Is deodorant unhealthy?
This is actually a really interesting question that not very many people look into—and there’s a reason for it.
Deodorant is considered a super common staple of modern hygiene.
It’s a product that the vast majority of people use without even thinking about it.
And to be honest, it’s pretty effective at what it was designed to do.
It’s designed to help keep your armpits from getting sweaty and smelly.
With that being said, there is a question as to whether or not it’s actually good for you.
And when you dig a little bit into this topic, you’ll quickly discover that it’s actually kind of shocking how deodorant contains quite a few ingredients that aren’t good for you.
Let’s dive into it and do a bit of research.
The Dangerous Ingredients In Deodorant
Most of us think of deodorant as a pretty harmless substance that we apply to our underarms to keep us from smelling sweaty and stinky as we go about our day.
For some of us, it may even seem like an absolute necessity.
For example, imagining sitting in a sweaty office, cubicle to cubicle, with a bunch of people who aren’t wearing deodorant may seem like a ridiculously unpleasant thought.
With that being said—doing a ‘deep dive’ into the components that go into creating this hygiene product yields some unsettling results.
First of all, there are a few different ingredients that just aren’t good for you.
Here’s a list of the most common ones, as listed in a Time.com article on the subject.
- Parabens
- Aluminum
- Triclosan
- Phthalates
- Fragrances
When you break all of this down, and you research these ingredients one at a time, you’ll come to find that this isn’t really the type of stuff you want to be massaged into your pores on a day-to-day basis.
And this leads us to a pretty startling conclusion.
Deodorant actually isn’t that good for you–and we should perhaps even stop using it.
In fact, you may be a lot better off going without it—at least from a health and wellness perspective.
With that being said, we’re left with a pretty big question.
What are you going to do about the sweatiness and stinkiness that results from such a habit switch?
Well, there are a few different schools of thought on this.
Go Natural
While it’s true that humans will get a little bit smelly and stinky if they don’t use deodorant, it’s also true that this is actually a very natural human thing.
And here’s really where it gets somewhat complicated.
If you keep yourself pretty clean, keep yourself in pretty good health, eat a clean diet, and drink plenty of water—you’re far less likely to experience incredibly foul-smelling body odor.
With that being said, it’s also true that not everybody fits into these specific categories.
And if you happen to be one of these people, then working on developing these things in your own life could give you a huge head start in the process of going deodorant free without sacrificing too much ‘scent quality’ in the process.
Use An Alternative
Some people use apple cider vinegar under their arms a couple of times per day to help kill bacteria and ward off unpleasant scents, especially if they work in close quarters with other people.
This is definitely a healthier option, and it won’t clog your pores with dangerous chemicals or metals.
Some people also use a bit of rubbing alcohol to do the same thing.
With that being said, there’s also a pretty big school of thought that says it may just be better to leave it go and not to worry about it.
Sure, you may have a little bit of an odor.
But it’s a human odor.
And while we tend to be pretty odor-phobic in the context of our modern world, hey—it may not hurt anything to let your natural pheromones fly. Especially if it contributes to better health and wellness.