Deoderant Enlightment

I went to Whole Foods twenty minutes ago. I went to get a cup of coffee and a couple other things that will be addressed in a later blog. I did not intend on writing the blog post I am currently writing. But as I was wandering up and down the isles, I saw the brand of deodorant I used and was SO excited to see an actual selection instead of just one scent!

I know what your thinking. How could this be a problem, Ashley? Dove and Secret come in a million scents!

Well my sweet, sweet friends, I've got news for you. I strictly use deodorants that say NO ALUMINUM. Why? Well...first, let's clarify something.

Deodorant versus antiperspirant.

A deodorant kills the bacteria when you sweet, so you don't smell. (you can see that in the structure of the word; ODOR is the base, DE as a prefix means removal, and -ant as a suffix means a thing that does a thing).

 An antiperspirant, on the other hand, stop you from sweating by using aluminum.

So what? What's so bad about aluminum, and what's the big deal about it being on our skin?

We will always have some, low exposure to aluminum. It is in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Most aluminum that we come into contact with will leave the body in feces and urine. Build up of aluminum has been directly linked to various brain diseases, because toxic metals produce oxidative stress (CDC). Recent studies have also shown that aluminum is linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Aluminum can accumulate in the kidneys, brain, lungs, liver and thyroid because it is competing with Calcium for absorption; your body needs Calcium, so...calcium wins. And the aluminum is left to build up.

Okay. So aluminum build up is bad. But I'm just putting it on my armpits! Right. You're putting it on your armpits. Not only can it be absorbed dermally, but many ladies shave their armpits, and shaving creates tiny abrasions that aluminum can use as a speed train into your body! Yikes!

Listen ladies, I only learned about this sometime last year, when my ever intelligent boyfriend halted me from buying a wonderful scent of Dove. There is a plethora of options for non-aluminum deodorants! Target and Walmart have one or two options, Whole Foods has A TON, and as always, the internet is an option for getting the things you can't find. Please tell your female friends the highlights of this blog and make sure they switch deodorants!