What’s the Difference Between Deodorants and Anti-Perspirants?

In health circles, there’s typically an awful lot of talk about the safety of deodorants and anti-perspirants. Since I love to research intriguing topics, I thought I’d delve into exactly what deodorants and anti-perspirants are and if they have any actual risks.

For starters, the marketing push for personal products that mask body odor began in the 1950s. Before that time, people weren’t convinced that they needed to hide something so natural. Today, both deodorants and antiperspirants are used to deal with body odor.

Image courtesy of Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Deodorizing deodorants

With deodorants, your body will sweat as a normal function. The deodorant’s job is to mask the odors once you perspire by targeting bacteria around your armpits. (Understand the important clue in the name? De-odor.) This is one reason Triclosan is a popular anti-bacterial ingredient found in some deodorants. If the bacteria can’t mingle with your sweaty secretions, you won’t stink.

Anti-perspiring anti-perspirants

The word anti-perspirant obviously tells the purpose of the product: it keeps you from perspiring. Anti-perspirants achieve this feat by using ingredients like aluminum and zirconium salts to plug your sweat glands. Without any sweaty secretions, your underarm bacteria don’t have anything to intermingle with – and that means you get odorless and dry underarms.

Potential problems

While anti-perspirants sound great in theory – avoiding sweaty armpits seem pretty dandy to me! – there’s nothing wrong with sweat. It’s a natural cooling function God created.

Many have found fault with anti-perspirants. Aluminum, the active ingredient in most anti-perspirants, can accumulate in the brain. (The Alzheimer’s Society acknowledges: “There is circumstantial evidence linking this metal with Alzheimer’s disease, but no causal relationship has yet been proved.”)

And other reports have linked aluminum in anti-perspirants with breast cancer – however, the National Cancer Institute denies this claim, stating that there is no conclusive research that links the two.

Your choice

Medical agencies claim that anti-perspirants are fine, and even the Environmental Working Group asserts that aluminum used in anti-perspirants will not pose a health risk. The ultimate choice, though, is up to consumers.

Will you choose to sweat it out with deodorant? Or do you enjoy anti-perspirant and plan to stick with it?

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Hilary Kimes Bernstein

Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and journalist. She writes about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. Short and sweet - like her writing - Hilary is the author of several healthy living eBooks.

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