Health News : Do You Know that Deodorants & Antiperspirant are Bad For Your Health

Yeah, I Know, Y'all Gonna be Surprised, Everyone Wants To Smell Nice, but Health is Wealth, So Please Read

The products when used underarms could be doing more harm than good according to US scientists

Harmful? Deodorants and antiperspirants may allow potentially dangerous bacteria to grow (file picture)
Deodorant and antiperspirant could be harmful to your health, a new study suggests.

The substances may allow potentially dangerous bacteria to grow in users' underarms, according to the research by US scientists.

This is because they affect the working of microbiomes - the mass of bacteria and fungi that live on the skin and inside the body.
The study, published in the Peerj journal, observed 17 men and women over an eight-day period, the Independent reports.

It found that deodorants and antiperspirants change the microbial 'community' that live in users' underarms by destroying some of the good bacteria.
They also allow more potentially harmful bacteria to grow back at a faster rate, researchers said.

Bacteria: The substances affect the working of microbiomes - the mass of bacteria and fungi that live on the skin and inside the body (file picture)
However, the scientists could only confirm that bacteria grew back faster in the armpits after regular users of deodorants and antiperspirants stopped using them.

In these cases, the users were found to have higher levels of staphylococcaceae - a Gram positive bacteria - than those who consistently used the substances and those who did not use them at all.

They also had a small amount of corynebacteria - the bacteria responsible for body odour - and five per cent of unidentifiable microbes.


Meanwhile, deodorant and antiperspirant users who did not stop using the products had more than 20 per cent of unidentifiable bacteria.

And participants who did not use either substance were found to have higher levels of corynebacteria but less staphylococcaceae and other bacteria.

Study co-author Julie Horvath, of North Carolina Central University, said the unidentifiable bacteria which develops on some antiperspirant users 'may not be anything to worry about' - but that some staphylococcaceae can cause harm.

Researchers concluded: "Our work clearly demonstrates that antiperspirant use strikingly alters armpit bacterial communities, making them more species rich."

Critics have pointed out that the study looked at only 17 participants, and that is questionable whether having more bacteria living in your underarms is harmful to your health.

Previous studies have suggested a possible link between the use of deodorant and a higher risk of breast cancer, but this is yet to be proved.
Manufacturers of the product, however, insist it is completely safe.

While deodorants are designed to make users smell more appealing by concealing the smell of body odour, antiperspirants aim to prevent sweating.