So I know I jump around here a lot! BUT I am going to something that I have wondered about for a while now... deodorant. Yes sillies I do wear it. I wear Dove ultimate and I do love it. But I had a friend's mom who would not let her wear the store bought kind of deodorant because she said it would give her cancer. So every time she was over at my house I would sneak her some of our extra deodorant... she didn't want to use the stuff she had because it didn't work well. Yup this is an awkward post. But I have always wanted to research this, and I think this is a perfect topic to talk about because this week we are actually learning about cancer!

Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex GLY, Cyclopentasiioxane, Stearyl Alcohol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, PPG-14 Butyl Ether, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Dimethicone, Fragrance (Parfum), Polyethylene, Helianthus, Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, BHT.

Now what is this myth? Going to cancer.gov I found that most antiperspirants contain aluminum which temporary plug up the sweat ducts in the underarm. Deodorant is applied frequently and is believed to get through the skin by absorbing and through nicks (by shaving) of the skin. Since it is applied by the breast, many fear it causes breast cancer. It is also said to promote estrogen like effects, this allows the growth of breast cancer cells, and some scientists believe that the aluminum- based compounds in deodorants can contribute to breast cancer development.
So is this a correlation? Scientists found that it is not conclusive. They are still running tests and researching but the FDA has not found anything that would cause cancer in deodorant, as well as the NCI has not either.
(http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/AP-Deo)

I looked for a natural aluminum free deodorant. This Tom's stuff is out of Maine (EAST COAST :))

Name	Purpose	Source
Propylene glycol	Consistency	Natural gas from the earth
Water	Consistency	Maine aquifer
Sodium stearate	Consistency	Coconut (Cocos nucifera) and palm (Elaeis guineensis) oils
Aloe barbadensis leaf juice (Organic)	Soothing feel	Organic aloe (Aloe barbadensis) plant
Cymbopogon flexuosus oil (Organic)	Deodorancy	Organic lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) plant
Helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil (organic)	Consistency	Organic sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds
Zinc ricinoleate	Deodorancy	Zinc oxide and castor bean (Ricinus communis) plant
Glyceryl laurate	Deodorancy	Vegetable oils
Natural Fragrance	Pleasant smell	Natural plant oils
Humulus lupulus (hops) [CO2] extract	Deodorancy	Hops (Humulus lupulus) cones
Ascorbic acid	Antioxidant	Corn (Zea mays)

Now I looked at the ingredients and they know their stuff. It's all organic and good. UNFORTUNATELY all the reviews online were horrid about the product. Saying it burned their skin, and did not keep the stink away.




After looking into the deodorant situation I have decided that I will take the risk of using actual deodorant with aluminum in it because I don't want to smell, and the breast cancer theory has not been proven to be connected with deodorant.