The search for zero waste deodorant that actually works
Deodorant is a product that most of us can't live without, I certainly can't. I was alarmed to find out, though, that many high street brands contain some pretty nasty chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems. The debate is still out, however most antiperspirants contain toxic aluminium that unnaturally reduces sweating by blocking pores. The thing is, though society and deodorant ads tell us that sweating is gross and unattractive, it is actually perfectly natural - it's the body's way of of cooking down and detoxifying. The sweat itself is not usually the problem when it comes to BO as well, sweat normally doesn't have much scent, but when it mixes with bacteria on your skin they start to multiply causing that nasty stink. That's why many natural health experts recommend using antibacterial deodorant rather than antiperspirant.
The aluminium that clogs underarm pores in antiperspirants has been linked to abnormal cell function and DNA damage. Scarily, it has also been linked to breast cancer. No studies have demonstrated a direct causal link between antiperspirants and cancer, I want to say that first because I do not want to be a scaremonger. However, a recent study that exposed breast epithelial cells to aluminium chloride found that they turned to a cancerous phenotype (Mandriota et al, - ref. below). Aluminium has also been shown to increase motility in breast cancer cells, this is particularly important because breast cancer associated mortality is primarily caused by metastases; basically the spread of the tumour, which depends on cancer cell motility (Darbre et al). Aluminium has been shown to be absorbed through intact skin at very low rates via antiperspirant use, however, when skin is damaged (for example by underarm shaving) this can increase six-fold (Pineau et al). Considering that breast cancer disproportionately starts in the upper outer quadrant of the breast (over 50% of UK breast cancers) where antiperspirant is applied, it is not unreasonable to associate this with aluminium absorption. Again, there is not enough evidence to directly link antiperspirants to breast cancer, however this has been enough to make me want to avoid them.
Unfortunately for me, I'm a sweater. I had been using that expensive extra strength stuff that was supposed to stop you sweating for 48 hours. It never worked as promised for me and the skin under my arms had really dried out and often had a bit of a rash. As soon as I switched to natural deodorant this cleared up.
The first one I tried was Aromaco from Lush. This comes in a block, much like a bar of soap, that you can rub under your arms. It has witch hazel and bicarbonate of soda to deodorise, and is scented with patchouli oil. It's quite an earthy, natural scent, but to be honest it wasn't really my thing. In terms of stopping BO it did a pretty good job for the most part, but not all the time. I have heard from several different sources that your armpits need time to detoxify after you switch to natural deodorant, which means it might not work for the first few weeks. As Aromaco was the first one I tried that may have been part of the problem for me. Overall I think it's a pretty good product, especially considering its ethical and zero waste credentials, just not for me. I'd give it 6.75/10.
Next I tried making my own natural deodorant with bicarbonate of soda, shea butter, coconut oil and essential oils (recipe below). Bicarbonate of soda is a great natural deodoriser, one vlogger that I follow actually just rubs it under her arms on its own. However, if you have sensitive skin I definitely would not recommend this - one failed attempt at home made deodorant with too much sodium bicarb left me with very inflamed pits! Coconut oil and shea butter are great natural moisturisers, plus coconut oil has antibacterial properties. I've also become a massive convert to essential oils this year, they are completely natural and have so many different healing and restorative properties (try Dr Axe.com for more info), and I have found that diffusing them has been really helpful for my depression by lifting low mood. Plus many of them are antibacterial and deodorising. I used lemongrass and lavender essential oil for my deodorant. I've found lemongrass particularly to be a great deodoriser, I like the fact that with this deodorant you can use it like you would a spray throughout the day when you feel like you need a top up. Plus I had already bulk-bought all the ingredients and re-purposed a glass jar as a container so it's completely zero waste, also I think it looks quite pretty on my dresser. However, for me this deodorant often wouldn't hold up under pressure - it's really moisturising, and I like the smell, but on its own I found that I couldn't fully rely on it. For day to day when I'm not doing much, it's great, but particularly for work or exercising I need something a bit stronger. Unfortunately I think the only way to do that is to increase the amount of bicarbonate of soda it contains, and I can't do that with my sensitive skin. 7/10
I was pretty disheartened after this, because I desperately wanted a zero waste deodorant! I also wanted one that was free from aluminium after all that I had discovered! There are plenty of zero waste deodorants around in eco stores and on etsy and amazon, but a lot have similar ingredients to my DIY one, and although they probably work much better, I didn't want to pay for another one only to waste it. That's when I found Salt of the Earth. This is basically a stick of natural mineral salt, potassium alum, that you rub on your armpits after showering, leaving a bacteria-inhibiting layer on your skin without blocking your pores. And... finally, this natural deodorant actually works for me! Even after a lot of intense sweating when exercising, this has held firm and stopped my pits from smelling; and I can tell you, after several months of trying
to furtively sniff myself and worrying that I smell, this came as a real relief. Plus it's completely natural, chemical and preservative free, and doesn't leave deodorant stains on clothing. Because it is just a stick of salt, we can be pretty confident that there aren't loads of harmful pollutants in the supply chain as well. The one problem; it comes in plastic packaging. This plastic is fully recyclable though, and one stick can last up to a year, and while I wish my beauty routine didn't create any waste, I've decided that this is one compromise I'm willing to make for the sake of not smelling! 9/10.
