Most deodorants contain aluminum in some form. I suggest avoiding those products, because you can absorb aluminum through your skin.

    What to use instead? Over the years, I have used deodorants from Poofy Organics

and from Weleda.

    They are reasonably effective for me, but some of my patients don’t agree.

    Recently an article in the New York Times Wirecutter caught my attention.

    The author describes persistent, severe underarm odor that was eliminated with Lavilin.

    This product contains no aluminum, but includes zinc oxide.

    As it happens, I had read about this use of zinc oxide many years ago. Zinc oxide is an antibacterial; strong body odor arises not from sweat directly, but from chemicals made by certain types of bacteria that feed on sweat.

    At the time I learned about it, zinc oxide was available as a thick white paste to be used as a sunscreen. I found the paste very messy when I tried it as a deodorant, so I rarely suggested it to others. But now it looks like zinc oxide deodorants are easier to use. However, reviewers on Amazon do mention that Lavilin is slow to dry and can leave a mess at times.

    After finding out about Lavilin, I then did a quick online search for similar products. I found several options, one of them by NOW Solutions.

    In addition, the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG's) Skin Deep site lists a number of deodorants containing zinc oxide (click here, or go to the Consumer Guide link, proceed to Skin Deep, then search under Antiperspirant/Deodorant Products):

    Finally, a few days ago, I met a woman in a health food store who told me all about the deodorant she created. She claims it is effective and the cleanest product available. I'm using the sample she gave me, and so far, I think it's good.

    If you try one of these products, let me know what you think!