Floraesthetics asks…After reading your blog post about scare tactics, I decided to try my hand at homemade deodorant. I looked at all kinds of recipes, and I created one based on the available ingredients I had in my kitchen. The result was amazing! I was so excited to have created a natural, “aluminum-free” deodorant that worked. Then, I researched a little more and realized that the clays I was using have aluminum content. I went back online and noticed that many natural deodorants contain clays that have aluminum. Can you help me figure out if it can be called aluminum-free if it contains bentonite clay, for example? Also, how does this type of aluminum fit into the neurotoxicity issue?

The Right Brain responds:

First a little background about the different kinds of aluminum in Antiperspirant/Deodorant products.

How is Aluminum used in APDs?

Antiperspirants
Ingredient: Aluminum zirconium tetrachorohydrex glycine

Function: These ingredients are designed to interact with the pores of your body, creating tiny gelatinous plugs that reduce  sweating. Best research shows no connection to Alzheimer’s disease.

Deodorants
Ingredient: Bentonite, Kaolinite

Function: These are naturally occurring clays that are used as thickeners because of their ability to gel the solvents typically used in deodorants. We have not been able to find any reference linking these to the Alzheimer’s controversy.

Can you legally claim aluminum-free?

Unfortunately we’re not lawyers (although we do like to watch them on TV) so we can’t really advise you of the legality of making such a claim. You’re certainly free to make such a product for your personal use, but if you plan on selling your own deodorants we recommend consulting an attorney.  Regardless of what legal council tells you, would this claim really pass the “red faced test” for you?  In other words, if you really don’t believe the scientific consensus that says aluminum salts in APs are safe, then can you in good conscience add aluminum containing ingredients to your deodorant?  If science says their safe, they should be safe in both cases.

Image credit: www.marieclaire.com

QM’s query…The boyfriend and I were watching tv and there was an ad about a drugstore-brand deodorant that touted “3-day efficiency”.
Me : “3-day efficiency ? Does it means that you’re supposed to go 3 days without washing your armpits ? Ewwww !”
Him : “Well, deodorant crawls into the sweat thingies on your skin and block odors from inside. So it can be efficient for 3 days even if you wash the skin in between”.

(OK, none of us are cosmetic scientists, as you can guess from all these technical terms) Which one of us is right ? I thought that OTC skin products can’t legally seep into the skin, but maybe it’s different for deodorants and the like.

The Right Brain responds: 

First a question: are you and your main squeeze talking about deodorants or antiperspirants? Here’s why it matters:

APD vs Deo for B.O.

Deodorants just stop odor (by covering up with fragrance and by killing odor-producing bacteria.) APs prevent you from sweating (or by at least reduct the amount of sweat) and less sweat = less odor because the actual stink is caused by bacteria munching on fatty acids that are contained in your sweat. Since your boyfriend referenced that the product “crawls into the sweat thingies,” I’m assuming that your asking about the “plugging” kind of products so here’s the deal:

Antiperspirants plug your pits

The aluminum salts in APs migrate inside your sweat ducts where they react with moisture to form Gelatinous Little Plugs. (That sounds like the name of a band but it’s not. As far as I know.)  These plugs prevent sweat from soaking your armpits and therefore keep you relatively stink-free.  If you stop using an antiperspirant it takes a few days for the sweat glands to clear themselves of all these petite plugs, which is why the sweat-reduction effect can last last for a few days – even is you shower!

This phenomenon is not unknown to advertisers: I remember seeing ads for Mitchum brand antiperspirant that claimed it was “so effective you can skip a day.”  I’m pretty sure that claim was based on the sweat gland retention of gelatinous aluminum salt plugs. Anyway, what does all this mean? Your boyfriend is right! What did he win?

PS: APs ARE over the counter drugs because they have a physiological effect on skin. Cosmetics can’t affect body function (according to US law, at least.)

