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Deodorants and antiperspirants are often accused of causing health problems. However, research shows that they are no more dangerous than other hygiene products.
Moreover, if you choose deodorant or antiperspirant, try to avoid those that contain triclosan. This substance does not directly harm human health, but it can contribute to the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.
How does the smell of sweat arise?
Sweat is a liquid that is necessary to protect the body from overheating. It itself practically has no smell. However, sweat contains lipids, proteins, and hormones in addition to water and electrolytes. Harmless bacteria living on the skin absorb these substances and release volatile compounds that give sweat an unpleasant odor.
Therefore, there are three tactics that can be used to combat unpleasant odor:
- eliminate body odor;
- destroy bacteria;
- get rid of sweat itself.
The first and second problem are usually solved by deodorants, while the third one – by antiperspirants. However, there are products available for sale that combine the properties of both products.
How deodorants work?
All deodorants can be roughly divided into two types: non-antiseptic and antiseptic.
Non-antiseptic deodorants
Non-antiseptic deodorants mainly work due to fragrances – essential oils and other pleasant-smelling compounds that mask the smell of sweat. But in fact, many essential oils also inhibit the growth of bacteria, that is, they act as weak antiseptics.
Thanks to their natural composition, non-antiseptic deodorants do not scare off consumers or scientists. However, in some cases, such carelessness is not entirely justified: people with sensitive skin may experience irritation when in contact with essential oils and plant extracts.
Non-antiseptic deodorants with extracts of medicinal plants and essential oils.
Antiseptic deodorants
Some antiseptic deodorants also contain fragrances that mask the smell of sweat, but primarily they work by fighting bacteria. Typically, they contain substances that make armpits and feet unsuitable for bacterial habitation, as well as substances that directly kill them.
For example, some deodorants contain a mixture of zinc oxide and citric acid, which acidifies sweat. Others contain sodium chloride or stearate, which salt the sweat. Skin bacteria prefer a neutral and not too salty environment, so they multiply slowly in areas treated with these deodorants.
The second blow to bacteria is dealt with antibiotics or antiseptics – usually one or the other is included in a single product. Triclosan is typically used as a broad-spectrum antibiotic – a substance that is added to antibacterial soap and some cleaning agents.
Aluminum salts serve as antiseptics. In small doses, they can kill not only bacteria but also fungi.
Some deodorant manufacturers claim that they have replaced aluminum salts with natural mineral salts. However, this is a marketing ploy, as mineral salts are actually salt crystals that contain both potassium sulfate and aluminum.
And anti-septic deodorants often include parabens or alcohols. These are preservatives that extend the shelf life of cosmetics.
Consumers and scientists are most concerned about antiseptic deodorants with parabens, aluminum, and triclosan. Why this is so and whether we should really be worried about these components, I will explain further.
How do antiperspirants work?
Although antiperspirants may also contain aromatic substances, their main active ingredient is aluminum salts, the concentration of which can reach up to 30%. The most common ingredients in antiperspirants are aluminum chlorohydrate or aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly.
Aluminum salts react with electrolytes contained in sweat and form gel plugs that block some of the sweat gland ducts.
As a result, sweating decreases by approximately 50%. And since there is less sweat, there are fewer opportunities for bacteria to multiply in the armpits. As a result, the unpleasant odor also becomes weaker.
Theoretically, blockage of the sweat glands could indeed lead to inflammation. However, in practice, this does not happen because the gel plug only stays in the ducts for up to two to three days. After this, the cells of the epidermis, which is the outer layer of the skin, slough off and the pores open again. Therefore, antiperspirants are used as medicine for excessive sweating, scientifically known as primary focal hyperhidrosis.
The only problem that can arise when using antiperspirants, especially those containing 20% or 6.25% aluminum chloride hexahydrate, is skin irritation. To reduce the risk, they should be applied to thoroughly washed and dried skin with a towel. And if irritation has already occurred, it is worth using a cream with 2.5% hydrocortisone and refraining from antiperspirants until the skin heals.
The main ingredient of antiperspirants that concerns consumers and scientists is aluminum salts. And since aluminum is also present in deodorants, I will continue to talk about these hygiene products together.
What do we know about the influence of deodorants and antiperspirants on health?
Having been in use for a considerable amount of time, deodorants and antiperspirants and their constituent parts have undergone thorough investigation. Let’s explore what is presently understood about their influence on our well-being.
