Most people start shifting to darker colors as the weather gets cooler, and you know what that means -- more chance for deodorant to show up all over your clothes! And, I don't know about you, but I never notice that I've given myself a whiteout until I've already reached my destination and it's too late to do anything about it --- other than hold my purse at an odd angle to try to cover the damage.

Fitness magazine has some suggestions for avoiding the dreaded deodorant-streaked shirt that I found helpful, and maybe you will too. First of all, find a deodorant that claims to not leave white streaks (duh!). Editors had three favorites -- Secret Platinum Invisible Solid, Degree Ultra Clear, and Dove Ultimate Clear.

Second, make sure you're applying it correctly. (What? There's a wrong way to put on deodorant?) Avoiding over-application is your best bet, so carefully apply just one swipe back and forth and give your skin enough time -- about 30 seconds -- to absorb it before putting on clothes. And, if that doesn't work, clean the streak off with a baby wipe or pre-moistened facial cleaning wipe.

Source

Aluminum-containing personal anti-perspirants have not been on my shopping list for a long time now. To me, it just seems odd to be blocking the pores responsible for sweating toxins from your body just due to the social stigma if "BO" that some find so terribly offensive.

Well, in the latest news, that aluminum in deodorants (actually, anti-perspirants) is now being linked to breast cancer, according to British scientists.

How is that possible? Aluminum apparently made its way inside the body when used as a component of anti-perspirants and ended up in the outer part of some women's breasts. How did it get there? Deodorants.

Source

I recently discovered an informative (and fun) site called the Beauty Brains. where scientists answer your important questions on cosmetics and other beauty products. This week, they posted on Antiperspirant, asking the question, Will covering your body in antiperspirant suffocate you? In other words, if antiperspirant stops you from sweating, then applied to your whole body, would your skin be unable to breathe? What do you think? Apparently, applying antiperspirant only reduces your sweating by 20%, so I don't think it could block all your sweating. And there's no warning on antiperspirant to prevent you from using excess amounts.

What interested me was an explanation of just how antiperspirants work. Apparently, aluminum salts in antiperspirant, when mixed with water (sweat), swells sweat glads and block more water from coming out. Who knew? Not me, in any case.

Source

Whether you're left with embarrassing wet spots, white residue, or worse yet body odor, there's nothing worse than an antiperspirant that doesn't work. And this time of year when sweating can happen just from sitting outside in a lawn chair it's as important as ever to have reliable underarm protection. So do you have an old-standby that never fails you? It seems like most people would have their favorites that work for them, but if you're making changes in your lifestyle and are getting more active you're 'old standby' might not be doing the trick anymore. Check out this article from iVillage -- they road-tested all the popular drug store brands and give the low-down on each one. Or if you're reading this and have your own opinions please share!

Source

The link between parabens (a preservative found in many cosmetics and body wash products) and cancer has long been debated. In particular, concerns have been raised about antiperspirant .

Recently, concerns have elevated to the point that the FDA now requires labels on antiperspirant identifying the product as a "drug" containing "aluminum" ingredients which stop the sweat. The evidence that parabens cause breast cancer is not alarming enough for me to want to stop using deodorant, however, I like to err on the side of caution. And if there's a natural, preservative product that works just as well as a maybe-risky one, I'll take the former.

I am a runner and I don't buy into the theory that women "glisten." I sweat and sweat hard and it's kind of important to me that I don't stink everyone off the pathways. So I picked up a bottle of Burt's Bees herbal deodorant when I was buying some lip balm the other day. It doesn't stop the sweat, because as the product description says, that's the body's natural cleansing process, but it definitely stops the funk. As a bonus, it didn't stain my white running shirt. I'll be avoiding the antiperspirant in future, and I'm now on the hunt for some preservative-free cosmetics, too. I'm hoping they work just as well.

Source