Do you use these deodorants? Be careful, they can be very harmful

Masking our smell and replacing it with a nicer one, moisturizing, preventing sweating – deodorants have a lot of tasks to perform today. To achieve this, they use a lot of chemical compounds, which, however, are not indifferent to us. How can they harm us and how do we even know? A recent study from Switzerland sheds some light on this.

Small but dangerous

The case was investigated by researchers from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, who examined several popular personal hygiene products. By analyzing their content, they identified over 200 different types of volatile organic compounds at concentrations of several parts per million. Little? Well, unfortunately, sometimes even that is enough to harm us. And although the vast majority of these compounds are rather harmless, also due to their low concentration, not all of them are. Some of them were able to react to form secondary organic aerosols. These are not always so indifferent to us. In some cases, for example, they can coagulate into larger particles that are able to deposit in our lungs.

Another case may be the reactions of the mentioned volatile organic compounds with other substances. An example is ozone, which, as the sciencealert.com website points out, is emitted by printers, photocopiers and even… air purifiers. Researchers from Switzerland decided to check what the effects of meeting this molecule with volatile compounds could be. The conclusions are not optimistic.

Necessary restrictions

To assess the harmfulness of this combination, samples were taken from spray and roll-on deodorant, hand lotion and dry shampoo, which were subjected to two tests. The first one assessed the emissions from each product towards a standing person and a tissue left in the room for an hour. The second study took into account the reaction with ozone in the amount of about 35 to 40 parts per billion in the encounter with the compounds emitted by each of the products.

Results? Apart from the roll-on deodorant, all preparations were a source of a literal cloud of particulate matter, which is even called “smog”. Moreover, particle growth rates were much higher than those typically reported in outdoor air quality studies in urban or remote environments. On this basis, researchers clearly indicate that it is necessary to at least partially limit or even completely abandon these preparations in favor of more natural solutions.which use fragrance compounds with lower chemical reactivity.