Health - Wellness
Fact Or Fiction: Deodorants And Antiperspirants Are Bad For Your Health
By KATHERINE ALEXIS ATHANASIOU
One medical myth that has been circulating the internet for years states that because of the proximity to the breast, potentially harmful ingredients found in deodorants and antiperspirants may play a role in the development of breast cancer. However, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), "no scientific evidence links the use of these products to the development of breast cancer."
The main root of this myth is that most antiperspirants contain aluminum-based compounds, which form a "temporary plug" of the sweat glands to decrease the amount you perspire. These compounds are not actually absorbed in the body, as some theorize, so they don’t cause cancer.
Others say these products have parabens, which the NCI claims most deodorant and antiperspirant products in the U.S. do not contain. Thought to mimic estrogen, parabens have conventionally been found in some foods, cosmetics, and even some pharmaceuticals, and while parabens have been found within breast tumors, there is no scientific evidence that they cause breast cancer.