Let’s start with the basics: a deodorant is intended to control odour, while an antiperspirant is intended to reduce perspiration.
Sweat itself is largely odourless and the smell we associate with perspiration develops when naturally occurring bacteria on the skin begin to break it down. A deodorant helps control those bacteria or the resulting odour, while an antiperspirant uses aluminium salts to reduce the amount of perspiration reaching the skin.
What’s The Fuss Over Aluminium?
For some people, avoiding aluminium is the main reason they begin looking at natural deodorants, although the conversation around it is often far less straightforward than the product descriptions suggest.
Aluminium salts are widely used in antiperspirants because they temporarily reduce perspiration. There have been concerns over the years about a possible connection between aluminium-containing antiperspirants and breast cancer, but current evidence has not established that using them causes breast cancer and the approved aluminium salts continue to be considered safe for cosmetic use.
Some people will still prefer to avoid them, either for their own peace of mind or because they don’t want to use a product which reduces perspiration. That is a perfectly reasonable choice, but it doesn’t mean we need to describe conventional antiperspirants as unsafe in order to explain why someone might prefer a deodorant.
This becomes particularly important when we talk about alum stone because, despite the way it is sometimes described, an alum stone is not aluminium-free.
Is Alum Stone The Same As The Aluminium In Antiperspirants?
No, but both contain aluminium.