Why is there less active ingredient in antiperspirants now?
July 11, 2011 1:36 PM Subscribe
Why have so many (most?) antiperspirants reduced their amount of the ingredient aluminium zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly? Why have some brands removed that information from the label altogether?
Hello, I am one of those people who needs to use actual antiperspirant, not deodorant, in order to achieve a level of non-stinkiness I'm comfortable with. I've tried many aluminum-free products with pretty much zero success.
I have, through trial and error, discovered that the optimal percentage of aluminium zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly that works for me in an antiperspirant is a minimum of 20%. (22% is better, and 25% is best.) There used to be several products that met this description; however, in the last few years, I've noticed that the percentage of this ingredient has been slowly creeping downward, so that products that used to work for me no longer do. Dove is a good example of this; it used to have 22% and now, its most recent product has 14% AZTG. It's not the only brand that has done so; Secret now has much less AZTG and so does Lady Mitchum. Even the "strongest" clinical strength products have a maximum of 20%.
In addition to this curious trend, in the last year or so I've noticed that some products have eliminated the percentage info for this ingredient altogether. It's not on the label anywhere: Nivea, Soft & Dri, and some lines of Degree are examples of products that have done this.
I checked men's antiperspirants, and the same trends apply.
What is behind this? I know that the supposed links between aluminum in antiperspirants and cancer have now been debunked (see here), so I'm going to assume it's not for any health concerns. But I'm getting frustrated, because it's getting more and more difficult to find an antiperspirant that works. And now that the % info is being eliminated altogether, it's a total crapshoot for me to predict whether a product's going to work for me or not.
[I'm in Canada, so I don't know if that makes a difference. I've never noticed a major difference in antiperspirant brands or in labelling, when buying AP in the US.]
[On re-reading this I realize I come across as obsessed with antiperspirants, but oh well. I think about it a lot, I guess, partly because I tend to sweat when I teach, and the last thing I want is for my students to be staring at damp/stinky circles under my arms, which is what happens when an AP fails!]
Hello, I am one of those people who needs to use actual antiperspirant, not deodorant, in order to achieve a level of non-stinkiness I'm comfortable with. I've tried many aluminum-free products with pretty much zero success.
I have, through trial and error, discovered that the optimal percentage of aluminium zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly that works for me in an antiperspirant is a minimum of 20%. (22% is better, and 25% is best.) There used to be several products that met this description; however, in the last few years, I've noticed that the percentage of this ingredient has been slowly creeping downward, so that products that used to work for me no longer do. Dove is a good example of this; it used to have 22% and now, its most recent product has 14% AZTG. It's not the only brand that has done so; Secret now has much less AZTG and so does Lady Mitchum. Even the "strongest" clinical strength products have a maximum of 20%.
In addition to this curious trend, in the last year or so I've noticed that some products have eliminated the percentage info for this ingredient altogether. It's not on the label anywhere: Nivea, Soft & Dri, and some lines of Degree are examples of products that have done this.
I checked men's antiperspirants, and the same trends apply.
What is behind this? I know that the supposed links between aluminum in antiperspirants and cancer have now been debunked (see here), so I'm going to assume it's not for any health concerns. But I'm getting frustrated, because it's getting more and more difficult to find an antiperspirant that works. And now that the % info is being eliminated altogether, it's a total crapshoot for me to predict whether a product's going to work for me or not.
[I'm in Canada, so I don't know if that makes a difference. I've never noticed a major difference in antiperspirant brands or in labelling, when buying AP in the US.]
[On re-reading this I realize I come across as obsessed with antiperspirants, but oh well. I think about it a lot, I guess, partly because I tend to sweat when I teach, and the last thing I want is for my students to be staring at damp/stinky circles under my arms, which is what happens when an AP fails!]
^With the implied conclusion of "maybe my deodorant plight is more common than I thought, which has lead to deodorant companies' lowering of AZTG?"
posted by Stephanie Duy at 1:44 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by Stephanie Duy at 1:44 PM on July 11, 2011
Best answer: I've read (possibly crazy person) speculation about the link between AZTG and Alzheimer's. Even if there's no link, if there's rumors about that, brands might be trying to downplay that ingredient or seek alternatives.
posted by dismas at 1:44 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by dismas at 1:44 PM on July 11, 2011
Best answer: It may not be for health concerns, but it's probably for "health concerns". The news tells you when something might cause cancer. Very rarely do they come back on to say, "oh hey, oops, no cancer." I know people who refuse to use antiperspirant because of the cancer "risk". If you make it seem like your product is less risky than other brands, people will buy yours. So that would be my guess.
For what it's worth, the regular old, non-clinical Secret that I use lists 19%, which is higher than anything else I've seen (though I haven't really been searching). My boyfriend's made-for-a-MAN stuff only has 16%.
posted by phunniemee at 1:45 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, the regular old, non-clinical Secret that I use lists 19%, which is higher than anything else I've seen (though I haven't really been searching). My boyfriend's made-for-a-MAN stuff only has 16%.
posted by phunniemee at 1:45 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think a lot of this has to do with the perceived "link" between Alzheimers and aluminum.
