Old Spice Deodorants = Toxic Chemicals for Our Pits
Written by Ajay Chohan, Founder
Harmful Ingredients in Old Spice Deodorants: Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex, Propylene Glycol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Poloxamine 1307, Synthetic Colors, Petrolatum and Mineral Oil
Pictures of palm trees and beaches adorn Old Spice’s deodorants, but more appropriate imagery would be those of oil refineries and coal tar. That’s because Old Spice relies heavily on often toxic and never good for us by-products of petroleum refining for its ingredients base.
Old Spice Classic Deodorant: Ingredients + Warning
The health concern could be immediate such as an allergic skin reaction. But the more heinous concerns are these ingredients’ long term health effects — their potential to cause cancer, disrupt our endocrine system, disrupt the functioning of our brain etc. And there is ample research and scientific studies to back all of this. Let’s jump right into the harmful ingredients present in Old Spice’s deodorants & antiperspirants.
Stop Using Antiperspirants.
Before I get into rest of the toxic ingredients in Old Spice’s deodorants, let me first focus solely on the antiperspirant variety. And say that you should never use one in the first place. They are horrendous for our overall health. You might say, but, but…you are not a doctor, you have not carried out a research study, blah blah :). Well, I can tell you with a 100% certainty that antiperspirants are horrible for our health based on common sense alone.
They literally clog up our sweat pores and stop our body from carrying out an essential function. For some context, the active ingredient in Old Spice antiperspirants is Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex. According to research published in the National Library of Medicine, this ingredient’s “main mechanism of action is through blocking the pores via formation of polymer complex and preventing sweat from leaving the body” (1).
The site SpecialChem offers a similar description, “Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex...effectively controls sweat and odor by blocking sweat gland activity...By forming a gel-like plug in sweat ducts, this ingredient effectively reduces perspiration (2). Got it, so our body’s pores are literally clogged up by these aluminum compounds, and we are led to think that won’t have negative health effects?
Inhibiting an essential bodily function with ingredients that are themselves toxic.
Not only is sweating essential and helps the body get rid of toxins — not a myth — the aluminum based ingredients in antiperspirants are likely themselves harmful. In 2021 the not-for-profit org The Grangettes Foundation conducted research studying the effects of aluminum salts present in deodorants, sunscreens etc. on our health. The study found that “mammalian cells…rapidly incorporate aluminum salts” and “within 24 hours” these caused “genomic instability” in the cells “altering the structure and number of chromosomes” (3).
The study further said, “this effect is known to occur during malignant transformation caused by proven carcinogens and therefore confirms the carcinogenic potential of aluminium on breast cells” (3). In summary, aluminum compounds found in antiperspirants cause breast cancer. This is just one of the known negative health consequences of aluminum based antiperspirants.
Lastly, powerful entities like Procter & Gamble, the makers of Old Spice, have significant influence on the “scientific research” that gets published on these topics. Hence, if you search for the harmful health effects of using antiperspirants, results will be dominated by articles that say “there is no correlation”, “this is a myth” etc. Use your own discernment here. Clogging up our body’s pores is not good under any circumstances.
Please Note: Here is my article on 100% natural deodorants from small founders with integrity.
Questionable petrochemicals form the basis of Old Spice deodorants.
Outside of the active ingredient in antiperspirants covered above, the other ingredients in both the antiperspirant and regular Old Spice deodorants are mostly petroleum based, and often toxic. An ingredient you will see across Old Spice is Propylene Glycol and its cousins Dipropylene Glycol and Polypropylene Glycol (PPG). Propylene Glycol has industrial uses as an antifreeze, is used in brake fluids and is common in personal care products like deodorants (!). The New Jersey Department of Health’s Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet informs that Propylene Glycol can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, and that “repeated contact can cause a skin rash, dryness and redness” (4).
Now, Propylene Glycol is made using Propylene Oxide which comes from petroleum. Propylene Oxide is highly toxic and a known cancer causing carcinogen (5). While there does not seem to be a risk of Propylene Oxide exposure via deodorant application, the production of Propylene Glycol itself does pose a risk and is a primary way production workers get exposed to Propylene Oxide via inhalation (6). Lastly, Propylene Glycol is a ‘penetration enhancer’ and makes the absorption of other harmful ingredients - like the ones in Old Spice Deodorants - easier (7).
Ingredients such as PPG-3 Myristyl Ether and PPG-14 Butyl Ether found in Old Spice deodorants similarly have a risk of Propylene Oxide contamination. While industrial uses of Propylene Glycol make sense, this ingredient should not be in our body care.