Image credit: graphic-design.tjs-labs.com

Long time readers of the Beauty Brains may be familiar with a post we wrote back in 2007 about “Why Body Mint is a Disappoint-mint.“ Based on references that we had seen at the time, we wrote that the product would not reduce all body odors as suggested by the product’s claims.

Body Mint revisited

Wow! That post unleashed a crap-storm of comments (almost 90 at last count.) You can click the link above to read all of them, but suffice it to say that discussion got a bit…ugly…at times. Regardless, based on these comments we took another look and found that indeed, as many of the readers said, Chlorophyllin (not chlorophyll) is the active ingredient in Body Mint and it does have some proven odor fighting properties. Specifically, the evidence shows that products like Body Mint can be used as an “internal deodorant” to help colostomy patients. We were remiss in not citing the research on fecal odor in our original post. We also should have been more specific that the active ingredient is not chlorophyll as we stated but a copper-containing derivative known as  Chlorophyllin.

However, we still are unable to find any studies which suggest that Body Mint works on other kinds of body odor (like underarm stink or bad breath, as mentioned in the original question.) The mode of action on fecal odor reduction (the chlorophyll complex reacting with fecal material inside the colon) seems plausible. The same mode of action doesn’t seem to make sense for underarm odor where the “scent” is caused by the action of bacteria on sweat gland secretions.  For Body Mint to get rid of body odor it would have to have some kind of antibacterial effect on the surface of the skin. We haven’t seen ANYTHING to suggest it works that way but again, we’d be glad to update this post if anyone can direct us to such studies. In the meantime, we remain skeptical of these claims.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

We’ll try to be more careful in future posts and we really appreciate when our readers point out where we have presented misinformation. We’re not perfect and we are always willing to reconsider our position based on new data. That’s what science is all about!

Updated references:

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/chlorophylls/#therapeutic

Chernomorsky SA, Segelman AB. Biological activities of chlorophyll derivatives. N J Med. 1988;85(8):669-673. (PubMed)

Siegel LH. The control of ileostomy and colostomy odors. Gastroenterology. 1960;38:634-636. (PubMed)

Weingarten M, Payson B. Deodorization of colostomies with chlorophyll. Rev Gastroenterol. 1951;18(8):602-604.

Christiansen SB, Byel SR, Stromsted H, Stenderup JK, Eickhoff JH. [Can chlorophyll reduce fecal odor in colostomy patients?]. Ugeskr Laeger. 1989;151(27):1753-1754. (PubMed)

Young RW, Beregi JS, Jr. Use of chlorophyllin in the care of geriatric patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1980;28(1):46-47. (PubMed)

Yamazaki H, Fujieda M, Togashi M, et al. Effects of the dietary supplements, activated charcoal and copper chlorophyllin, on urinary excretion of trimethylamine in Japanese trimethylaminuria patients. Life Sci. 2004;74(22):2739-2747. (PubMed)

Image credit: Neatoshop.com

Vananners asks…What do the Beauty Brains think about the new Dove Visibly Smooth Deodorant that supposed to minimize hair growth? I’ve been using it about 3 weeks now and feel like I’ve noticed a difference. The hair seems to grow slower, is softer and easier to shave.

The Left Brain replies:

As I pointed out in the Forum, hair growth minimizers are more marketing than anything else.  If the product actually worked to slow down hair growth then it would be considered a drug and require much more extensive testing.  In fact, if you check the claims that Dove’s website makes about Visibly Smooth, you’ll see that they do NOT claim that it does reduces hair growth.

Dove Visibly Smooth claims

• Conditions your underarm skin from the first time you use it
• Minimizes the visible appearance of underarm hair over time
• Within weeks you’ll notice hair feels softer, finer and easier to remove
• Hair should be less noticeable between shaves and you may need to shave less often.
• Hair growth is not slowed down

How does ProEpil Complex work?

