Mineral Deodorants

Basically, there are two kinds of natural deodorants: mineral and organic. Today I am going to talk about mineral deodorants. For sure, you have already seen some advertisements praising deodorizing qualities of natural mineral components of the advertized products. What exactly do they consist of? Are there any health risks related to the use of mineral deodorants? Are they really helpful? How do they work? I tried to find answers to each of the above questions and some more.

There are already many trademarks producing mineral deodorants. Some of their products are purely natural mineral deodorants, while others contain more ingredients. Those that contain just minerals are often referred as crystal deodorants. The most common active ingredient of them is potassium alum. It could be as well ammonium alum. Other minerals are very uncommon. Potassium alum is the potassium double sulfate of aluminium. Its molecular formula is KAl(SO4)2.  So, the advertisements stating that their deodorants do not contain aluminium while they contain potassium alum are not completely true. However they do not contain pure aluminium, it is still present as a chemical compound of another substance.

There is an ongoing speculation about the relation of aluminium and such diseases as Alzheimer’s and breast cancer. As I can see from the publications I’ve read, there is no proven evidence of such a relation. And as to the potassium alum, it is just known that it can result slightly irritant on sensitive skins. In my following posts I will write more about potassium alum and ammonium alum deodorants.

Judging from my personal experience, the experience of my friends, and from the reviews I’ve read, mineral deodorants do actually work. Of course, this matter is very individual, and the effect and its duration can differ for different people. Due to the antiseptic qualities of the minerals used, natural mineral deodorants prevent the growth of bacteria that cause bad smell. It is more effective when applied directly after shower while armpits are still clean and there are almost no bacteria.

Purely mineral deodorants do not have antiperspirant effect. In other words, you do sweat but do not smell. That’s why they are perfect for summer, especially if you wear sleeveless clothes. However, there are some trademarks that combine deodorizing mineral ingredients with other components that work as an antiperspirant.

That was my general brief review of mineral deodorants. In the following posts I will consider more specific information on each main kind of them and other natural deodorants.

Natural Deodorants

Natural mineral deodorant

This week I bought one of those crystal natural deodorants that seem to be gaining more and more popularity. It was recommended to me by a friend and I decided to try it as I found the product quite compelling. At home I decided to examine the ingredients of my bought more closely as I felt curiosity about the fact that a piece of mineral salt works as a deodorant. As my knowledge of Chemistry are limited to high school level, I had to conduct a little Internet research on what all natural deodorants are, how do they work and what ingredients are supposed to be good or bad.

I got very surprised to find out that this topic was of such a concern. The majority of people either simply buy the strongest antiperspirant they can find or chose the better fragranced one. We do not normally investigate what effect it could have on our health. Of course, as any other cosmetics, a deodorant should be chosen with care, but the reason of my surprise was that main active ingredients of almost all popular deodorants and antiperspirants are suspected to be related to such illnesses as breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

I would not like to fall into speculation or be fooled by anti-advertising tricks. So, I decided to conduct my own research further and to verify basic pros and cons of every main deodorant type. Even if the majority of popular deodorants and antiperspirants are potentially dangerous, we cannot permit ourselves having stinky armpits. I am sure there are plenty of safe natural deodorants. Of course, not all of them are the same effective. As well, they work differently on different people. Any deodorant review, cannot give you 100% effectiveness guaranty. You have to be ready to some period of trying before you find the best one for you.

The current blog is the product of my “deodorant research”. Here I summarize and interpret the information I found on the topic, trying to give simple and understandable answers to the questions that many of us ask. I will comment on the best all natural deodorants that actually work for many people, along with providing some home made deodorant recipes. On top of that, I will compare mineral and organic deodorants and focus on certain ingredients that may provoke concern. Stay tuned and you will find a lot of useful information that will guide you through the process of choosing a safe natural deodorant.