About aluminium and antiperspirants: should you buy antiperspirant without aluminium?
Hi!
Since a couple of years I have been bending over backwards to buy deodorant without aluminium salts, since I read everywhere that aluminium is harmful to among others, your liver, kidney and lungs. Avoiding aluminium salts in deodorants and antiperspirant is not easy here in Sweden as all deodorants generally have aluminium chlorohydrate or another aluminium salt, so I generally buy them on my yearly trips back home to Curacao. There are many brands that offer aluminium-free deodorants; I use Arm & Hammer
Sanex, and Nivea fresh & pure. Maybe slightly superfluous to say that I do sweat more. I like the Arm & Hammer most, but I have found that it works better if I vary the deo and not use the same brand all the time. I have also tried a crystal rock deodorant but it wasn't the best thing for me.
Now I decided to do some serious research and see for myself. What exactly does aluminium do? Well, for one thing, it is a known neurotoxin, meaning it attacks your nerves. For another thing, it is very bad for your kidneys. People with kidney failure are generally advised not to use antiperspirants containing aluminium. I know personally of a disaster on the island of Curacao, quite some years ago, when 9 people on dialysis died because of a too high aluminium content in the water. After that they installed a special filter. Under normal circumstances, however, current evidence says that you could not get enough aluminium in your body from antiperspirants to be a cause for worry. Aluminium, if it does get into your body, will affect your liver, your kidneys and your lungs (TIG).
The question is, do you get the aluminium in your body via the skin? Theoretically not, as the aluminium complex binds to components in the sweat, creating a gel that literally makes a plug in your sweat glands, preventing the sweat from coming out. This gel is not water-soluble. Apparently the aluminium salts also make the sweat glands contract, although the exact mechanism how this happens is unknown. Eventually it is worn or washed away, of course. So the aluminium should not come into your body as it is not absorbed via the skin, except if you have wounds (which is a realistic risk if you shave).
Deodorants and antiperspirants are not the same, although people often confuse them. A deodorant refers to a product that tries to prevent your sweat from developing an unpleasant odour, which is not the sweat itself, but bacteria that will grow after a while. Some deodorants contain alcohol or triclosan to kill the bacteria. Many people are sensitive to alcohol and tricosan is certainly not problem-free. Antiperspirants are often a deodorant combined with aluminium salts to prevent you from sweating in the first place.
Contrary to what persistent rumours say, there is no positive evidence that aluminium salts are connected to breast cancer or Alzheimer's. However, the Product Safety Councils of the USA, of Canada, of Norway and of France have independently concluded that there is not enough evidence to stamp aluminium salts as definitely either safe or unsafe. Aluminium salts are currently the only antiperspirant ingredient allowed by the FDA, even up to 25%! Even with regard to kidneys, the National Kidney Foundation clearly states that unless you eat your stick, you can't possibly accumulate enough aluminium in your body to harm your kidneys.
Now, are there any antiperspirants that do not contain aluminium but that actually work? According to Futurederm.com, there are 2 antiperspirants without aluminium that contain something called Argireline; these are peptides (CH3 Pentapeptide-3 and Acetyl Hexapeptide-3). They are similar to botox, injections of which are actually used to inhibit sweat glands in people who suffer from excessive sweating (axillary hyperhidrosis). Currently there is a lack of independent studies to prove that this works. I found this HiperDri product on Amazon, aluminium-free antiperspirant. Apparently it does ship to Sweden so I will buy it when I come back from the Caribbean (it is not cheap at $29,95 per bottle) if I can't find it on Curacao and then I can give a personal review. Out of 694 reviews when I checked, 91% responded positive, so that sounds good.
The other antiperspirant that Futurederm mentions, ZeroSweat, does not say that it is aluminium-free.
On the balance it would seem that if you do use antiperspirant with aluminium you don't need to worry. Antiperspirants are probably no more or less harmful than all the chemical stuff we put on our body. Personally I think that clogging your sweat glands does not sound like it's healthy (you sweat for a reason) and moreover I prefer to use natural products. In some years' time they might very well come with new research linking aluminium salts to something.
