The Beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
It is officially October! The beginning of my favorite season, fall, but also a time of reflection as October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Five, yes five women in my family have all courageously battled, and beat, breast cancer. The statistics show that 1:8 women will develop breast cancer and the odds are you know someone affected by this horrible disease.
While there are many topics to cover under breast cancer awareness and survival, today I want to start at the basics. Something so simple that you probably put in on every single day without giving it a second thought … I am talking about your deodorant.
Brief Research Overview
If you go deep into the research (which I have) you will see there are conflicting studies discussing the use of antiperspirants and parabans in deodorant and their risk of causing breast cancer. In the early 2000’s studies were published discussing the use of antipersperients, which contain aluminum, and their relationship to hormone disruption. The disruption of estrogen has been linked to breast cancer and scientists hypothesized that the aluminum and parabans found in antiperspirants could be contributing factors to breast cancer development. Since then, further studies on this topic have been inconclusive, however I pose the question – if there are chemicals in a product that are not needed, then why use that product?
Enter Natural Deodorants
Years ago I made the switch to natural deodorants. A natural deodorant is aluminum and paraban free. I also stopped using antiperspirants and realized that purging myself of the extra chemicals actually worked!
I have tried almost every natural deodorant on the market from Tom’s to Kopari to Primally Pure (note, these have not worked for me). It has been my own personal, fun research experiment, but through trial and error I can recommend the following:
- Curie: Using this product was an ah-ha moment. The scents are aesthetically pleasing and the formulation easy to apply. Some natural deodorants leave a white film, Curie does not. Also, the product works – and I mean really works! For a 10% off use the code: CURIEAMANDAWARD
- Native: Great scents, easy to apply, overall a great deodorant. On long days I found myself needing a reapplication, but still a great natural deodorant.
- Nez: The names and scents are awesome. Application is not as smooth as Curie/Native, but the product lasts. Only issue, there isn’t a fragrance free option for those who prefer no scent.
Final Thoughts
This post is not meant to be a sales pitch, but rather a brief call to action for you to start considering what products you put on your body:
- Do you know the ingredients?
- Are they clean ingredients?
- Is the product effective?
Sometimes a questioning attitude is the best place to start when pursuing clean products. I can say with confidence I have never looked back to my “old” products or old ways. “Clean” products sometimes do cost more than convenience store brands, but remaining healthy and disease free (even if slightly more expensive at the moment), will pay dividends in the long run.
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