_Humans have a tendency to sweat, and this is frequently associated with unpleasant odour. Hence our love affair with personal care items that include deodorants, antiperspirants and perfumes, to prevent and cover unwanted smells to keep ourselves nice. Unfortunately, the ingredients in these items are far from friendly and include possible links to Alzheimer's disease, birth defects and breast cancer.

So what ingredients do we need to be worried about specifically?
 
 
_Did you know that you skin is your largest organ? Skin is capable of absorbing topically applied ingredients which can enter the bloodstream. There are also bits of your skin that absorb more than others, like the hairy bits with large hair follicles e.g. your under arms. Underarm deodorants have attracted a bad reputation for the aluminium salts present in them, which are the ingredients having antiperspirant action.

Conventional deodorants however, tend to contain one or more of the paraben group of chemicals which act as preservatives. Examples are methlyparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, benzylparaben and ethylparaben.