These days, most people have heard the rumor that antiperspirants can be dangerous because of their aluminum base.
But how true is this assumption?
In fact, it turns out that the dangers about aluminum in antiperspirants that seemed so real at one time are largely unfounded. That is, the science simply doesn’t back them up.
What was the antiperspirant scare even about?
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Let’s first explain what people were afraid of in the first place.
Several years ago, articles and blog posts were published by the hundreds explaining how much of a risk you’re putting yourself at by using antiperspirants. Emails circulated stating the same thing.
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Most of the articles and emails explained that aluminum — which is the active ingredient in most antiperspirants — was causing women to get breast cancer. The claim was that the skin was absorbing the aluminum, and the aluminum was causing cancerous cells to be created.
Another claim was that kidney disease was caused by the aluminum in antiperspirants. This was a widely held belief because of the fact that those who have kidney disease have trouble filtering aluminum from their bodies, and it can build up in unhealthy amounts. However, nephrologists agree that you would need to practically eat part of your antiperspirant stick every day to ingest enough aluminum to make it a problem.
Finally, there was a wealth of research conducted about the link between Alzheimer’s disease and aluminum. Numerous products containing aluminum, such as aluminum food cans, antiperspirants, and antacids were called into question. In the end, however, no link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s was found.
All in all, doctors and scientists agree that these claims are not founded in science. In fact, aluminum barely enters the body when it’s used in antiperspirants. Instead of being absorbed, it simply reacts with your sweat and creates a plug. This blocks the sweat ducts from producing sweat and a foul smell. We have written earlier about things known to cause cancer, but antiperspirants are not one of those, according to the recent scientific data.
So is it definitively safe to use aluminum-based antiperspirants?
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Most doctors and health professionals agree that it is perfectly safe to continue using your aluminum-based antiperspirants. If the thought of a health scare still puts you off to these products, however, there are all-natural deodorant alternatives on the market. Just keep in mind that these are not usually as effective as aluminum-based antiperspirants, and you may need to apply them more often to ensure that you keep body odor at bay.
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