Thread: alum is alum is alum?

Is this the stuff that's also advertised as a natural deodorant?

I believe so Griz.


Mick

The natural deod. is Ammonium Alum.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

The natural deod. is Ammonium Alum.

+1 on bigspendur's recommendation earlier in this thread.

From the research I've done (I'm no expert, mind you), Ammonium Alum is NOT a natural stone like potassium alum, it is synthetically produced and as such, the aluminum in ammonium alum can separate from the ammonium that binds to it when wet (like your face after shaving, or sweat under your arms). The aluminum is then free to enter the bloodstream (not good--the human body has no use for aluminum as far as I've been able to tell and cannot process it). The reason potassium alum is supposedly better is that the aluminum (which is the active ingredient in most commercial deodorants), binds to the potassium molecules, which are too large to get into the skin through the pores. Therefore, the aluminum cannot enter the bloodstream through the skin. The aluminum does not or can not, apparently, separate from the potassium molecule as it can with the synthetic ammonium alum, and, from what I can tell, you do not want to ingest much aluminum in any form. That's why I stopped using commercial deodorants.

Again, I'm no doctor or scientist. This is just what I could research over the net when I started actually looking into it for myself. I know this only from doing my own research on it after winding up with some AA, instead of PA, like I wanted. YM(or research)MV.

MANY, but not ALL "natural" deodorant's are made from AA, not PA. It is probably cheaper and easier this way than using the natural potassium alum, but it can be misleading.

Although I do now use a natural deodorant that is in a water solution that does use potassium alum (and which works very well), I had to sift through several products to find one -- and they don't always tell you which one it is. If I'm not sure, I just pass on it. Do stay away from the ammonium alum stuff, IMHO. The PA deodorant rocks can be much cheaper than the ones packaged specifically for shaving when you can find them.

Thanks for the help guys, the one I tried was a translucent rock and I was wondering if it's the same product that's used after shaving, although I haven't seen it advertised in a while. As a deodorant. It worked well as an anti-perspiration. It didn't work that well as a matter fact it didn't work at all.
Thanks
Griz

There's a difference between anti-deoderant and anti-perspirant. One is designed to make you smell pretty without stopping the sweat, and the other stops the sweat, but does nothing to stop odour. You can get the two in one stuff of course, but they won't be all that natural as a general rule.


Mick

I've read (yep, grain of salt (potassium salt??)) that the deoderant alum is different from the shaving alum. Shaving alum is less intense. I have the non-aluminum kind and it stings. I've stopped using it, I think it would work better for acne prevention the day/night before shaving, and only used for a short period and then washed off. So, I heard that the armpit variety is harsher.