My deodorant has freaking POISON in it!?

[Greg the dogsitter]

One of the cats was licking my armpit (can you blame them?) last night. Just for kicks, I checked the label on my deodorant this evening; it contains aluminum zircoinium tetrachlorohydrex gly, and says to contact a Poison Control Center right away if the stuff is swallowed.

Are you ******* kidding me!?

[BigGuynRusty]

If you're still fighting jock itch, don't let them continue licking them 'nads.

BGnR
Don't forget them 'roids either!

[M A V I C]

Oh no Greg, don't get me started on this. ARGH... too late...

A couple weeks ago I asked my wife why she puts stuff on her face at night, before she goes to bed, right after she washes her face. It didn't make sense to me to be putting more gunk on your face after you just washed it.

She's had medical training and knows you can't create anything but short-term gains from treating skin from the outside. She said it was some moisturizer that she got at Whole Foods, says 100% organic, 100% non-toxic...

So she does some research on it and finds out those claims aren't true. She started researching all her other "stuff" and found that she didn't have a thing that didn't contain chemicals that are linked to things like, oh, say, CANCER.

Call me a fool, but I had no clue that there are absolutely NO regulations on cosmetics (shampoo, deodorant ...) NONE. Her contact lens solution has a large percentage of a certain chemical which leads to blindness. They can pretty much put whatever they want in these things.

This is why they do animal testing... because they are using stuff they know is harmful, they just gotta make sure the short-term reactions aren't noticeable. Long-term they don't care about it because, well, they don't have to.

Start looking up the ingredients in the rest of your supplies. Not just the ones on the container, but there are lists of ingredients that aren't on there (they don't have to put all of them on there.) There's some site... I forget what it's called... my wife found it the other day. Has a huge breakdown of what's in what and what it does to you. There are a few companies which supply things like deodorant that aren't poisons.

Apparently a few days after my wife found it, it was mentioned on Opera.

[Todd's keyboard]

Aaack! Is lip balm safe?

Todd's chapped keyboard

[MacMagus]

[quote Todd's keyboard]Aaack! Is lip balm safe?

Todd's chapped keyboard
Apparently not:

Chapstick:
Padimate O, White petrolatum, arachidyl propionate, camphor, cetyl alcohol, D&C red no. 6 barium lake, FD&C yellow no. 5 aluminum lake, fragrance, isopropyl lanolate, isopropyl myristate, lanolin, light mineral oil, methylparaben, octyldodecanol, oleyl alcohol, phenyl methicone, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, waxes

http://www.health-report.co.uk/harmful_t...using.html

Petrolatum, also known as mineral oil jelly, liquid vaseline, paraffinum, liquidum and baby oil. Can cause photosensitivity and strips the natural oils from the skin causing chapping and dryness, also premature ageing. Prevents elimination of toxins, can cause acne and other disorders.

Padimate-O also known as octyl dimethyl, PABA is found mostly in sunscreens. Like DEA, a nitrosamine-forming agent. There is concern that the energy absorbed by this sunscreen is then turned into free radicals, which may actually increase the risk of skin cancer.

I didn't bother looking up the inactive ingredients.

[vision63]

I think aluminum zircoinium tetrachlorohydrex gly is only in antiperspirant. I only use deodorant for that reason.

[M A V I C]

Depends on the brand:
http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep/sear...perpage=10&stype=brands&category=Lip+Balm%2FTreatment&sort=&showall=1

For one brand -
Ingredients: (from retailer or packaging) Aqua (Water), Polyethylene, Talc, Dimethicone Copolyol, Sorbitol, Cetyl Octanoate, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, PEG-8 Beeswax, Propylene Glycol, Steareth 2, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Steareth-21, Cholesteryl/Behenyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Lactate, Lactic Acid, PVP/Eicosence Copolymer, C9-15 Fluoroalcohol Phosphates, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan), Xanthan Gum, Dimethicone, Methylparaben, Salicylic Acid, Behenyl Alcohol, BHT, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Chlorexidine Digluconate, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit, Retinyl Palmitate, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sterol

Cancer hazard
Reproductive/developmental toxicity
Sunburn/skin cancer risk
Estrogenic chemicals and other endocrine disruptors
Irritants - eye, skin, or lungs
Immune system toxicants (allergies, sensitization)
Safety limits on use/purity/manufacturing
Classified as toxic
Wildlife/environmental toxicity
Ingredient(s) not assessed for safety

Edit: My wife says Burt's Bee's lip balm is safe.

[M A V I C]

[quote vision63]I think aluminum zircoinium tetrachlorohydrex gly is only in antiperspirant. I only use deodorant for that reason.
Yeah, I recall hearing something similar to that. Sweating is a natural way your body releases toxins. Trying to prevent that isn't a good thing. If there's a sweating problem, there are other ways to handle it rather than trying to mask it or prevent its release.

[volcs0]

Everything in moderation... can't say that enough.

Sure - Nutrasweet causes cancer - just eat a few pounds of it a day.

When they test products for carcinogenesis, they give animals the equivalent of pounds of the material at once for months on end. And if one animal develops cancer, they have to report it.

Better to eat well, wear your seatbelt and don't smoke. I wouldn't worry about the lip balm.

And, I'm an oncologist...

[MacMagus]

> Sure - Nutrasweet causes cancer - just eat a few pounds of it a day.

Maybe not all that much.
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/8711/8711.pdf [pdf]