Natural deodorant’s hype isn’t based on science
Health experts say way products make you feel and smell should guide your decisions
Google “natural deodorant,” and you’ll find countless articles detailing all the reasons you should buy them. Some claim that the aluminum in most conventional antiperspirants can lead to Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. Others assert that certain ingredients in traditional deodorants are “toxic,” or that they can kill off the “good” bacteria in your armpits.
Many natural deodorant companies have seized on these perceptions, implying in their marketing that the ingredients in conventional deodorants are the “stuff you don’t want,” and that what you do want is their “natural” product made from “plant- and mineralbased odor fighters” and “clean ingredients.”
But experts — including an oncologist, an epidemiologist, a skin microbiome expert and several dermatologists — said that there is no definitive evidence that regular deodorants or antiperspirants are worse for your health than natural deodorants. In fact, they said, they’re perfectly safe.
While natural deodorants might contain seemingly healthier ingredients, they can still have substances that might irritate your skin. In the end, the experts said, the way a deodorant makes you feel (and smell) should guide your decision to use it.
Are natural deodorants better for you?
No. One of the biggest and most alarming false claims made about conventional antiperspirants is that they cause breast cancer — a rumor that began with an email chain letter from the 1990s. It said that antiperspirants, which minimize perspiration by blocking sweat ducts, prevent the armpit area from “purging toxins,” which could build up in “the lymph nodes below the arms” and cause cell mutations and ultimately breast cancer.
This, say experts — including those from the American Cancer Society — is false. “To date, there’s absolutely no evidence that breast cancer is caused by exposure to anything in antiperspirants or deodorants, full stop,” said Dr. Harold Burstein, a breast oncologist at the DanaFarber Cancer Institute.
The same goes for another cancer-related rumor, which is that the aluminum from antiperspirants could be absorbed into the skin and increase breast cancer risk by altering breast cell estrogen receptors. Again, Burstein said, the evidence just isn’t there to support this idea.
Burstein added that only a minuscule fraction of aluminum can be absorbed through the skin, so your exposure to it from an antiperspirant is trivial.
There has also been concern derived from decadesold research that found Alzheimer’s patients’ brains had high levels of aluminum. This suggested that the metal could be a potential risk factor for this degenerative disease. But scientists now disregard the idea that aluminum can cause Alzheimer’s. “The evidence is of poor quality, generally speaking,” said Amy Borenstein, a professor of epidemiology at the University of California, San Diego, who studies the causes of the disease. “The whole topic has kind of been abandoned.”
Are natural deodorants good for your microbiome?
There isn’t enough evidence to show that they are. There have been claims that regular deodorants and antiperspirants can disrupt or kill off the “good” bacteria living in your armpits, leading to skin irritation, redness, bumps and overall poor skin health. Some natural deodorant brands have marketed their products as “microbiome friendly,” claiming they minimize odor by promoting the growth of “good” bacteria.
But Jack Gilbert, a skin microbiology expert at the UC San Diego, said that he wasn’t aware of any rigorous studies that have borne this out. “There’s a lot of associative work, but nothing that definitively links deodorant or antiperspirant disruption of the skin microbiome to skin health.”
Are ingredients in natural deodorants better than those in traditional ones?
No. Just because a deodorant is labeled “natural” doesn’t mean it won’t contain any problematic ingredients itself. The term “natural” has no regulatory definition, so its labeling on personal care products is essentially meaningless.
“You can get irritation or allergic rashes, and that’s far and away the more common health issue seen with deodorants — all deodorants, whether traditional or natural,” said Dr. Jennifer Chen, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at Stanford Medicine.
The most troublesome ingredient in any kind of deodorant or antiperspirant, whether it’s “natural” or not, is fragrance, said
Dr. Nina Botto, an associate professor of dermatology at UC San Francisco. “Botanicals, plant extracts and essential oils are often touted as having health benefits,” Botto said. “But those natural components actually cause a lot of health problems and trouble for the skin.”
Does natural deodorant even work?
The experts said they weren’t aware of any studies that reliably looked into how well natural deodorants work.
Because regular and natural deodorants don’t contain aluminum (which is what helps antiperspirants minimize sweating), they typically rely on ingredients like fragrances and baking soda to mask body odor.
While the experts were not aware of any rigorous, head-to-head studies comparing the efficacy of natural deodorants versus antiperspirants, it stands to reason that they may not counteract smell in the same way that an antiperspirant does.
Dr. Arielle Nagler, an assistant professor of dermatology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said that the effectiveness of a product will also depend on how it interacts with your own biology, including how much you sweat and what kinds of bacteria are on your body.
Should I buy natural deodorant?
Natural deodorant is not better or worse for your health than traditional deodorant or antiperspirant.
“A lot of the claims that one product is better than another are just marketing claims that are not based on scientific evidence,” Chen said.
The Personal Care Products Council, an industry group that represents cosmetic and personal care product companies, echoed a view from Chen and other experts, which is that people should make their choice based on personal preference.
Still, dermatologists do recommend fragrance-free options, especially if you are allergic or sensitive to fragrance.