We’re definitely not fans of aluminum, but you already know that.  What you might not know, is why we have such disdain for a single ingredient common in most traditional deodorants and antiperspirants.  From clogging our pores to staining our shirts, aluminum’s unfortunately the culprit behind quite a few things you might have been blaming your sweat for.

In order to better understand what aluminum’s doing to our bodies, it’s important to know what it’s used for.  So, here’s the rundown on everything you need to know about aluminum: its uses and effects on your body.

Uses of Aluminum in Deodorant

Let’s start at the beginning.  Aluminum salts are commonly used as an antiperspirant agent in traditional deodorants.  Basically, the aluminum salts help you to not sweat by completely blocking your pores.  Which is problematic for a few reasons.

Side Effects of Aluminum in Deodorant

Because aluminum clogs our pores, it’s no surprise that this produces some unwanted side effects on our bodies.  Aluminum stops the sweat, and when you prevent your body from sweating, you’re withholding the many necessary sweating benefits from it as well.

Sweating is our body’s natural way to rid itself of toxins, regulate body temperature, and promote a strong immune system.  Aluminum basically just presses the pause button on all of these processes.  Yeah, not so great. 

And while you may have been giving sweat the side eye for staining your favorite white tee shirt, aluminum is actually the one leaving those nasty yellow armpit stains behind.  While aluminum salts aim to clog all of your pores, and completely stop your body from sweating, they usually don’t.  The sweat that does escape (and would normally be colorless and odorless) turns yellow when it mixes with aluminum.

So, your aluminum-filled antiperspirant is actually creating more problems than it’s solving. 

We feel so strongly about this because sweat gets a bad rap, while aluminum is actually the one to blame.  Which is why we go aluminum free, and why never get caught up thinking that sweat’s a bad thing.