What Is Aluminum Chlorohydrate Dangers in Deodorant?
There are 18 aluminum-based salts recognized by the US Food and Drug Administration to reduce underarm wetness. These include a number of forms of aluminum-based salts including aluminum chloride, aluminum chlorohydrate(s), and aluminum zirconium salts. Among these options, aluminum chloride is the simplest form but its inherent acidity means that it can be damaging to many fabrics and some may find it irritating to the underarm. Aluminum chlorohydrate is the simplest salt that is not damaging to fabric and is generally well-tolerated on the skin. There are a number of more complex aluminum chlorohydrate salts, as well as aluminum zirconium salts.
There are valid reasons to switch to natural deodorants. Aluminum ingredients can be irritating for a lot of people, especially on sensitive underarm skin. I personally don’t like the smell of most commercial deodorants, and many people agree with me here. But promoting commercially convenient misinformation and exploiting your customers’ fears is a dick move.
ACH forms a stronger, denser floc that settles faster than the fluffier flocs of traditional, inorganic coagulants. This is especially important in winter when water is colder and more viscous. Many plants encounter problems with alum at such times as hydrolysis reactions slow and less dense floc carries over to the filters. One plant using alum had severe postfilter precipitation problems in cold water. Although turbidity was 0.22 NTU just after the filters, turbidity at the plant outlet, after the water had passed through the clearwell, was 0.46 NTU. The problem was eliminated with ACH, which reduced filtered and finished water turbidity below 0.1 NTU.
Aluminum targets the nervous system and causes decreased nervous system performance and is associated with altered function of the blood-brain barrier. The accumulation of aluminum in the body may cause bone or brain diseases. High levels of aluminum have been linked to Alzheimer's disease. A small percentage of people are allergic to aluminum and experience contact dermatitis, oilfield chemicals digestive disorders, vomiting, or other symptoms upon contact or ingestion of products containing aluminum.
Because of the explosion hazard related to hydrogen produced by the reaction of aluminum metal with hydrochloric acid, the most common industry practice is to prepare a solution of aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH) by reacting aluminum hydroxide with hydrochloric acid. The ACH product is reacted with aluminum ingots at 100 °C using steam in an open mixing tank. The Al to ACH ratio and the time of reaction allowed determining the polymer form of the PAC n to m ratio.
Aluminum Chlorohydrate complexes are ingredients that are applied to the skin to reduce the production of perspiration at the site of application, to induce a tightening or tingling sensation of the skin, and to reduce or eliminate unpleasant odor and that protect against the formation of such odors on the skin.
Consumers who do not wish to use an antiperspirant product may be interested to know that Tom’s of Maine also produces a line of deodorant sticks and roll-ons, which include a number of aluminum-free deodorant options. We feel it is important to offer individuals a choice and trust that they will establish a personal care regimen that is right for them.
Most people are exposed to parabens. In fact, studies have found some form of parabens in the urine in up to 99% of people in the US. But so far, studies have not shown any direct link between parabens and any health problems, including breast cancer. There are also many other compounds in the environment that mimic naturally produced estrogen.
It’s true that parabens can be absorbed through the skin and once they are in your body, they can function as estrogen, a female hormone that’s important for sexual development, breast health, and other bodily functions. Higher lifetime exposure to estrogen may also increase your breast cancer risk. However, the effect of parabens used in cosmetic products is weak and not nearly enough to increase your risk of breast cancer.
To get to the bottom of the issue, scientists took a deep dive into the world of antiperspirants. Their results thoroughly debunked the idea that women who use aluminum-based antiperspirants get breast cancer more often than those who don't, Massick told Live Science. She pointed to this paper, published in the journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology in 2014, which carefully examined all the existing research into health issues surrounding aluminum and found no evidence that antiperspirant poses any particular danger to human health.
Antiperspirants have been widely used since the mid-1960s. In 1978, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft monograph (finalized in 1993) on the category, listing these products as drugs—defined as an over-the-counter (OTC) drug when applied topically to reduce the production of underarm sweat (perspiration).1 Antiperspirants and deodorants are considered drugs because they can affect the function of the body by reducing the amount of sweat that reaches the skin surface. In the United States, OTC drugs are subjected to monograph rules, which define standards and requirements, pre-market approval process, acceptable actives, and allowable formulation percentages of actives. Other countries’ regulations vary in content and scope. Even though most countries have not adopted equal FDA regulatory restrictions, they have adopted some type of general regulatory guidelines that define acceptable safe antiperspirant actives and how to substantiate claims. Even though non-US antiperspirant products are not confined to strict rules, because the FDA monograph has become a template of acceptable antiperspirants, there has been limited innovation in the category globally.
Typically found only in antiperspirants, this metal can cause “gene instability” in breast tissue, Darbre’s research shows. This instability can cause changes that may promote the growth of tumors or cancer cells, she explains. “Over 50% of breast cancers start in the upper outer quadrant of the breast local to the underarm region,” Darbre says. While that’s not proof aluminum is to blame, breast cancer incidence tends to align with the use of products that contain the metal. Especially if you shave under your arms, applying a product containing aluminum to that broken skin could be bad news, Darbre says.