References:
Futurederm
Clinical dermatology
MedicineNet
WebMD.com
Truth in Aging
NCBI
National Cancer Institute
Global Healing Institute
National Hiperhidrosis Society
American Academy of Dermatology
Since a couple of years I have been bending over backwards to buy deodorant without aluminium salts, since I read everywhere that aluminium is harmful to among others, your liver, kidney and lungs. Avoiding aluminium salts in deodorants and antiperspirant is not easy here in Sweden as all deodorants generally have aluminium chlorohydrate or another aluminium salt, so I generally buy them on my yearly trips back home to Curacao. There are many brands that offer aluminium-free deodorants; I use Arm & Hammer
Sanex, and Nivea fresh & pure. Maybe slightly superfluous to say that I do sweat more. I like the Arm & Hammer most, but I have found that it works better if I vary the deo and not use the same brand all the time. I have also tried a crystal rock deodorant but it wasn't the best thing for me.
Now I decided to do some serious research and see for myself. What exactly does aluminium do? Well, for one thing, it is a known neurotoxin, meaning it attacks your nerves. For another thing, it is very bad for your kidneys. People with kidney failure are generally advised not to use antiperspirants containing aluminium. I know personally of a disaster on the island of Curacao, quite some years ago, when 9 people on dialysis died because of a too high aluminium content in the water. After that they installed a special filter. Under normal circumstances, however, current evidence says that you could not get enough aluminium in your body from antiperspirants to be a cause for worry. Aluminium, if it does get into your body, will affect your liver, your kidneys and your lungs (TIG).
The question is, do you get the aluminium in your body via the skin? Theoretically not, as the aluminium complex binds to components in the sweat, creating a gel that literally makes a plug in your sweat glands, preventing the sweat from coming out. This gel is not water-soluble. Apparently the aluminium salts also make the sweat glands contract, although the exact mechanism how this happens is unknown. Eventually it is worn or washed away, of course. So the aluminium should not come into your body as it is not absorbed via the skin, except if you have wounds (which is a realistic risk if you shave).
Deodorants and antiperspirants are not the same, although people often confuse them. A deodorant refers to a product that tries to prevent your sweat from developing an unpleasant odour, which is not the sweat itself, but bacteria that will grow after a while. Some deodorants contain alcohol or triclosan to kill the bacteria. Many people are sensitive to alcohol and tricosan is certainly not problem-free. Antiperspirants are often a deodorant combined with aluminium salts to prevent you from sweating in the first place.
Contrary to what persistent rumours say, there is no positive evidence that aluminium salts are connected to breast cancer or Alzheimer's. However, the Product Safety Councils of the USA, of Canada, of Norway and of France have independently concluded that there is not enough evidence to stamp aluminium salts as definitely either safe or unsafe. Aluminium salts are currently the only antiperspirant ingredient allowed by the FDA, even up to 25%! Even with regard to kidneys, the National Kidney Foundation clearly states that unless you eat your stick, you can't possibly accumulate enough aluminium in your body to harm your kidneys.
Now, are there any antiperspirants that do not contain aluminium but that actually work? According to Futurederm.com, there are 2 antiperspirants without aluminium that contain something called Argireline; these are peptides (CH3 Pentapeptide-3 and Acetyl Hexapeptide-3). They are similar to botox, injections of which are actually used to inhibit sweat glands in people who suffer from excessive sweating (axillary hyperhidrosis). Currently there is a lack of independent studies to prove that this works. I found this HiperDri product on Amazon, aluminium-free antiperspirant. Apparently it does ship to Sweden so I will buy it when I come back from the Caribbean (it is not cheap at $29,95 per bottle) if I can't find it on Curacao and then I can give a personal review. Out of 694 reviews when I checked, 91% responded positive, so that sounds good.
The other antiperspirant that Futurederm mentions, ZeroSweat, does not say that it is aluminium-free.
On the balance it would seem that if you do use antiperspirant with aluminium you don't need to worry. Antiperspirants are probably no more or less harmful than all the chemical stuff we put on our body. Personally I think that clogging your sweat glands does not sound like it's healthy (you sweat for a reason) and moreover I prefer to use natural products. In some years' time they might very well come with new research linking aluminium salts to something.
References:
Futurederm
Clinical dermatology
MedicineNet
WebMD.com
Truth in Aging
NCBI
National Cancer Institute
Global Healing Institute
National Hiperhidrosis Society
American Academy of Dermatology
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