I've written another blog recently about the difficulty of being fully zero waste and how I've decided that actually compromises like these are OK if we're still lowering our impact on the planet, click here if you're interested.
So I'm a convert to salt deodorant. Nevertheless I do sometimes like having a nice scented deodorant so will keep making my zero waste one to use alongside it. From all the research I've done, it seems that there is no deodorant that works perfectly for everyone, because all bodies are different and react differently. If you don't have sensitive skin I'd definitely give increasing the bicarbonate of soda a try (Dr Axe has a recipe that is equal parts soda and coconut oil). There are plenty of recipes online, but if you're interested I've put the recipe I use below. Also if you don't have time to make your own https://www.zerowastepathshop.com/ sell deodorant that I think uses a similar recipe.
Zero Waste Deodorant Recipe
Ingredients
References
https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk/uploads/BCUK_Fact_Sheet_Aluminium.pdf
https://draxe.com/natural-deodorant/
5.Darbre PD. (2010). Environmental oestrogens and breast cancer: evidence for combined involvement of dietary, household and cosmetic xenoestrogens. Anticancer Research 30: 815-828.
Mandriota SJ, Tenan M, Ferrari P, Sappino A. Aluminium chloride promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis in normal murine mammary gland epithelial cells. International Journal of Cancer. 2016;139(12):2781-2790. doi:10.1002/ijc.30393.
Effect of aluminium on migratory and invasive properties of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in culture.
The aluminium that clogs underarm pores in antiperspirants has been linked to abnormal cell function and DNA damage. Scarily, it has also been linked to breast cancer. No studies have demonstrated a direct causal link between antiperspirants and cancer, I want to say that first because I do not want to be a scaremonger. However, a recent study that exposed breast epithelial cells to aluminium chloride found that they turned to a cancerous phenotype (Mandriota et al, - ref. below). Aluminium has also been shown to increase motility in breast cancer cells, this is particularly important because breast cancer associated mortality is primarily caused by metastases; basically the spread of the tumour, which depends on cancer cell motility (Darbre et al). Aluminium has been shown to be absorbed through intact skin at very low rates via antiperspirant use, however, when skin is damaged (for example by underarm shaving) this can increase six-fold (Pineau et al). Considering that breast cancer disproportionately starts in the upper outer quadrant of the breast (over 50% of UK breast cancers) where antiperspirant is applied, it is not unreasonable to associate this with aluminium absorption. Again, there is not enough evidence to directly link antiperspirants to breast cancer, however this has been enough to make me want to avoid them.
Unfortunately for me, I'm a sweater. I had been using that expensive extra strength stuff that was supposed to stop you sweating for 48 hours. It never worked as promised for me and the skin under my arms had really dried out and often had a bit of a rash. As soon as I switched to natural deodorant this cleared up.
