To be honest I was never quite sure if the Crystal were exactly as good as using nothing at all. As long as I showered every day things were tolerable, and let's face it: after a day full of shovelling in the summer sun I sweat from everywhere else and deodorant ceases to make much of a difference. But our society has a low tolerance for the human's natural bouquet and the Crystal just wasn't cutting it for polite company. I resorted to sharing a brand-name deodorant with my spouse, but felt pretty guilty doing it all the while, not to mention the fact that I smelled like fresh air, manliness and extreme sports!
There are some reasons to be doubtful of conventional deodorants. Parabens are a preservative that is common to find in, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics such as shaving cream, toothpaste moisturizer and makeup and also underarm deodorant. They have been found in breast cancer tumours and have also displayed the ability to slightly mimic estrogen 3.
The lead researcher of a UK study, molecular biologist Philippa Darbre, reported that parabens found in tumours indicated that they came from something applied to the skin, such as an underarm deodorant, cream or body spray, and stated that the results helped to explain why up to 60% of all breast tumours are found in just one-fifth of the breast - the upper-outer quadrant, nearest the underarm 4. Philip Harvey, an editor of the Journal of Applied Toxicology, writes"From this research it is not possible to say whether parabens actually caused these tumours, but they may certainly be associated with the overall rise in breast cancer cases. Given that breast cancer is a large killer of women and a very high percentage of young women use underarm deodorants, I think we should be carrying out properly funded, further investigations into parabens and where they are found in the body," 4
No effective direct links between parabens and cancer have been established 5. However The American Cancer Society also concluded that there was insufficient scientific evidence to support a claim that use of deodorant increases an individual's risk of developing breast cancer, but went on to state that "larger studies are needed to find out what effect, if any, parabens might have on breast cancer risk 6.
Pthalates are organic chemicals used to make plastic softer (they're often used in air fresheners and those gummy hands that stick to the wall). They can leach out of bottles into foods and substances containing fat like meats, butter and dairy, which acts as a substrate into which pthalates dissolve. As plastics age and break down, the release of phthalates accelerates. In studies of rodents exposed to certain phthalates, high doses have been shown to change hormone levels and cause birth defects 7 and they may have been implicated as a cause of Breast cancer in a 2010 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives 8. They can be volatile and released into the air, and most Americans tested by the American Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had at least some in their bodies. However since they can be degraded by ultraviolet light and the action of microbiology, they do not tend to persist in the environment.
I came across this recipe for DIY deodorant from Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too by Beth Terry. It seems to be as cheap as bargain-variety deodorant and without artificial scents, and can be poured into a glass jar. It smells like coconut and essential oil. Though this paste would seem to be the very definition of "chalky residue", I don't find myself exposing my armpits 9/10 out of the temperate Maritime year, and it's better than cancer.
Start with about 1/2 C of coconut oil, or another saturated fat
Add 1/4 C baking soda and 1/4 C starch, and a few drops of an antibacterial essential oil such as lavender, mint or tea tree. *
Keep more baking soda and starch on hand to work into the oil until it just won't hold any more. This dough will never stick together very well but should make one ball in the fist that doesn't crumble. Bear in mind that the oil will warm in your hands and become liquid as you work it; you might want to let it rest a few times during this process to chill and firm up again. Put the lump of dough in a jar. That's it!
*(I would like to argue that since Oregano oil is such a potent antimicrobial oil that it should be saved for situations in which we need it such as acute infections, so that its efficiency isn't lost through preventative and cosmetic uses).
1.Is Altzheimers Type-3 Diabetes? http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/bittman-is-alzheimers-type-3-diabetes/
2. http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/guide/controversial-claims-risk-factors
3. Harvey PW, Everett DJ (Jan 2004). "Significance of the detection of esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (parabens) in human breast tumours". Journal of Applied Toxicology 24 (1): 1–4. doi:10.1002/jat.957. PMID 14745840. From Wikipedia
4. Cosmetic chemicals found in Breast Tumours Vince G (12 January 2004). "Cosmetic chemicals found in breast tumours". New Scientist.
5. Golden R, Gandy J, Vollmer G (2005). "A review of the endocrine activity of parabens and implications for potential risks to human health". Critical Reviews in Toxicology 35 (5): 435–58. doi:10.1080/10408440490920104. PMID 16097138.
6 The American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/content/MED_6_1x_Antiperspirants.asp?sitearea=MED
7. Pthalates cause birth defects Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, U.S. CDC, July 2005.
8 Exposure to phthalates and breast cancer risk in Northern MexicoLopez-Carillo L., Hernandez-Ramirez R.U., Calafat A.M., Torres-Sanchez L., Galvan-Portillo M., Needham L.L., Ruiz-Ramos R., Cebrian M.E. (2010). "Exposure to phthalates and breast cancer risk in Northern Mexico". Environmental Health Perspectives 114 (4): 539–544.Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, U.S. CDC, July 2005.
Taken From Wikipedia
