Crystal Deodorants - Natural, but Safe?

I've been meaning to do a post on crystal deodorants for some time now. But here it is and it's probably good that I've taken as long as I have- because I've learned even more than when this post first came to me.

WARNING: The following contains SCIENCE!

(but I tried to keep it simple)

You've probably heard of the crystal deodorant by now. I'm not going to red-flag silly parts about it like whether or not it's natural. Usually it is, sometimes it's not. You can go hard core and get a lump of mineral that you rub on your stinky bits or you can get it specially molded onto a stick. Or if you're a wuss you can get an aqueous solution in a roll-on (i.e., mixed with water).

Like I just said, yes it's usually natural (although sometime purified). But all too often things that are natural are shrugged off as safe. Hemlock root is natural too. Few people argue about the not-so benign nature of that.

Now before you call hyperbole on me (guilty as charged), no the crystal deodorants are not in the same league as hemlock root when you question how your body will react to it. Even I, with all of the alarm I raise and accusations we make at pur alternatives, can safely say that it is incredibly unlikely you will die from the crystal deodorant.

Die, no. But what about get Alzheimer's Disease? That's certainly something to be concerned about. You've probably also heard about the concerns around aluminum in deodorants and antiperspirants. Well... that crystal deodorant? It's an ALUMINUM salt. Specifically, Aluminum-Potassium Sulphate, Hydrated. More specifically: KAl(SO4)2*  nH2O (note that "n" is a number of water molecules, in this case 9 to 12). More simply, it looks something like this (I like pictures, I hope you do too):

Potassium alum is a salt. It is a natural mineral that is often found in evaporite deposits (like salt, NaCl or potash). Salts though - as you've undoubtedly noticed with table salt - readily dissolve in water, and potassium alum is no exception. When you mix it with water the molecule breaks down into its ions - in this case potassium (K), aluminum (Al), and sulfate ions (SO4). Now hold that thought for a moment as we back up and talk a moment about the bigger brands of antiperspirants that have previously been linked to Alzheimer's Disease.

It is important to note that yes, there is a substantial difference between potassium alum aluminum zirconium compounds used in commercial antiperspirants. So let's talk about them for a moment. There are dozens upon dozens of commonly used aluminum or aluminum-zirconium compounds used in antiperspirants; they can be quite simple or they can be quite complex. For the moment, let's keep it simple and consider aluminum chlorohydrate - one of the oldest used compounds, and one that has been quite irritating to the skin of many. Even this one has a large number of variations but let's consider one: Al₁₂Cl₁₂(OH)₂₄.

Time for more science to understand how antiperspirants work: aluminum (Al) is soluble in an acidic solution. That aluminum chlorohydrate, if you were to mix it with water (or some other liquid base, for that matter) would break itself into a solution of hypochloric acid (or some chlorine-based acid in any event) and aluminum

 ions. But when that solution comes into contact with your salty sweat, it becomes less acidic and the aluminum precipitates out of the solution and clogs up your pores, blocking the sweat from escaping. I realize that may sound like more than many people are comfortable digesting, so I simplified it with this cartoon:

Can't read the captions? In the first pane (left) are aluminum ions are happy in an acidic solution. In the second pane (right), sodium ions from your sweat arrive and alter the pH of the solution, making it more basic (i.e., less acidic). Aluminum ions aren't as content in the less acidic solution so they precipitate out of solution and accumulate on the surface - in this case the surface of your armpits.

Keep in mind as well, the depiction in the above cartoon is happening INSIDE your body. The aluminum got there when you put the antiperspirant on your armpits. It got in through your pores. In the case of aluminum-zirconium compounds, both aluminum AND zirconium precipitate out of the solution. What has long been the subject of debate though is how effectively your body disposes of that aluminum once it's in there. And aluminum is one of only a few elements that the body has absolutely zero use for. Lots of metals have some purpose in the body and are needed in certain low doses: iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, zinc, chromium, ... (this could certainly go on a while)... but aluminum is simply not part of that list.

There is plenty of research supporting the claim that the body can excrete small amounts of aluminum quite easily. But this I think is where it starts to be the subject of contention. The key word there is SMALL. But how do you define small? There is also lots of evidence out there connecting an accumulation of aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's sufferers. The other point that we emphasize with pur alternatives is that not everybody is exactly the same. Some people are more susceptible to a skin irritation than others. Some people have allergies. Some don't. Why should aluminum in the body be any different? Perhaps some people don't excrete aluminum as well as others. My suspicion: it could certainly be liver-related. Since the liver is what eliminates toxins from the body, if the liver is not performing as well as it should, toxins will accumulate.

Let's back up for a moment to come back to the bigger picture of comparing the aluminum in the crystal deodorant to the aluminum in antiperspirants. The names are one indication of the difference: the crystal deodorant is just that: a deodorant - not and antiperspirant. You'll still sweat. But alum is antibacterial. So bacteria will not grow in the sweat that is accumulating in your armpits.

Now in either of those compounds, the aluminum is ionic aluminum. That same stuff that likes acid. In simple terms, different compounds that do different things. But it's the same aluminum in either of them. Where it differs again? The AMOUNT of aluminum. In the aluminum tetrachlorohydrate we looked at earlier, 28% of that compound is aluminum ions. In your typical alum: less than 6%. So it can be said that if the body can tolerate and efficiently excrete a small amount of aluminum, it can be said that you are less likely to accumulate aluminum from using an alum deodorant than an aluminum tetrachlorohydrate antiperspirant.

Now, I am of the belief that sweating is a natural process that your body has to do. I know not everybody shares my opinion and I know that there are many people who sweat much more than I do. All that said, at pur alternatives we have never come across an antiperspirant that is 100% natural and definitively safe. Deodorants though... well since the only purpose of a deodorant is to add a pleasant smell and/or prevent bacterial growth in the sweat, then there are other options. All of the ones that we have sourced work just as effectively (some even better than) commercial brands of deodorant or the rock crystal. And they contain zero aluminum.

There are 2 fun facts that I would like to leave you with that I learned in my research on this post:

1. Women have more sweat glands that men. However, men's sweat glands are more active. (I got that off the Right Guard website - how's that for marketing!)
2. When you get the rock crystal wet, the solution of alum and water contains sulfuric acid. This is why many people experience a reaction from the rock crystal deodorants - sulfuric acid is settling in your armpits, and yes that can certainly be irritating.

This post was partly inspired by someone much smarter than I (an actual chemist - I'm just a geologist) and who kept their original blog post WAY shorter than mine. But also by you, our customers through the many conversations we've had on this topic.