Natural Deodorant Choices
Only a few years ago, there was a lot of concern that the chemicals in antiperspirants might contribute to breast cancer. The FDA and the American Cancer Society strongly report that studies do not support those concerns. However, many woman are still reluctant to expose themselves to the aluminum and parabens in antiperspirant, so they choose to only apply deodorant instead, especially natural deodorant.
Walk into any health food store and you are faced with an abundance of natural deodorant choices each touting how wonderful and pure they are. Searching the web, I found National Geographic’s Green Guide which does not endorse products but does review “the science, the manufacturer's detailed product information, their claims and third party certifications when developing the product recommendations.” http://www.thegreenguide.com/buying-guide/deodorants
The Green Guide lists 14 deodorants that meet their standards with Crystal Deodorant being the most cost effective and Burt's Bees Herbal Deodorant as being the “greenest”.
● Crystal Deodorant has been around since the 80’s and was the first “natural” deodorant people seemed to use.
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Here is another good deodorant.. I had my compounding pharmacist make sure there were no carcinogens or hormone disruptors in it. If you know a distributor.. order it from them. http://charlottesal.ineways.com
I just saw Tom's of Maine in our local grocery store and am thinking of trying it out - but was under the assumption it was completely safe. Aren't castor beans poisonous - they are what ricin is made of?
Tom's long lasting deodorants use: Zinc ricinoleate from Zinc oxide and castor bean (Ricinus communis) plant. This is their link about Zinc ricinoleate: http://www.tomsofmaine.com/products/ingredient-detail.aspx?id=27&name=Zinc ricinoleate
They say that the zinc is from zinc oxide and "ricinoleic acid is a purified fatty acid from castor seed oil, a vegetable oil obtained from the seeds of the Ricinus communis plant."
The link goes on to say:
"Some people ask whether or not castor oil and its derivatives contain the highly toxic compound ricin. Castor oil does not contain ricin because ricin is water soluble and does not dissolve in the oil obtained from the castor beans. Castor oil is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a natural flavoring substance, as a direct food additive, and as a safe and effective stimulant laxative."
So it does sound safe. I don't know why the Green Guide didn't include them, I just assumed something about the ingredients they use did not meet Green Guide's approval and Zinc ricinoleate is in 3 of their 6 deodorants. Tom's makes a very popular product which is why I included them and I know men and women who use their deodorants and like them.
What about these?
http://www.natures-gate.com/shop/showCatalog.asp?category=168
I think if you have been using these products and are satified with them then that's what matters. I did try to look up Oak Gall which is one of the ingredients in their deodorant and could not find any info on why it would be used so if you are curious you might want to contact them and ask them how they came up with their particular formulation.
I wrote the article because if you have ever tried to look for natural deodorant before, there are so many choices it is hard to know where to start. The Green guide at least gives you 14 to check out.