I have given a lot of thought lately about antiperspirant. Most people don’t give it any thought and others might have some shifty knowledge about it. I’m the person that enjoys new information and likes to learn. Unfortunately, there are certain things I’d like to know about but lacks no definitive information. What I was able to find is rather interesting though. This is my educational discovery I’d like to share with you…

My first stop is at wikipedia where there is no article about antiperspirant (it’s part of the Deodorant entry). Here are the main things I found by doing an ounce of research: All anti-perspirants are considered drugs by the FDA. All antiperspirants are aluminum-based, and work by clogging the duct of the sweat gland. So the opening swells because the aluminum ions interact with the electrolytes/water in the cells. When the quantity of water matches the amount blocking with the aluminum there is equilibrium, and soon the fluid passes back out and unswells and you go back to sweating.

Cancer Controversy. The fear came from the idea that toxins would stay in the body instead of being sweat out. There is nothing scientifically to support this, but something else of concern is being hypothesized by some doctors- parabens. Again, it seems there is not enough evidence to draw causal conclusions.

But it is toxic (not to touch though). Aluminum is without a doubt a neurotoxin. Aluminum alters the function of the blood-brain barrier. There are higher aluminum quantities in the brain of those with Alzheimer’s disease. It is unclear whether the exposure is plays a part in development or is a result of Alzheimers. Several studies on primates, dogs, rats, and other non-humans found harmful effects such as loss of membrane integrity and other neuronal injury. Lastly, antiperspirants cause DNA damage on a single-cell level.

My concern is taking into consideration hyperhidrosis. Sufferers of excessive sweating are required to use much higher concentrations of aluminum to restrict sweat. They should show more signs of problems. But what else can they do to alleviate the profuse sweating? The only other options are botox injections which last for months, oral medicine, or surgery.

Dr. Weil suggests rubbing alcohol to control bacteria, but not the sweat itself. Another person seems to think that baking soda is a good alternative to deodorant products. I tried both and neither did anything about the wetness of my pits at the peak of the hot day. The rubbing alcohol seemed to not last more than a few hours though. Metafilter has a topic on deodorant rocks, or ammonium alum crystals and shows that it should stop the smell but not the perspiration. I also found a propaganda site for aluminum containing MegaDry. [source]