Aluminum-based deodorant is going to kill you

[dessa_dangerous 13,315]

The scene: a relaxed, yet already sweltering Saturday morning in Berlin. I was deciding what I could wear which wouldn't leave me a suffocated pile of sweat and jewelry on the chapel floor of the wedding we were due to be at in a couple of hours, while husband was taking it easy, watching TV in the bedroom. The high temp of the day was set to be around 40°C and the wedding was meant to last alllll. Damn. Day. Starting at the hottest end of the cool part of the day and going right through to the coolest end of the hot part.

 

Just as I'd decided to match a hilarious whimsical tropical print dress with black bowtie peeptoe rattan wedges, going for a sort of rockabilly tranny stand-up comedian on tour in Hawaii-kind of vibe, my husband came tearing into my room and made as if to start rifling though my cosmetics.

 

Raising one arm up as a protective shield between him and that which he will never understand, I said, "Ummmm."

 

"Where's your deodorant?"

 

Blank stare. Arm still in place. Awaiting further communication.

 

"Does it have aluminum in it? Let me see."

 

Eyes rolling, I curtly informed him that the only thing separating us from the apes was antiperspirant, and likewise the only thing separating us from hippie scum was the preference for the risk of an early grave to spending one's entire life smelling like something that had died in a hobo's waistband during a heatwave.

 

He'd given up his evil alu deo weeks ago, after getting the memo 20 years too late from some prime time consumer watchdog segment that aluminum-based hygiene products are bad mmmkay, replacing it with precisely nothing, and has been no worse off for it--but I don't have that luxury. And now, having watched yet another documentary outlining the 1001 ways aluminum-based products are Really Definitely Going to Kill You, presumably biting his fingernails and taking notes all the while, the fire had been re-lit under his ass and I received strict orders to forgo the one bit of modern alchemy that allows me to function in polite society. After sanitation, immunization and Saftschorle, I consider industrial-strength anti-perspirant to be one of the most important contributions to mankind.

 

"Well, if I do give it up, it sure as hell isn't going to be today."

 

He relented, allowing me to slather on the evil potion that day, but was right back at it as soon as the wedding was over, this time heading for the toothpaste. Mine made the grade, but his didn't, so he--literally--dropped everything he was doing and went out to buy a new, alu-free tube of toothpaste that very instant. We're talking about a man who would rather re-constitute the crumbs in the bottom of the bread bag than go out for buns in the morning, whose view of cross-contamination (such as chopping up a green salad on a cutting board soaked in raw pork juice) is "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger;" he uses his Frisbee as a plate at barbecues: he is the epitome of a person who Can't Be Bothered.

 

Seeing he was serious, and concerned to the point of distraction about MY health as well, I decided to mix up some cocoa butter stuff and Arm & Hammer baking soda, smudged it around my underarms, and went to work in the still-sweltering heat.

 

Some sixteen hours later, I found myself with underarms drier and more pleasant smelling than they had been since before puberty. The baking soda left no marks on my clothing, neither did the cocoa butter. There was no flaking or crusting. Just perfectly dry, cocoa-butter smelling pits. Lovely.

 

My recipe: 1 part cocoa butter stuff to as many parts Arm & Hammer are necessary to bring the paste to a consistency not unlike regular stick deodorant. I emphasize "stuff" and Arm & Hammer for specific reasons: according to most online recipes I have seen, you want to mix cocoa butter with coconut oil or another oil which, more solid when at room temperature, is meant to emulsify the mixture. My "stuff" is already pretty solid and contains micrcrystalline wax, which is probably also going to kill me, but works brilliantly as an emulsifier. And, Arm & Hammer, because it is finer than Kaiser Natron, which doesn't work for other beauty uses such as facial masks and exfoliating. I buy it in 1LB boxes from Amazon because I am a nutcase.

 

And you? Have you or a loved one been scared off the alu? Got any home deo recipes you'd like to share? Although I still mostly think the entire thing is a ruse the Hippie Powers that Be came up with in order to sell more patchouli, there's at least a marginal chance that this theory won't be refuted fifteen years down the line like, oh, 90% of the rest of them. What do you think?