You can ask your Doctor for a prescription strength deodorant that will be chock full of aluminium. I've used this and the best part is that the antiperspirants are so strong, you don't have to use them for long at all.
posted by ejazen at 1:47 PM on July 11, 2011
You can ask your Doctor for a prescription strength deodorant that will be chock full of aluminium. I've used this and the best part is that the antiperspirants are so strong, you don't have to use them for long at all.
posted by ejazen at 1:47 PM on July 11, 2011
For men's deodorants I noticed with one brand (I wanna say Gillette Men's, but I'm not positive) that they dropped the AZTG percentage on the regular, and the original regular became "prescription strength." Of course, the prescription strength was still only like 18-20%.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 1:49 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by Mister Fabulous at 1:49 PM on July 11, 2011
Best answer: It's probably not because of any health concerns. It's because it's cheaper to use less of the active ingredient. Use less of the probably expensive AZTG, charge the same amount, make more money.
posted by zsazsa at 1:50 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by zsazsa at 1:50 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly is what makes pit stains turn yellow.
People don't like yellow pit stains.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:58 PM on July 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
People don't like yellow pit stains.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:58 PM on July 11, 2011 [3 favorites]
It's probably not because of any health concerns. It's because it's cheaper to use less of the active ingredient. Use less of the probably expensive AZTG, charge the same amount, make more money.
And then roll out a "new" product with the old formula, and call it "clinical strength" and charge more money for it.
(I have the same problem, and had to switch to the clinical strength formulas. Try those.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:59 PM on July 11, 2011
And then roll out a "new" product with the old formula, and call it "clinical strength" and charge more money for it.
(I have the same problem, and had to switch to the clinical strength formulas. Try those.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:59 PM on July 11, 2011
Aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex gly is what makes pit stains turn yellow.
Cite? Genuinely curious.
posted by hermitosis at 2:02 PM on July 11, 2011
Cite? Genuinely curious.
posted by hermitosis at 2:02 PM on July 11, 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_zirconium_tetrachlorohydrex_gly#Clothing_stains
posted by Sys Rq at 2:04 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Sys Rq at 2:04 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, god, yeah, those miserable stains. I had to throw out two or three white t-shirts because of them.
posted by griphus at 2:07 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by griphus at 2:07 PM on July 11, 2011
Best answer: Use Certain-Dri (you can buy this over the counter). It has 25% aluminum sesquichlorohydrate, which is stronger than the tetrachlorohydrex that's in the clinical strength formulas. It prevented me from dying of embarrassment years ago, when I had damp underarm circles almost every time I left the house, regardless of weather, showering, or how recently I'd applied any kind of antiperspirant.
5 Day Deodorant Pads are also a decent alternative. Both this and the Certain-Dri are applied at night and you shouldn't need to use anything else in the morning, so the staining shouldn't be an issue. (Caveat: I do not wear white shirts at all, so I can't say for 100% certain that these products absolutely don't cause the yellow stains.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:13 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
5 Day Deodorant Pads are also a decent alternative. Both this and the Certain-Dri are applied at night and you shouldn't need to use anything else in the morning, so the staining shouldn't be an issue. (Caveat: I do not wear white shirts at all, so I can't say for 100% certain that these products absolutely don't cause the yellow stains.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 2:13 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
zsazsa writes "Use less of the probably expensive AZTG, charge the same amount, make more money."
This seems likely. And FYI Mitchum unscented is 20%.
posted by Mitheral at 2:22 PM on July 11, 2011
This seems likely. And FYI Mitchum unscented is 20%.
posted by Mitheral at 2:22 PM on July 11, 2011
certain-dri for reals changed my life. no more sweat, no more stains, no worrying about anything ever again. stop messing around and buy some!
posted by lia at 3:06 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by lia at 3:06 PM on July 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! You've all provided very plausible explanations--I marked as "best" the ones that hadn't occurred to me at all. Now I realize what may have caused the sad yellowing of some of my shirts. Hmm. Also, I may just have to suck it up and try the Certain-Dri--sounds like a good option.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:39 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:39 PM on July 11, 2011
Arrid Extra Dry Clear Gel, which I use, has 20 percent AZTG. I haven't had a lot of problems with shirts turning yellow, either; I used to have a lot more problems with the solid version. I have had dark shirts occasionally develop a whitish area under the armpits from some sort of buildup, but that's only happened on shirts I've worn often for a long time. And I get an instant rash from women's Secret deodorant and men's Old Spice deodorant, but I haven't had that problem with Arrid.
posted by limeonaire at 4:43 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by limeonaire at 4:43 PM on July 11, 2011
This is not an answer but I want to say thanks because I have been wondering lately why the antiperspirant I have been using for years no longer seems to work! I am going to start looking at the labels now too.
posted by bquarters at 8:01 PM on July 11, 2011
posted by bquarters at 8:01 PM on July 11, 2011
If you're interested in that "perceived link" between aluminum and Alzheimer's, have a lookee here.
posted by Paris Elk at 3:51 AM on July 14, 2011
posted by Paris Elk at 3:51 AM on July 14, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Stephanie Duy at 1:40 PM on July 11, 2011 [2 favorites]