Many of us wouldn’t feel good about leaving the house without spraying a little deodorant under our armpits.
But, says leading toxicologist Dr Yvonne Burkart, antiperspirants are just one of a number of everyday products that are delivering potentially deadly chemicals into our bodies.
Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Dr Burkart told host Steven Bartlett: “Antiperspirants contain aluminium salts – those physically block sweat ducts.
“What that does over time is, it prevents you from sweating… but the problem with aluminium is that there have been links to increased risk of breast cancer in young girls.”
She explains that some properties of aluminium mimic the effects of oestrogen in the body, upending the natural hormone balance and giving rise to potentially deadly cancers.
She urged Steven to “throw out” his antiperspirant, along with a number of other common everyday grooming products, such as moisturisers and concealers.
For regular antiperspirant users who are anxious that the damage may already be done, Dr Burkart recommends mixing up a paste of bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar, which can help draw out some of the aluminium particles embedded in the pores.
Any product that is applied to the skin and then left to soak in – such as, not only moisturisers, but also foundations and lipsticks, are potentially high-risk.
She explained: “The longer something sits on your skin the longer time it has to penetrate the skin and get absorbed into your bloodstream.”
Dr Burkart adds: “Lipstick is also a high-risk product, if you’re using the wrong kind, because it’s going on your lips and you’re having some ingestion.”
She points out that, in many cases, the active ingredients in beauty products often have an unpleasant smell – so manufacturers add fragrances that add to the chemical load being pushed into your body.
She believes that many cosmetics – for example lip balm – actually create the problem they’re designed to prevent, leading to a sort of “addiction” among users.
Dr Burkart adds that dozens of other products, such as shampoos and conditioners, contain potentially toxic fragrances and other additives.
She singles out tampons and sanitary towels as a particular problem.
“Menstrual products contain some of the worst chemicals, that should never be in direct contact with your reproductive tissues,” Dr Burkart says.
“There’s heavy metals in tampons,” she adds. “Actually there was a study showing that women who use tampons had higher levels of heavy metals in their body – we don’t need those down there – and fragrances… a lot of menstrual products contain scent.”
These chemicals can promote serious conditions, such as endometriosis – a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, leading to chronic pain and infertility.
She concludes by advising that everyone should take a critical look at the ingredients of the products in their bathroom cabinet and throw out anything suspicious-looking, focusing on organic and fragrance-free when it comes to replacing them.