While a new study ¹ conducted by researchers at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) links the aluminum salts present in antiperspirant deodorants and the multiplication of the risk of breast cancer by two, many are those who now prefer to bet on the precautionary principle. Even though, to this day, this substance is not prohibited in the formulation of cosmetics.

So, do we really have to ban aluminum salts from our hygiene products?

The formidable efficiency of aluminum salts against perspiration

According to toxicologist André Cicolella ² , the explosion in the number of breast cancers that we have seen since 1980 is largely due to toxic chemicals in the environment and in many consumer products. Hundreds of questionable synthetic molecules (phthalates, bisphenol, parabens, PCBs ...) are found on the dock.

Aluminum salts, which are everywhere - in food, tap water, some drugs and cosmetics - have also been suspected for a long time. Most antiperspirants contain it because they are terribly effective at stopping sweating: applied to the skin, they reduce the pore diameter, and therefore mechanically oppose the secretion of sweat. Ideal to prevent the formation of foul-smelling halos on clothes.

Safety regularly questioned

The reverse of the medal: they are spread under the armpits, that is to say not far from the breasts and lymph nodes that drain the mammary gland. A particularly sensitive area. Hence the legitimate question of the safety of these aluminum salts present in these cosmetics of daily use.

The controversy seemed close since 2012, when the European Scientific Committee for Consumer Safety (CSSC) stated that "the aluminum of cosmetics was not likely to be carcinogenic".

Recent data linking aluminum salts to cancer

But in September 2016, researchers from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) again throw a pavement in the pond with a ³ dependent study published in the journal "International Journal of Cancer".

The results of their work seem alarming: if we expose mouse breast cells for four to six months to aluminum salts, they become malignant. Injected into the body of rodents, they give rise to aggressive tumors with formation of metastases.

Of course, we are not mice. But these same researchers had already demonstrated five years ago that aluminum disrupted the behavior of human breast cells grown in the laboratory. Even at doses 2000 to 10,000 times lower than those contained in antiperspirants!

The study of Austrian scientists, published in June 2017 in the journal "EBioMedicine", also goes in this direction. As part of their research, scientists compared their report to the deodorant of 209 healthy women and 209 women with breast cancer.

As a result, those who use an antiperspirant containing aluminum salts at an early age, several times a day and on shaved armpits, double their risk of developing breast cancer.

Researchers also detect higher levels of aluminum in the breast tissues of sick women.

Attention in case of skin shaved, shaved, injured

Mistrust if the skin is damaged, in case of scratching, eczema or recent hair removal: according to the doctors of Asef (Association Health Environment France), "on an injured skin, the amount of aluminum that penetrates is multiplied by six ".

The National Agency for Health Products and Medicine recommends anyway not to use anti-perspirants or deodorants "after shaving or in case of skin injury". She also added that "it is recommended that this information be on the packaging."

A maximum concentration of aluminum salts of 0.6% recommended by the ANSM

In 2011, the health authority published an expert report ⁴ on the risk assessment of the use of aluminum in cosmetics.

CONCLUSIONS: "Available data do not support conclusion on the local tolerance of antiperspirants containing aluminum salts." Analysis of epidemiological data and studies in animals could not reveal a link between Oral exposure to aluminum, nor is there any relevant evidence to consider dermal exposure to aluminum as a carcinogenic risk, "she said in her findings.

As a precaution, it recommends that the aluminum concentration of these deodorants be limited to 0.6%, "in order to limit the risk related to the systemic effects of aluminum during chronic exposure".

It's impossible to know if our favorite "deo" is following the rule since the aluminum content is not mentioned on the packaging. In addition, the Brussels Commission does not impose a regulatory threshold. Some products have, it seems, up to 5%.

In principle, it is better to be careful and opt for products without aluminum, which neutralize odors but do not stop the flow of sweat. It is checked that these ingredients are not written on the packaging: aluminum chlorine / chlorohydrate / chlorydrex / sesquichlorydrate / zirconium

Beware of the plebiscite of alum stone: although natural, it also contains aluminum salts!

And if we judge these products insufficiently effective, there is a more radical and definitive solution: in case of excessive sweating, injection of botulinum toxin or the administration of electromagnetic waves in the armpits ( miraDry technology ) gives good results.

¹ www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5514401/
² Author of "Breast Cancer, Ending the Epidemic" (Early Morning Edition)
3 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.30393/full
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