Cyclopentasiloxane in Old Spice deodorants is linked to female reproductive problems, is a possible endocrine disruptor, was carcinogenic to rodents during studies, and can adversely effect our immune and nervous systems
Cyclopentasiloxane, also known as Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (or D5), is a silicone. It is found in Old Spice deodorants like their Sweat Defense Antiperspirant and Fiji Antiperspirant. Actually it’s the very first inactive ingredient — and ingredients in cosmetics are listed in order of their percentage composition — so we know that Cyclopentasiloxane is present in a substantial amount here.
Ingredients in Old Spice’s Fiji Antiperspirant
According to research published in the National Library of Medicine, this ingredient is bioaccumulative and thus “accumulates in the human body” and negatively impacts the female reproductive system, which can lead to “fetal developmental disorders” and infertility (10). The study recommends that given these concerns, the industry should reconsider using this chemical (10).
Even an industry source such as Ataman Chemicals cautions, “Cyclopentasiloxane has been linked with a slower, more sinister side effect than skin irritation. Cyclopentasiloxane is thought to be an endocrine disruptor. This means that some studies have shown it can alter the way our hormones work” (11).
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) also has toxicity concerns that silicones like D5 can effect our body’s “dopamine and prolactin levels” which in turn can effect our “nervous system, fat tissue, the liver, and the immune system” (12). It also had carcinogenic effects on rodents during studies, and the article states similar concerns for humans can not be ruled out (12). Yikes. So much so for an ingredient that is supposedly safe with ‘no known side effects’ as many biased articles state online.
Poloxamine 1307 in Old Spice - an ingredient we know little about:
There is not a whole lot of research on Poloxamine 1307, especially when it comes to long term health effects of applying it on the skin. Poloxamines are a “subgroup of Poloxamers” which are “block copolymers composed of Ethylene Oxide and Propylene Oxide…” (8). According to research published in the National Library of Medicine, a concern with Poloxamers is impurities which include “1,4-Dioxane and residual Ethylene Oxide and Propylene Oxide” (9).
All three of these are toxic and carcinogenic to humans. The study stressed that “the cosmetic industry should continue to use the necessary purification procedures to keep the levels below established limits for Ethylene Oxide, Propylene Oxide, and 1,4-Dioxane” (9). This is an ingredient I would personally avoid especially for a ‘leave-on’ skin product that’s applied daily.
From petroleum refineries right onto your skin: Synthetic Colors, Petrolatum and Mineral Oil round up toxic ingredients in Old Spice that should never be in our personal care.
Continuing with the theme of Old Spice using by-products of petroleum refining, we get to synthetic colors. These colors — such as Green 5, Yellow 10 and Violet 2 in Old Spice deodorants — either come directly from coal tar or are synthetically made. Both forms are concerning. First, coal tar is a known human carcinogen. Second concern is contamination with heavy metals and aluminum compounds which can damage our brain’s functioning (13).
There is also a cat and mouse game that gets played between public awareness and companies like Procter & Gamble. Meaning, once enough scientific research begins pointing to a petrochemical as being toxic, let’s say a coal tar dye such as ‘Green X,’ the companies using this ingredient will simply make a slight modification to the chemical structure and come up with a ‘new ingredient’ called Green Y, so we can’t specifically point to it as being toxic. Thankfully, we still have our common sense. And know that this new ingredient, in this case another coal tar based dye, shares a similar risk profile. And that it’s an ingredient we should similarly avoid.
Lastly, Petrolatum and Mineral Oil found in Old Spice deodorants like their Fiji and Sweat Defense antiperspirants are two more related ingredients that should never be on our skin. Again a by-product of petroleum refining, the primary concern with these two is contamination with the toxic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) which have been shown to cause cancer (14).
Closing Thoughts.
As with other similar articles I write, the main question that kept popping in my mind was…Why? Why even make personal care products with so many questionable and probably harmful ingredients? It is so unnecessary. Especially when we know that 100% natural deodorants powered by mother earth work just fine. And we can truly feel good about using them. Which leads me to my best natural deodorants article here. Go check it out and surprise yourself ;). Bye.
Sources:
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Aluminum-zirconium-pentachlorohydrex-Gly
https://cosmetics.specialchem.com/inci-ingredients/aluminum-zirconium-tetrachlorohydrex-gly
https://www.fondationdesgrangettes.ch/en/content/impact-aluminium-salts-occurence-certain-types-breast-cancer
https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/3595.pdf
https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1615.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK590819/
https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/dirty-dozen-peg-compounds-contaminants/
https://cosmileeurope.eu/inci/detail/11933/poloxamine-1307/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18830866/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10143965/
https://www.atamanchemicals.com/cyclopentasiloxane_u24605/
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/classic/toxics/dryclean/oehhad5review.pdf
https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/the-dirty-dozen-coal-tar-dyes/
https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/dirty-dozen-petrolatum/