[quietlaugh 670]

The "Alu in deodorants" vs. Cancer theory has benn refuted quite a few times already by actual scientists (easiest is the 2002.controled study on about 800 women of both categories) It all stems from an interestingly flawed epidemiologic study and a few hypothesis based on chemical receptor modification of breast cells exposed to Aluminium coumpound. No actual link was found, yet.

 

Nevertheless I am interested in having "perfectly dry, cocoa-butter smelling pits". You can really use baking soda for everything!

[Jonny 1,325]

I gave up aluminium based deodorants about a year ago because I was fed up with the amount of clothes that were ruined by big white marks (or yellow if it's a white shirt) under my armpits. I found a deodorant in DM that is non aerosol and non-aluminium. So far - no white/yellow unsightly marks under the arms of my clothes. :D

[Santitas 589]

I recently bought Dove spray deodorant at Lidl that has no aluminium salts, but it burns like hell fires when I apply it.  I thought maybe it was because I'd just shaved my pits, but even after a few days of growth (gross, I know), it still burns like the devil.  It also does NOT last throughout the day like my regular Dove deo; I smell like an ape by the end of the day.  I've never tried any other non-aluminium deodorant, so I'm not sure if it's just Dove or in general.

Anybody else experience this with non-aluminium deos?   

 

[fraufruit 42,673]

None of the no aluminum deos work as well but I use them anyway. I've tried many. Just freshen up and re-apply when needed.

 

I'm currently using one called 8 X 4. Don't know what that means - maybe apply 8 times every 4 days. It works fairly well.

[keroleen 806]

I tried all kinds of non-alu deodorants and none really work, so I've gone back to the evil alu sprays *shrug* Not it's not just Dove that is useless in this department...

And here's an explanation for @fraufruit where 8x4 got its name from: Wikipedia (German only, sorry)

[fraufruit 42,673]

FWIW, I use roll-on.

[LeonG 14,857]

21 minutes ago, fraufruit said:

None of the no aluminum deos work as well but I use them anyway. I've tried many. Just freshen up and re-apply when needed.

 

I'm currently using one called 8 X 4. Don't know what that means - maybe apply 8 times every 4 days. It works fairly well.

 

8x4 is a very old brand.  I remember TV ads for it since I was a kid so at least 35 yrs. ago.  Never knew either what the name meant until just now that I googled it.  Apparently the name was derived from a active ingredient of their first products called B32.

 

[fraufruit 42,673]

According to Keroleen's Wiki link, the ingredient has 32 letters, hence B32 and 8X4.

 

Hexachlordihydroxydiphenylmethan

 

I'm all ready for quiz night.

[Uncle Nick 6,245]

Has quiz night been changed to Tuesdays? Write it down so that you don't forget by Monday. 

[gaberlunzi 814]

On 3/14/2017, 3:34:16, fraufruit said:

None of the no aluminum deos work as well but I use them anyway

It is better to lose your mind than to smell bad.

 

[jeba 4,364]

13 hours ago, gaberlunzi said:

It is better to lose your mind than to smell bad.

 

No. Have you never heard of the aphrodisiac effect of pheromones?

[gaberlunzi 814]

1 hour ago, jeba said:

No. Have you never heard of the aphrodisiac effect of pheromones?

No, I haven't.But read that alu intake is bad for your brain.

[jeba 4,364]

3 hours ago, gaberlunzi said:

But read that alu intake is bad for your brain.

Yes, that´s why you shouldn´t eat your deodorant.

[gaberlunzi 814]

1 hour ago, jeba said:

Yes, that´s why you shouldn´t eat your deodorant.

Application onto the skin is bad enough.

Skin breaths too.

[Guest]

I believed that several years ago. But I still have a habit of using the non-alu deodorants.

[robinson100 12,854]

Since I haven't found a non-alu deo that works as well as I want it to, I simply stick to the old adage that life is going to kill me, and use one that really does work!

[Guest]

I use the "Roll on ball" type...

 

They say that You can use it under your arms as well ...  

[robinson100 12,854]

- thanks for the tip Piggy, but with those I end up doing a kind of chicken dance, flapping my wings until the stuff dries - not a pretty sight, I can assure you!

[fraufruit 42,673]

17 hours ago, robinson100 said:

flapping my wings until the stuff dries

 

I put it on very first thing and then do the face cream, body lotion, dress from the waist down, make up, hair etc. before putting on my shirt. It's usually dry by then.