Did you know that you skin is your largest organ? Skin is capable of absorbing topically applied ingredients which can enter the bloodstream. There are also bits of your skin that absorb more than others, like the hairy bits with large hair follicles e.g. your under arms. Underarm deodorants have attracted a bad reputation for the aluminium salts present in them, which are the ingredients having antiperspirant action.
Conventional deodorants however, tend to contain one or more of the paraben group of chemicals which act as preservatives. Examples are methlyparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, benzylparaben and ethylparaben.
The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) states: Used as inhibitors of microbial growth and to extend shelf life of products. Widely used even though they are known to be toxic. Have caused many allergic reactions and skin rashes. Highly toxic.
The estrogen/breast cancer connection is well known with the greater exposure a woman has to estrogen in her lifetime, the greater risk of breast cancer. This raises concerns about chemicals such as parabens that behave like estrogen (estrogen mimicking chemicals are also called xenoestrogens)
These concerns include:
• A report published in the Journal of the American College of Toxicology in 1984 estimated that parabens could be found in over 13,000 cosmetics products.
• Parabens are just one type of xenoestrogen to which women are exposed. Consequently, another cause of concern is both the cumulative effect and the interaction of parabens with other xenoestrogens, and with the body’s own estrogens – all of which affect endocrine function.
• A 2004 UK study detected traces of five parabens in the breast cancer tumours of 19 out of 20 women studied. This small study does not prove a causal relationship between parabens and breast cancer, but it is important because it detected the presence of intact parabens -- unaltered by the body’s metabolism -- an indication of the chemicals’ ability to penetrate skin and remain in breast tissue.
source: The breast cancer fund chemical fact sheet (available on side bar)
What can you do to avoid parabens? Use deodorants and other personal acre items that don't contain parabens. You also want deodorants that don't contain aluminium. Miessence deodorants are bicarb soda based and scented with pure essential oils, they contain no synthetic chemicals at all and unlike many natural deodorants they really work.
Click here to find out more about Miessence deodorants
