Escential News

Safe Deodorants

Well...if we didn't sweat...we wouldn't need a deodorant, would we? Why do we sweat? First and foremost, it's the body's way of cooling off and controlling temperature. So we sweat when it's hot outside. In addition to cooling us off, sweating also is one of the few genuine ways of removing toxins from the body. In the book "ToxIn ToxOut", the authors try many things to see what actually removes toxins from the body. Ionic foot cleanses and internal cleanses do not remove toxins. Sweating, however, does. Sweating is good for you!

Sweat itself isn't the problem. It has no odor of its own. Unfortunately, the armpit is home to many bacteria, and, it is the bacteria that causes odor. When resident bacteria meet up with sweat, you get, well...bad smells.

Seems like an antiperspirant would be a good idea, right? Antiperspirants prevent sweating, which means the bacteria have nothing to interact with, and, voila! No scent! But as mentioned above, sweating is a necessary and useful function. We actually do not want to suppress sweating. Another problem is, our skin is the largest organ of our body and absorbs whatever you apply to it. You are not only what you eat, but, also what you apply to yourself. So in addition to sweating being a good thing, we prefer to avoid antiperspirants because the chemicals necessary to prevent sweating are, well...toxic.

Deodorants are probably a better idea. They don't attempt to stop sweating, but rather, to kill the bacteria that causes odor. No bacteria = no smell. Sometimes deodorants contain scents to cover up any remaining odor.

How to find a good deodorant? Well, here are some ingredients to avoid:

(1) Talc. It may or may not contain asbestos particles...no way of knowing. Asbestos causes cancer.
(2) Triclosan (one of the toxic ten!) It does kill bacteria, but also disrupts our hormones and endocrine system. It may accumulate in the body. It may also cause allergic reactions.
(3 )BHT, BHA and Parabens. These are all preservatives. The first 2 may cause allergies and have been linked to cancer. Parabens are even worse! We know they mimic estrogen in the body. Further research is needed, but, they have been found inside cancerous breast tissue. Until proven safe, always best to err on the side of caution,.
(4) Propylene glycol. It's a known skin irritant. 
(5) Phthalates. May be present on their own, or, be present but not listed because it's legal to not list them if they are part of the  (6) Fragrance. Over 3100 chemicals fall into the fragrance category...and none of them have to be disclosed on a Canadian label. Many are untested for safety. Avoid synthetic fragrance!
(7) Aluminum chlorohydrate. This is the chemical that actually stops you from sweating. So, you will find it in anti-perspirants but usually not deodorants. Aluminum compounds are neurotoxic.

What to do? Read labels!! Aim for a deodorant rather than an anti-perspirant, and check the ingredients list against Environmental Defence's Toxic Ten!

Do check out eScential Wellness' deodorant: 
http://escentialwellness.com/products/toxin-free-deodorant