The “reason to believe” ingredient in Visibly Smooth is Dove’s “ProEpil complex.” According to the website, the complex  is a mixture of ingredients including sunflower oil and Dove’s “1/4 translucent moisturizers” what ever that means. It sounds like these conditioners make the hair softer and less likely to “stick up” so razor stubble is less noticeable.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Dove Visibly Smooth doesn’t claim to reduce hair growth, it only claims to make underarm hair look and feel less noticeable. How does the product accomplish this? None of the information from Dove makes this perfectly clear, but it appears to be by conditioning underarm hair.  Still, it’s not surprising that you think you notice a difference after using the product.  Marketing messages are extremely powerful persuaders.

Do YOU worry about underarm stubble? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Kitten divine from the forums says…I’m having a little trouble finding a deodorant that I like. The problem is that they all leave white marks in my t-shirts. I’ve tried different brands and I always pick the one that claims to leave no white marks, so I really don’t get it. So what I wanted to ask is what causes the white marks? Does it make a difference whether you use a spray, a roll-on or a stick formula? Are they’re certain ingredients you have to avoid to prevent them? And is they’re a difference between regular deodorants and antiperspirants when it comes to white marks?

Left Brain’s residual retort
The solution to this problem is simple…wear white t-shirts. Of course, this will severely restrict your fashion options and totally ruin any Goth look you might be going for so let’s see what else you might try.

First, see this link for a quick primer on the differences between antiperspirants and deodorants.  Essentially, AP stops you from sweating, Deodorants stop you from smelling.

What causes the white marks?

There is a variety of things that can be causing the white marks. Let’s start with antiperspirants. The primary ingredients that make antiperspirants work are aluminum salts including aluminum chlorohydrates, aluminum zirconium chlorohydrates, and aluminum chloride. In the United States, these have been deemed by the FDA as “generally recognized as safe and effective” and are the only ones allowed for use in stopping perspiration.

The exact mechanism by how they work has not been definitively determined, but the leading theory is that the aluminum salts form a layer that blocks and closes the sweat gland. Unfortunately, these aluminum salts can also form the white, chalky marks when they dry out.

To reduce these white marks, AP/DO makers use hydrating solvents in their formulas. However, they can’t completely eliminate the residue because the more solvent they use the less effective and aesthetically appealing the products become. No one wants to put a product under their arms that feels “wet”.

While deodorants don’t have aluminum salts, they do have other ingredients that can cause residues. These are the white, waxy materials used to deliver the active ingredients such as sodium stearate, stearyl alcohol or glyceryl stearate.

Does the type of product matter?

All AP/DO have the potential to produce a residue, but some are more likely than others. In general, dry sticks and powders will be the most likely to exhibit the problem. (They’re also the most effective at stopping wetness). Creams can also be problematic but less so than sticks. After that, roll-ons, aerosols and lotions all have about the same whitening potential.

What ingredients should you avoid?

It’s not a simple matter to just avoid specific ingredients. Whether a product causes whiteness or not depends also on the way it is manufactured and the way your body is designed. However, the following guidelines can help.

Use a deodorant

If wetness is not your problem, avoiding antiperspirants and using a deodorant is a good option.  Look for a stick like Adidas Absorbent Deo Deodorant.

Look for clear formulas

But if you can’t get away without using an antiperspirant, then try a clear formula like Mitchum Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant. This should work for most people. Ultimately, you’ll have to experiment with different brands to find what works best.

Keep your shirts clean

And if you feel like your typical washing habits aren’t removing the underarm build-up, you can try a product like Clarsskin which is supposed to do a better job of removing residue.

Beauty Brains bottom line

White residue is a natural property of antiperspirants and deodorants. It is something that cosmetic chemists continue to try and improve and things have gotten much better. Whether you get a white residue depends both on the ingredients, the way it’s manufactured, and your own person body design. To avoid the whiteness, your best bet is to keep trying different products until you find one that works.

Do you have a problem with white stains from your underarm deodorant / antiperspirant? What product have you found to stop the problem? And how do you remove the stains from your shirts?  Leave your comment below.