There’s one thing I never want to put on my body.

Deodorant.

I’m not talking about plant-based products that I use in the summer, so my sweaty body doesn’t drive people away.

Instead, I mean nearly all of the brands you find at the drugstore. Or at the supermarket.

Because they’re formulated with aluminum. This is a toxic heavy metal that doesn’t belong in our bodies.

Unlike iron or manganese, aluminum has no function associated with good health.

Instead, it’s a poison, and is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

There’s also concern that aluminum salts found in commercial deodorants brands can cause breast cancer. However, this tentative link is far from proven.

But most cases of breast cancer occur in the upper outer quadrant of the breast. Or the part of the breast that would be exposed to deodorant.

This is something relative recent, now observed in the United States.

Why You Want To Use Only Natural Deodorant

(This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase anything, I receive a referral fee, at no extra cost to you.)

At this point, no one would say for sure that deodorant causes breast cancer. In fact, the prevailing view among mainstream medical professionals is that it doesn’t.

But this assumption is based upon earlier studies.

New research published in the EBioMedicine journal suggest we may need to rethink deodorant.

The authors found that women under the age of 30 who used deodorant with aluminum more than once a day had a statistically significant higher incidence of breast cancer.

Also, higher aluminum concentrations were found in the breast tissue of cancer patients, compared to the control group.

But even without this new data point, it seems to make sense to avoid putting aluminum on your skin. From there, it’s absorbed into the body.

How To Avoid Parabens in Deodorant

Aluminum is not the only problem with most commercial deodorant.

Cosmetics and personal care items (unless they’re plant based) are very likely to contain parabens.

This is a class of compounds added as preservatives.

But parabens are also known as hormone disruptors.

That’s because they mimic the female hormone estrogen.

There’s growing concern that parabens could also be a factor in the breast cancer epidemic. In the United States, 1 out of every 8 women will develop this disease.

Breast cancer is found more in the developed world. So that’s strong indication that environmental factors play a big role.

The link between parabens and breast cancer isn’t proven conclusively.

But parabens have been found in the tissues of women with breast cancer.

So there are two good reasons (aluminum and parabens) to avoid most commercial brands of deodorant.

How To Avoid Deodorant With Aluminum

If you want to avoid putting potential toxins under your arms, you have two choices.

(Well, actually three. If you include not using deodorant at all. However, for most of us that’s not an acceptable choice.)

One option is to buy natural plant based deodorant. These are powered by plants, instead of chemicals.

Natural deodorants honestly do work.

The brand I use (when I’m not using my DIY deodorant) is Alvera Unscented roll on with aloe.

If you can’t find it locally, it’s available online.

Best Homemade Deodorant Recipe

The recipe below is fairly easy to make. And it works.

I used this recipe with full confidence during the hottest of summer days and no one complained that I smelled.

Really, it does work.

I would wait a few minutes after applying if you put on a cottony white blouse. But otherwise, use it with confidence.

2 Tbs. of organic coconut oil (You can get it here)

2 Tbs. of organic shea butter (You can get it here)

1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder (You can get it here)

1 teaspoon of pure beeswax pellets (You can get them here)

1 teaspoon of green European clay (You can get it here)

1 teaspoon of baking soda

4 drops of lavender essential oil (You can get it here)

2 drops of tea tree essential oil (You can get it here)

(change all the wording below)

Take a clean glass jar and add the shea butter, coconut oil and beeswax. Put this jar in a pan of water. The, put the pan on the stove top, and turn the heat to medium.

Heat until the oils and beeswax become liquid. The beeswax pellets will melt last.

When the mixture cooks, add in the the arrowroot powder, baking soda and clay. Let it cool to almost room temperature and add the essential oils. Stir until everything is well mixed.

Refrigerate the deodorant until it solidifies. Apply under your arms as needed. In the summer, you can keep this in the refrigerator. But this may not be necessary. Coconut oil melts at 76 degrees F. But the beeswax acts as a firming agent.

I add essential oils to this recipe because: 1. They smell heavenly. 2. Essential oils contain natural germ-fighting compounds, so they help control odor.

For More Reading

Health Controversies of Parabens

Aluminum and Breast Cancer Study