There’s a stew of claims about the adverse health effects of deodorant. Did you know that Alzheimer’s patients have higher than normal concentrations of aluminum in their brain tissue? Did you know that antiperspirants use aluminum to close your pores so you don’t sweat? 
Now, there’s no clear evidence that shows that the aluminum in your brain got there by being absorbed through your armpits, or that aluminum is a cause of Alzheimer’s, but it makes you think. Plus the mining of aluminum is definitely not a good thing for the environment. There’s also chemical fragrances, formaldehyde (the stuff your frogs were in before you dissected them in grade 11), and talc. Talc was exposed as being illegally mined from an Indian wildlife sanctuary in 2003 and being sold to companiess like Unilever, which owns the Axe and Degree brands.
Guess we’ll just have to stink, right? Wrong!
I started using Crystal Body Deodorant. It’s made from Ammonium Alum, a rock salt. It leaves a salt film on your skin that stops bacteria from growing, and they’re the ones that stink. It’s working for me; I know because I forgot to put it on one day. I recommend re-applying if you put it on in the morning and are going out again at night, it doesn’t seem to last as long as conventional stuff. It was more expensive than conventional sticks as well, but I have a feeling it’s going to last a long time. It seems to get used up slower than a roll-on or a regular stick so I expect it will work out on the plus financially by the time you need to get a new rock.
** This does not stop you from sweating. Just from stinking. **
Thanks to the book Ecoholic by Adria Vasil, where I got my info for this post. It’s a great book for those concerned about what’s going in/on/around their bodies and what every thing they do does to the planet and how to fix it!
It’s actually the fungus in our pits that really do the worst of the stinking. Way long ago antibiotics were tried in deodorant, but were found to make the smell worse because the lack of bacteria allowed the fungus to flourish.
i use the crystal, and i have noticed that it works better when you don’t have hairy armpits. also, it does last a long time – i’ve been using the same one since 2000. though i don’t have the fancy plastic outside – i think that makes it go faster (maybe it holds water?).
Gross!
I’ve been using the crystal for over a year. I like it. It may be expensive for the first purchase, but I expect it will last for 2-3 years. That makes it cheaper in the long run. Good for me. Good for the environment.