Ökotest: Seven deodorant creams failed

A total of two-thirds of the deodorant creams tested were found to be “good” or “very good” in a test by the magazine “Ökotest”. However, seven products failed as “unsatisfactory”. In particular, ingredients such as formaldehyde splitters, silver chloride and the silicone oil siloxane D4, which is classified as “probably harmful to fertility”, both of which only slowly degrade in nature, caused negative reviews, the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor informed.

The results in detail:

Antiperspirants “insufficient”

However, 20 of the tested products scored “good” or “very good”. On closer inspection, two groups of creams can be distinguished: the newcomers with predominantly natural ingredients eliminate odors primarily with sodium bicarbonate. In addition to its well-known deodorizing effect on the skin, this substance also ensures fluffy cakes in baking powder. Almost all creams in this group are impressive because of their ingredients, only one product was rated “satisfactory” because of allergenic fragrances.

The deodorant creams that failed were without exception antiperspirants. These reduce sweating by constricting the sweat glands with the help of aluminum salts. According to the Chamber of Labor, aluminum is a controversial ingredient because of its neurotoxic properties and because it is stored in the brain, bones and organs.

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Aluminum is not the problem

Although the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment backtracked in 2020 with its warning about aluminum in deodorants, the problem remains that a great deal of aluminum is ingested through food and drinking water anyway. According to the Chamber of Labor, additional exposure to antiperspirants should therefore be avoided.

However, the aluminum contained was not the decisive factor for the poor performance: the antiperspirants are therefore full of problematic substances. Formaldehyde releasers can release highly allergenic formaldehyde over time, antibacterial silver chloride harbors the risk of resistance developing and silicone oils can only be broken down very slowly in nature. The silicone oil cyclopentanesiloxane is even stated as the main active ingredient in two products. As if that wasn’t enough, these two creams also contained an impurity that was classified as “probably harmful to fertility”.

However, the creams have a number of advantages over deodorant sprays: They can be applied with pinpoint accuracy, which leads to less packaging waste. They are also more convenient for on the go and soothing even on freshly shaved skin because they contain ingredients such as shea butter and coconut oil instead of alcohol. However, you should not expect miracles when it comes to the effect: Although the effect of some products lasts up to 24 hours, on average the smell of sweat is only nine percent less than without deodorant.

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