, Secret, Arrid, etc. And that information isn't really comforting to me. Some of these ingredients have been proven to cause cancer. Sigh. Again, with the cancer causing ingredients that seem to be in EVERYTHING.

I myself was an avid Dove user. It worked on my sweating perspiration, plus it smelled nice. Not overwhelming, but enough to make me think it's doing it's job.

Then, I read through this list of ingredients that are in your typical antiperspirant.

1. Aluminum- absorbed through the skin and accumulates in the body. That can't be good, right?
2. Parabens- (methyl, ethyl, propyl, benzyl and butyl) - are all derived from toluene a toxic petrochemical derivitive. Toluene is toxic if swallowed or inhaled and is harmful for the skin. Since '00, 13 research studies have shown that various types of parabens act like estrogen in animals and tissue cultures. It's also known to drive the growth of cancerous cells. What the ...?? Evil, evil parabens!
3. Triclosan- a skin irritant. It is stored in body fat and classified as a pesticide by the FDA. Lovely.
4. Talc- classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
5. Propylene glycol- May cause delayed allergic reactions. It's been said that it is neurotoxin and can cause liver or kidney damage. The FDA has not fully investigated these claims. Good ol FDA on our side!
6. Silica- a skin irritant. 
7. Steareth-n- a known human carcinogen.

Isn't this information so reassuring scary to think about? I mean, most of our deodorants have these ingredients in them. And for what? So we can smell nice? Um, no thanks. 

So, I tossed my Dove and went searching for an alternative that did not have those nasty ingredients. There are quite a few out there. I chose Tom's of Maine as my first go around for all natural, non-toxic deodorant. I've been pleased so far. It works well, smells nice, and I'm confident that I'm not putting nasty chemicals (at least from deodorant) into my body. 

If this list of ingredients makes you want to try something a little healthier for your body, make sure you look for antiperspirants that contain ingredients like vegetable glycerin, bioflavinoids and lichen, herbs or herb extracts, de-ionized or distilled water, green tea, aloe vera, baking soda, and essential oils.

What do you think? Is this list of dangerous ingredients scary to you or do you think I'm being a little paranoid? Have you switched your brands? 


Disclaimer: Tom's of Maine did not ask me to mention them in this post.