Tossing out the deodorant...

[doodle]

In following with the tossing out the shoes thread, my test of the thai crystal deodorant has been successful...even in florida. That means no more deodorant for me. My plan is this stick applied twice or three times a day along with some essential oil or cologne....:-) There is a little sweat and some type of smell but nothing offensive at all...

http://www.amazon.com/Thai-Crystal-Deod ... B0014ZESV2

[dualstow]

That's basically alum, right? Similar to the stuff that is used to make styptic "pencils" for sealing shaving cuts?

[doodle]

No the ingredient is mineral salts. The package says no aluminum chlohydrate. I think the mechanism whereby these mineral salts work is that they inhibit the bacteria from forming by creating an inhospitable environment. You still sweat but the sweat never has the smell that result from the bacterial offgassing...

[Mark Leavy]

No the ingredient is mineral salts. The package says no aluminum chlohydrate. I think the mechanism whereby these mineral salts work is that they inhibit the bacteria from forming by creating an inhospitable environment. You still sweat but the sweat never has the smell that result from the bacterial offgassing...

Those crystals are potassium aluminum sulfate. They do what you say they do, just like the deodorant from Walgreens.  Do you also buy nitrate free bacon with "dehydrated celery juice" (i.e. sodium nitrate)?

[doodle]

Hmmm...Well my initial reason for change was primarily economic...those crystals are cheap and last a looonng time. But I wont say that health isnt a factor as I have read some lay articles about aluminum in stick deoderants being potentially a neurotoxin.

Upon a little more research it seems though that there is a difference in aluminum chlorohydrate and potassium aluminum. Saying that aluminum chlorohydrate (or aluminum zirconium) is the same as aluminum potassium sulfate (potassium alum) is like saying sodium chloride (table salt) is the same as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). From what I’ve read, aluminum potassium sulfate is a much larger molecule that can’t be absorbed through our pores.

Im no chemist however so I dont know all the details. I have heard similar discussions concerning nano vs. non nano zinc oxide sun blocks. Apparently the nano sized zinc particles can be absorbed while the non- nano sized particles cant...

So i guess not all forms of aluminum or zinc are equal....

[gizmo_rat]

Hmmm...Well my initial reason for change was primarily economic...those crystals are cheap and last a looonng time.

Yep I tried them for that reason, they work as well as any deodorant. After using a couple I havent found it worthwhile to seek them out and pay the premium compared to buying whatever's cheap in the supermarket. YMMV. 

[doodle]

Gizmo,

My crystal cost 7 bucks and should last at least a year. Deodorant in the supermarket costs about two dollars a stick and lasts about a month. Thats a whopping savings of about 40 dollars a year :-)

[MediumTex]

Does the presence of armpit hair help or hurt the smell that we are trying to manage with deodorant?

What about using something like talcum powder to inhibit the growth of bacteria in the first place by reducing the moisture present in the area?

What about using an antibacterial wipe in the armpit region two or three times per day?  I've always thought that this should work, but it never seemed to work as well as I thought it would.

[doodle]

Isnt saliva antibacterial? Maybe if you could lick your armpits that would work 

Is there a certain PH level which kills bacteria? Maybe a substance which alters that in the armpit region would work...

Anyone here who does this for a living have some answers???

[dualstow]

Hmm, from what Mark Leavy wrote I think this stuff probably is very similar to alum. The shaving blocks are potassium aluminum sulfate. (Put an extra 'i' in there if you're British).

Does the presence of armpit hair help or hurt the smell that we are trying to manage with deodorant?

I've read that the purpose of pubic hair is to retain odor, and I wouldn't be surprised if armpit hair does the same.

Doodle, are the women in that lab test photo all clones? :-)

[doodle]

Hmm, from what Mark Leavy wrote I think this stuff probably is very similar to alum. The shaving blocks are potassium aluminum sulfate. (Put an extra 'i' in there if you're British).

I think the key is the size of the aluminum molecule...potassium aluminum sulfate being larger than aluminum hydrocholorate??? Im no doctor but I would imagine that aluminum only presents itself as a problem if it somehow enters the system.

[Benko]

Lavolin (I gather there are others) provides long lasting deodorant protection, I gather by killing bacteria.  It does come in a zinc oxide base, but lasts many many days.

Doodle, obviously aluminum can't cause any harm if it does not enter the system.  I have not looked at the aluminum issue lately, but I would be suspect about rubbing my body with any kind of aluminum (since one can theorize all we want, but it is difficult to be sure about what will enter the body or not).

[MachineGhost]

I've used the crystal rock kind of deorderant for hmm about two decades now.  The is or is not aluminium is less of a concern than the toxic chemicals in commercial deoderants.  Women's breasts have an affinity for uptaking those xenoestrogens and a have a correlation to cancer incidence.  That's enough for me to stay away.  After all, the government does not approve as safe any of those hundreds of thousands of chemicals in our food and personal care supply.  How's that for irony?