Someone recently posted a comment about this, and aluminum being linked to cancer (and I think most of us remember the titanium dioxide scare), and also the safety of parabens.  So I decided -again- to do the research for my readers.

Where shall we start?  Let’s start with Titanium Dioxide, since it was the first scare to come about.

Titanium dioxide is a chemical compound (again, there’s a lot of these in cosmetics, then again water is also a chemical compound!) found in deodorants giving them their white color.  It’s also a sunscreen to help protect your delicate skin from the sun’s harmful rays.  It is important to know what the very specific evidence was leading titanium dioxide to be a carcinogen.

Inhalation.

“With such widespread use of titanium dioxide, it is important to understand that the IARC conclusions are based on very specific evidence. This evidence showed that high concentrations of pigment-grade (powdered) and ultrafine titanium dioxide dust caused respiratory tract cancer in rats exposed by inhalation and intratracheal instillation*. The series of biological events or steps that produce the rat lung cancers (e.g. particle deposition, impaired lung clearance, cell injury, fibrosis, mutations and ultimately cancer) have also been seen in people working in dusty environments. Therefore, the observations of cancer in animals were considered, by IARC, as relevant to people doing jobs with exposures to titanium dioxide dust. For example, titanium dioxide production workers may be exposed to high dust concentrations during packing, milling, site cleaning and maintenance, if there are insufficient dust control measures in place. However, it should be noted that the human studies conducted so far do not suggest an association between occupational exposure to titanium dioxide and an increased risk for cancer.”  (1)

Unless you’re powdering your deodorant and inhaling it, you should be completely fine with titanium dioxide.  Again, it’s the workers who are milling and creating this chemical compound that are exposed to the hazard.  It is listed as a safe pigment, with no known adverse effects.  It is not listed as a carcinogen, mutagen, teratogen, comedogen, toxin or as a trigger for contact dermatitis in any other safety regulatory publications beside the NIOSH (Antczak, 2001; Physical & Theoretical Chemical Laboratory, Oxford University respectively). It is reasonable to conclude then, that titanium dioxide is not a cancer-causing substance and is generally safe for use in foods, drugs, paints and cosmetics. (2)

The time to worry about titanium dioxide is when it is in micronized pigments in sunscreens.  If the size is small enough, it can penetrate the cells and cause DNA damage, however, since titanium dioxide is considered a pigment and colorization, the FDA does have to approve it (along with any other color additives; for example if you see on a cosmetic it is “safe for eye use only” it was most likely only tested on that area).

These are what a product goes through for testing (and they test each and every batch using pigment):

• Approval. All color additives used in cosmetics (or any other FDA-regulated product) must be approved by FDA. There must be a regulation specifically addressing a substance’s use as a color additive, specifications, and restrictions.
• Certification. In addition to approval, a number of color additives must be batch certified by FDA if they are to be used in cosmetics (or any other FDA-regulated product) marketed in the U.S.
• Identity and specifications. All color additives must meet the requirements for identity and specifications stated in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
• Use and restrictions. Color additives may be used only for the intended uses stated in the regulations that pertain to them. The regulations also specify other restrictions for certain colors, such as the maximum permissible concentration in the finished product.(3)

Next, let’s move onto aluminum, specifically in the use of anti-perspirants and deodorants (no, they are not the same!).

In 2002, the results of a study looking for a relationship between breast cancer and underarm antiperspirants/deodorants were reported. This study did not show any increased risk for breast cancer in women who reported using an underarm antiperspirant or deodorant. The results also showed no increased breast cancer risk for women who reported using a blade (nonelectric) razor and an underarm antiperspirant or deodorant, or for women who reported using an underarm antiperspirant or deodorant within 1 hour of shaving with a blade razor. These conclusions were based on interviews with 813 women with breast cancer and 793 women with no history of breast cancer.

Findings from a different study examining the frequency of underarm shaving and antiperspirant/deodorant use among 437 breast cancer survivors were released in 2003. This study found that the age of breast cancer diagnosis was significantly earlier in women who used these products and shaved their underarms more frequently. Furthermore, women who began both of these underarm hygiene habits before 16 years of age were diagnosed with breast cancer at an earlier age than those who began these habits later. While these results suggest that underarm shaving with the use of antiperspirants/deodorants may be related to breast cancer, it does not demonstrate a conclusive link between these underarm hygiene habits and breast cancer.

In 2006, researchers examined antiperspirant use and other factors among 54 women with breast cancer and 50 women without breast cancer. The study found no association between antiperspirant use and the risk of breast cancer; however, family history and the use of oral contraceptives were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.  (4) <–Please visit that source of Cancer.gov for more information, and more sources.  I figured a cancer website would be the best to accurately give you information, since, well, that’s what they deal with!

“According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the breast cancer-antiperspirant myth first appeared in the form of an e-mail in the 1990s, and continues to resurface and recirculate about every year or so. The false information suggests that antiperspirants contain harmful substances, which can be absorbed through the skin or can enter the body near the breasts through nicks in the skin caused by shaving. The e-mails also suggested that antiperspirants keep a person from “sweating out toxins,” resulting in the spread of cancer-causing toxins via the lymph nodes.

But the NCI says that no existing scientific or medical evidence links the use of underarm antiperspirants or deodorants to the subsequent development of breast cancer. The FDA, the Mayo Clinic, the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association agree. Razor nicks may increase the risk of skin infection, but not cancer.

According to the ACS, sweat glands are not connected to the lymph nodes. Most cancer-causing substances are removed by the kidneys, are released through urine or by the liver, and are eliminated with feces. The ACS says that lymph nodes may help to clear some toxins from the body, but they do not release these toxins through sweating. Sweat is not a significant route for eliminating toxins from the body.

And a study of 813 women with breast cancer and 703 women with no history of breast cancer, published in the October 2002 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that antiperspirants do not cause breast cancer.

Some speculate that the myth could have been started by women being told not to wear antiperspirants or deodorants before a mammogram. They were told this, not for safety reasons, but because residue from these products appearing in the X-ray is often mistaken for an abnormality in the breast.” (5)

There’s no conclusive evidence to show that these women are more likely to get breast cancer.  If aluminum somehow soaked in through skin, I would imagine there would be more cancer and alzheimer’s (another thing said to be caused by aluminum, read below) in people who work with aluminum and aluminum compounds on a regular basis — such as chefs, airplane mechanics, aluminum siding salesmen, etc.  Let’s remember that deodorants and antiperspirants are not listed as a cosmetic, but listed as an over the counter drug, meaning that the FDA does actually keep track of this product (read the #5 source), same as they do with things like Ex-Lax, or Tylenol, or Advil.

There’s always the alzheimer’s question as well, why do alzheimers patients have higher levels of aluminum in their brains than we who do not have alzheimer’s do?  It is not because the aluminum compounds accumulating time damage the cells.  It’s because the cells affected by alzheimer’s are unable to fight off and rid itself of toxins like the rest of our bodies can.

If you all have any other questions, do not hesitate to comment and contact me — I will do my best to obtain the information for you!  Now, I leave you with this sweet quiz provided by the FDA about cosmetics, and how much do we really know!  I passed the quiz with flying colors!  Will you?