Conventional deodorants are usually also antiperspirants. Antiperspirants normally contain a chemical called aluminum zirconium or a similar aluminum compound that is designed to plug the sweat glands under your arm and reduce sweat by 20%. (Clinical strength deodorants block your sweat by 30%.) Sweat is made up of mostly water along with ammonia, urea (left overs after your body breaks down protein) and salt and is the natural way your body to cool itself down. Sweat itself has no odor, but when bacteria on the underarm skin metabolize the proteins and fatty acids, they produce an unpleasant odor. This is why deodorants and anti-perspirants are applied to the underarms instead of the whole body. It is completely normal and healthy to sweat. We want our bodies to function by automatically cooling us down. Why block your sweat glands?
To block the smell of the sweat mixing with bacteria, conventional deodorants use chemicals like triclosan. Triclosan is an antibacterial and antifungal agent that has been shown to be bad from the environment, and contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics. In fact, the FDA recently stated that hand soaps with triclosan can't be marketed as antibaterial. There is no benefit to using the chemical and it has not proven to be safe by manufacturers. Other chemicals that block the smell of bacteria are fragrances. Many of these contain the pthalate diethylphthalate (DEP) It is used as a solvent and fixative in fragrances. Research has shown that pthalates are bad for the environment, are linked to asthma and disrupt hormone levels.
We have prepared a handy chart with all the great reasons to use a natural deodorant. Feel free to share it with your family and friends on social media! You can find a link to it here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/289567451025339800/. Top reasons to use a natural deodorant:
1. It uses natural anti-bacterial ingredients like baking soda and coconut oil
2. It has fewer ingredients. You can pronounce them and you know what they are.
3. It doesn't clog your underarm pores and keep the toxins from being excreted naturally.
4. It doesn't mess with your hormones.
5. It doesn't have toxic chemicals that will make it into your breast milk if you are breastfeeding.
6. It doesn't contain talc- a known carcinogen.
7. It uses natural essential oils to fight bacteria instead of synthetic fragrances which may contain pthalates and only mask the smell.
There are so many reasons to give natural deodorant a try! Be Green's natural deodorant is one of our best selling and most highly rated products. We make a batch every week so you know you are always getting a fresh product. It is also EWG Verified for your health meaning, among other things, that it avoids the Environmental Working Group (EWG) ingredients of concern. It has the highest rating of "1" on the EWG skindeep database.