Or the second question might be; why are most breast cancers located near the armpit? Let’s start by understanding the difference between Deodorants or Antiperspirants 

Antiperspirant does exactly what it says; it stops you from perspiring or sweating, it keeps you dry. It does this with ingredients that clog or worse, plug up your sweat pores. Some key ingredients responsible for this are aluminium and triclosan. 

Deodorant on the other hand also does what the name implies, it deodorizes your sweat. You still sweat, which is a healthy thing to do, but a bad odour caused by bacteria lingering in the armpit get naturalized, helping to eliminate the “stinky underarm smell.”

Because underarm deodorants and antiperspirants are applied near the breast area, there is some serious concern and scientists have suggested that there is a possible connection between potentially harmful ingredients and breast cancer.

Men, you are not exempt from this by the way! These harmful ingredients are absorbed by the skin and mimic estrogen-like hormonal effects, which can promote the growth of breast cancer.  It is suggested that the aluminium-based compounds in antiperspirants may contribute to this development as well as Triclosan which can act as a hormone disruptor.

So Sweating is a good thing folks!

Dangerous Ingredients to Avoid:

Sweating helps us regulate our body temperature but more importantly, it helps us to eliminate toxins from our bodies. Here is a helpful watch list of ingredients

• Aluminum
• Triclosan
• Paraben
• Propylene Glycol
• Phthalates
• Fake perfumes
• Sodium Bicarbonate
• Talc powder

We have a separate post on ingredients that are bad for your skin.

Desired Deodorant Ingredients:

• Natural essential oils known for anti-bacterial properties
• Nourishing emollients such as cacao butter or shea butter
• Arrowroot powder
• Antioxidants such as Vitamin E or green tea
• Zinc Oxide

How to make the switch to natural deodorant?

This can take a bit of time but you will be so happy you did. If you have the luxury of going without any deodorant for a few days this would be the best and fastest way to make the switch and clear out the sweat pores from old built-up antiperspirant. Then apply the natural deodorant allowing your underarms to adapt to the new sensation.

Not all-natural deodorants are created equal. Again, we suggest non-pore clogging ingredients such as arrowroot powder rather than talc. The essential oil mixture in the natural deodorant is key to fighting off a bad odour.

It is also advisable to switch up the essential oils blends so if you can choose a new flavour and don’t always use the same one. Having nice emollients in the deodorant also makes underarm shaving a more pleasant experience. Don’t miss out on the travel size version as well.