Next I tried making my own natural deodorant with bicarbonate of soda, shea butter, coconut oil and essential oils (recipe below). Bicarbonate of soda is a great natural deodoriser, one vlogger that I follow actually just rubs it under her arms on its own. However, if you have sensitive skin I definitely would not recommend this - one failed attempt at home made deodorant with too much sodium bicarb left me with very inflamed pits! Coconut oil and shea butter are great natural moisturisers, plus coconut oil has antibacterial properties. I've also become a massive convert to essential oils this year, they are completely natural and have so many different healing and restorative properties (try Dr Axe.com for more info), and I have found that diffusing them has been really helpful for my depression by lifting low mood. Plus many of them are antibacterial and deodorising. I used lemongrass and lavender essential oil for my deodorant. I've found lemongrass particularly to be a great deodoriser, I like the fact that with this deodorant you can use it like you would a spray throughout the day when you feel like you need a top up. Plus I had already bulk-bought all the ingredients and re-purposed a glass jar as a container so it's completely zero waste, also I think it looks quite pretty on my dresser. However, for me this deodorant often wouldn't hold up under pressure - it's really moisturising, and I like the smell, but on its own I found that I couldn't fully rely on it. For day to day when I'm not doing much, it's great, but particularly for work or exercising I need something a bit stronger. Unfortunately I think the only way to do that is to increase the amount of bicarbonate of soda it contains, and I can't do that with my sensitive skin. 7/10
I've written another blog recently about the difficulty of being fully zero waste and how I've decided that actually compromises like these are OK if we're still lowering our impact on the planet, click here if you're interested.
So I'm a convert to salt deodorant. Nevertheless I do sometimes like having a nice scented deodorant so will keep making my zero waste one to use alongside it. From all the research I've done, it seems that there is no deodorant that works perfectly for everyone, because all bodies are different and react differently. If you don't have sensitive skin I'd definitely give increasing the bicarbonate of soda a try (Dr Axe has a recipe that is equal parts soda and coconut oil). There are plenty of recipes online, but if you're interested I've put the recipe I use below. Also if you don't have time to make your own https://www.zerowastepathshop.com/ sell deodorant that I think uses a similar recipe.
Zero Waste Deodorant Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons of coconut oil or Shea butter, or a combination of both (I find coconut oil a bit greasier and that it takes longer to absorb)
- 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda (not the same as baking powder)
- 5 tablespoons of arrowroot powder or corn flour
- 30-60 drops of essential oil.
If you have sensitive skin then swap one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda for an extra of cornflour.
- Set up a double boiler by placing a wire rack over a pan of boiling water. Place your oil or butter in a heatproof bowl and melt slowly.
- As they are melting combine your dry ingredients.
- Once the oil has melted remove it from the heat and allow to cool in the fridge for 10 or 15 minutes, until it is just starting to solidify but is still soft.
- Mix in your dry ingredients and essential oils (I used lemongrass essential oil as it is naturally deodorising, and lavender as it is antibacterial; frankincense, tea tree oil, geranium and citrus oils are also a good bet)
- Whisk with an electric hand mixer until it comes together - consistency will vary according to how much coconut oil vs Shea butter you use, but it should be quite creamy.
- That's it! Scoop a small amount onto your fingers and rub under your arms to apply.
References
https://www.breastcanceruk.org.uk/uploads/BCUK_Fact_Sheet_Aluminium.pdf
https://draxe.com/natural-deodorant/
5.Darbre PD. (2010). Environmental oestrogens and breast cancer: evidence for combined involvement of dietary, household and cosmetic xenoestrogens. Anticancer Research 30: 815-828.
Mandriota SJ, Tenan M, Ferrari P, Sappino A. Aluminium chloride promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis in normal murine mammary gland epithelial cells. International Journal of Cancer. 2016;139(12):2781-2790. doi:10.1002/ijc.30393.
Effect of aluminium on migratory and invasive properties of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in culture.
Philippa D. Darbre, Ayse Bakir, Elzira Iskakova
J Inorg Biochem. 2013 Nov; 128: 245–249. Published online 2013 Jul 12. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2013.07.004
Pineau A, Guillard O, Fauconneau B, Favreau F, Marty MH, Gaudin A, Vincent CM, Marrauld A, Marty JP. (2012). In vitro study
of percutaneous absorption of aluminium from antiperspirants through human skin in the Franz diffusion cell. J. Inorg. Biochem. 110: 21-26.
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