Happy Hump Day Everyone! Let me first start out by saying that I’m pretty sure almost everything we breathe, eat and live in will have some part in causing our inevitable death at some point which is why I’m pretty laid back about most things, because seriously it’s out of our control. HOWEVER I have decided to make one change which has led to taxi-driver status underarms (no offense!) and put everyone around me through stinky hell for the past two weeks …
SO I remember in high school my science teacher (Mrs. Clark, thank you) told us that antiperspirant was bad for us and that we should use plain old deodorant instead. She was clearly crazy back when I was in 11th grade, I needed the most protection against sweat as possible at all times. Flash forward to my early thirties when I’m really starting to care about my health and longevity, and I’m staying as far away from antiperspirant as possible.
There have been claims linking the active ingredient in antiperspirant, aluminum, to alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer as the aluminum holds back the toxins are bodies are trying to release in the form of sweat. To quote WebMD, “most breast cancers develop in the upper outer part of the breast — the area closest to the armpit, which is where antiperspirants are applied. The studies suggest that chemicals in antiperspirants, including aluminum, are absorbed into the skin, particularly when the skin is nicked during shaving. These studies claim that those chemicals may then interact with DNA and lead to cancerous changes in cells, or interfere with the action of the female hormone estrogen, which is known to influence the growth of breast cancer cells.” NOW, this is important…these claims have NOT been proven to be 100% accurate after research has been done, BUT when you think about it, it kind of makes sense. Actually, my armpits sometimes hurt after wearing antiperspirant and it is so hard to clean off in the shower. They even sell armpit sponges to help get it all off.
So I recently switched to an aluminum free deodorant and after two weeks of smelling unpleasant while all the toxins were clearing out from my underarms, my body has sort of balanced out and my new aluminum-free stick is working just fine. Sure, I’ll probably smell a lot worse than the person next to me at the gym but I honestly don’t care.
I’ve rounded up my favorites below for you to try and note, these are a little on the pricey side but I found that the TOMS natural brand and other less expensive versions at the drug-store didn’t do the job.
Have you tried any that you like?? Please leave in the comments so we can all see 🙂