Aluminum salts, parabens, and breast cancer
Female hormones – estrogens play an important role in the development of breast cancer: they stimulate the accelerated division of both healthy and cancerous cells in the mammary gland.
According to some studies, aluminum salts and parabens applied to the skin can enter the body and mimic the effects of estrogens. Therefore, it is not surprising that after the discovery of aluminum salts in the upper quadrant of the breast in 2007, where there are more lymph nodes and cancer cells are more likely to appear, many scientists became concerned that deodorants and antiperspirants could cause cancer.
However, later studies have shown that aluminum salts penetrate the skin very poorly: no more than 0.012% enters the bloodstream. Most of the aluminum enters the chest lymph nodes from food, not from deodorants and antiperspirants.
In the majority of epidemiological studies dedicated to aluminum and the risk of breast cancer, no connection between them was found. The same goes for parabens: there is still no evidence that cosmetics containing these substances cause any health problems, including breast cancer.
Aluminum salts and Alzheimer’s disease
In 1965, a group of researchers found that in the brains of rabbits that were injected with very high doses of aluminum, tangles of tau protein were formed. Very similar tangles disrupt the normal function of nerve cells in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease.
After some time, aluminum was found in the brains of people with dementia. And since it was already known by that time that this metal causes dementia and anemia in some patients undergoing dialysis, the aluminum theory of the origin of Alzheimer’s disease emerged.
However, later studies have shown that tau protein tangles form in people with Alzheimer’s disease quite differently from rabbits and differ from them in composition. Therefore, today the aluminum hypothesis of the origin of Alzheimer’s disease is considered untenable.
Aluminum salts and the risk of poisonin
Concerns that aluminum salts from deodorants and antiperspirants can cause kidney disease arose at about the same time as it was discovered that this metal is harmful to people during dialysis.
However, later observations have shown that the kidneys of healthy individuals successfully remove most of the aluminum salts that enter the body. And the small amounts that still remain in the organs and tissues do not harm health. The risk of aluminum from antiperspirants accumulating in the body is only for people whose kidneys function at 30% or less, meaning they have stage four or five chronic kidney disease.
Triclosan and armpit microbiome
The goal of deodorants with triclosan is to kill bacteria in the armpits. However, these microorganisms not only do not cause harm, but they can also be beneficial. For example, they help young skin cells replace old ones in a timely manner and prevent potential disease-causing agents from colonizing the skin. It is not surprising that deodorants with antibiotics have caused concern among some scientists.
Small preliminary studies show that the set of bacteria in the armpits of people who use deodorants with triclosan is different from the bacterial set in the armpits of people who do not use them.
But it’s not necessary that changes in the armpit microbiome will harm a person who uses deodorant. According to research, treatment with triclosan reduces the number of conditionally pathogenic staphylococci, while the number of harmless Corynebacterium remains unchanged.
Although it will require more high-quality scientific research to prove it. It is possible that deodorants with triclosan will be at least harmless, and may even be beneficial for the skin under the arms.
In general, if the concentration of triclosan in cosmetics, including deodorants, does not exceed 0.3%, it is considered safe for health and suitable for everyday use.
Scientists are concerned about something else. Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, so it affects many types of microorganisms around us. Research shows that bacteria, such as golden staph and E. coli, that survive after being treated with triclosan can become antibiotic-resistant, meaning they acquire resistance to antibiotics. Not only to triclosan but also to other antimicrobial agents. The European Commission on public health has addressed the issue of triclosan and antibiotic resistance.
In addition, residues of triclosan from used bottles of cosmetic products can persist in the environment for a long time and harm the health of plants and animals. Therefore, in 2017, 200 leading scientists and medical professionals published the Florence Statement on triclosan and triclocarban, recommending that consumers avoid products containing these substances, unless prescribed by a doctor.
Therefore, although deodorants with triclosan are considered safe products for most people, it makes sense to choose products without this component.
Summary
Deodorants come in two types: masking non-antiseptic odor and fighting bacteria antiseptic. You can use both. However, it should be kept in mind that non-antiseptic deodorants can irritate the skin of sensitive individuals, while antiseptic ones should be selected without triclosan.
No component of deodorants and antiperspirants, including aluminum salts, parabens, and triclosan, is harmful to human health. Products designed to combat unpleasant odors do not cause inflammation of lymph nodes, breast cancer, poisoning, or Alzheimer’s disease.
Antiperspirants with high levels of aluminum salts can cause skin irritation. To minimize the risk, it is recommended to apply the product only on dry and clean armpits.
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