The rock is the way to go. I dont care about cancer b/c I will die from something else besides deodorant anyways. A/P actually dont work for me for some reason. Certain Dri does work and I am sure many purists probably despise the stuff but damn the stuff works! 0 sweat. Apply at night 3 times a week and you will not sweat end of story. Apply the crystal to take care of odor and you are set.
I agree that most of the scare tactics with AP are bogus. The real issue there is people who know enough to be dangerous with information and not enough to actually understand things. They read medical reports about Alzheimer's patients having odd amounts of aluminum in their brains and breast cancer reports. The problem is that correlation does not equal causation. They figure the one thing leads to the other, but there is essentially no evidence to back up their assertions. There is one issue with APs that is real. For some people it can clog up your pores and cause infections and other irritations. It's not a big deal generally, but if it does happen, you pretty much have to stop using AP until it clears up completely. I prefer spray AP, generally the Sure unscented variety. That leaves you free to pick your own scents.
just about every deodorant/ anti-persperant does this to me too. just found a store that sells the Crystal variety, along with a few of Tom's of Maine all natural types. I have to use deodorant because I stink without it. Louisiana climate does that to you. My boss is quite understanding, but he won't accept a smelly curate... I'm currently using a hypoallergenic Almay deodorant. Works okay and causes minimal irritation. But it *does* still irritate, so I'm gonna try something different once I use it up.
I've been using the crystal since last thurs and that stuff is working great. I know its not suppose to prevent sweat but it seems like it is on me. I also got one for my feet as they sweat a lot and gets stinky.....works great there too.
To echo previous posters, the science behind anti-perspirant being dangerous is shoddy and poorly researched. It's similar to the talc powder scare of the last twenty years- a whole lot of speculation and next to nothing in the way of facts. I use it every day. Deodorant lasts all of twenty minutes on me in the summertime, so if I didn't use anti-perspirant I'd be one stinky SOB. Anti-perspirant is probably one of the single greatest inventions of the last fifty years, because if I was around in 1950 and had to apply deodorant or baking powder to my pits three or four times an hour I would go insane. What's funny is that a lot of you mention yellow stains from anti-perspirant. That happens to me when I use regular deodorant.
There's a particular type of anti-perspiration that, when combined with sweat, creates the yellow. Read Wikipedia to find which active ingredient to avoid. I use stick deodorant on my bits and pits, and aerosol on my feet.
I've noticed this also. My current theory is alum reduces oil production in the skin. Oil doesn't evaporate as easily as water, even salty sweat water. If you don't have oil in your pits, the water evaporates faster and doesn't leave oil behind. That leave you dryer even though you're technically sweating just as much.
Actually, alum is an astringent that causes pores and glands in your skin to constrict, thus reducing the flow of sweat. Other anti-perspirants basically plug up the sweat glands.
Leave it to the doc to set us straight.... but whatever it is, I am sold on using the rock for years to come... another great tip from the peeps at TSD.
Ultimately, I say use whatever you have found works for you. If you don't want to use anti-perspirant, and you found something different that works for you, great. I just don't want people worried that anti-perspirants are going to give them all kinds of neurological disorders or cancer. To each their own! I have never used anything other than anti-perspirant - started off with basic Speed Stick unscented, used Right Guard for a while, now I am using the Old Spice AP Original scent - I don't like the Old Spice aftershave smell, but for some reason I like it in the AP. I might have to try the rock one of these days.
