The pits and nothing but the Pits

Over the last 7 years, really since the birth of my first child, I have began to paying more attention to things. Most notably, to the ingredients that are used in the things we use every day. We take for granted that these things are for our benefit. Of late, my concern has been with my deodorant. Seriously. It has been a stinky problem for me in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Its very hard to find something that works well, and when you do find something that works, flip over the tube and look at the litany of ingredients you are slathering onto your armpit. I am not a crunchy granola hippie type. I am just a cognoscente human being concerned for my health and the health of my family and friends. I'm not going to take something and shove it in your face and say "Here, you have to do this, and your stupid if you don't." 1) that's just Rude. 2) when anyone does that, we immediately shut down and write the person off as a lunatic (and believe me I have done THAT a lot.) So after I switched from the main stream, mass produced, average, destink-stick I switched over to another main stream mass produced destink-stick that is Aluminum and paraben free, and had a total of 13 ingredients. At first thought: SWEET! Something that will work and not have some nasty stuff in it....... And that was it. I took what the label said and THAT WAS IT. And this is what we do all the time. Yes! I freely admit that I did not look any deeper. I am fallible. I am human. Putting that aside, I decided to do some ingredient sleuthing and looked deeper at what I was using.

And the item of dissection is:

So first off: Nothing is truly unscented. This has a light citrusy scent, not unpleasant at all. This also, and unfortunately, did not eliminate my stink. It reduced it by about 50% (in my estimation) so I had BO with a hint of citrus. Of the 13 ingredients there were 7, I either didn't know or I had an issue with. The other 6 were either water or plant extracts. So I skipped over those. Here are the ones I looked at closer.

Dipropylene Glycol - Dipropylene glycol is a small molecular weight synthetic solvent.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/702123/DIPROPYLENE_GLYCOL/ 

Proplyne Glycol- Propylene glycol is a synthetic liquid substance that absorbs water.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=240 

Sodium Steriate - Sodium salt of stearic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid. Surfactant - Cleansing Agent; Surfactant - Emulsifying Agent; Viscosity Increasing Agent -Aqueous; VISCOSITY CONTROLLING

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/706190/SODIUM_STEARATE/ 

Trietheyl Citrate - Triethyl Citrate is a triester of ethyl alcohol and citric acid. Fragrance Ingredient; Plasticizer; ANTIOXIDANT; DEODORANT; MASKING; PLASTICISER; SOLVENT

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/706644/TRIETHYL_CITRATE

Triclosan - Triclosan is an ingredient added to many consumer products to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination. It may be found in products such as clothing, kitchenware, furniture, and toys. It also may be added to antibacterial soaps and body washes, toothpastes, and some cosmetics
Triclosan is a chemical with antibacterial properties

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm205999.htm 

http://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Triclosan_FactSheet.html

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/7/7/pdfs/01-7705.pdf

Tetrasodium EDTA - EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is a chelating agent, used to sequester and decrease the reactivity of metal ions that may be present in a product.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/706510/TETRASODIUM_EDTA/ 

Allantoin - Allantoin is a chemical compound naturally produced by many organisms, including animals, plants, and bacteria. It is a frequent ingredient in lotions and skin creams, as well as in oral hygiene products, cosmetics, and other toiletries. It is also used in medications for dermatological conditions;It is effective at very low concentrations, usually from 0.1% to 2%.

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-allantoin.htm

Ah Yes, You see that one highlighted in red. Triclosan.....an over used ANTIBACTERIAL. You read that right; an antibacterial in deodorant. Ugh. Our society had been overusing antibiotics not only in prescription form but also in everything else: Cosmetics, Meats..... As soon as I saw that one in the list I stopped using it. I don't think this is a necessary ingredient. I don't use any kind of soap with this ingredient, so I wont be using a deodorant with it either. I'm not going to regale you with the re-emergence of bacteria that have become antibiotic resistant. You can do your own search for those, this post is just for this particular item.

So now you are wondering (or maybe not) what I am using to hide my stinkyness. Well when I do remember to slather deodorant on, I have decided to use this.

And right there on the bottom right are the ingredients. I got the unscented because my nose is very sensitive and I can get headaches from things that are over scented, so I just skip the smelly stuff all together. And what scent this does have, makes me think of chocolate (because of the cocoa butter.) I have been using it now for about a week and while it does not eliminate 100% of my underarm smelliness, it does decrease it so significantly (I estimate about 80%) that I can walk by my sister and I don't get the look of disgust and asked "did you put on deodorant today?" This only has a total of 6 ingredients, and is about $5 more expensive. The only ingredient that left me scratching my head was this one:

Saccharomyces Ferment - It claims to be non-toxic and harmless, and contains live enzymes that help to break down odor-causing compounds

https://www.ulprospector.com/en/na/PersonalCare/Detail/6839/236163/DeoPlex-Natural-Deodorant

So depending on what you are looking for, and how it will react with your own body chemistry, there are options. My main issue with the first deodorant is the use of Triclosan. Something I find highly unnecessary in a deodorant, of all things. Also when looking into anything, just because it says "natural" does not mean it will agree with your body. It may cause skin sensitivity, rashes or other issues. Most places, in my personal experience, will accept a used item if it is returned in a timely fashion (under 30days) and you have the original receipt (this is also a good reason to save your receipts; I can thank my husband for that.) Just for good measure, check your local stores policy, just to be on the safe side. I'm not saying the first deodorant is bad, its just not one I will use anymore. The second one, for now, has my vote, but that could change down the line. I like the smaller amount of ingredients used, that its GMO, cruelty, and Gluten Free, and smells like chocolate to me. So the point of this post is that even as innocuous as an item may seem, check the ingredients, and look into them.