Product Check

The personal care product that I decided to research was my Old Spice Smooth Blast Deodorant. Basically, it's ingredient list on the package was a jumble of chemicals (and water):

• Dipropylene Glycol
• Water
• Propylene Glycol
• Sodium Stearate
• Fragrance
• PPG - 3 Myristyl Ether
• Tetrasodium EDTA
• Violet 2
• Green 6 

Looking up the product on EWG's database though only produced ingredients that were not found on my list. The Highest Concerns EWG listed were irritation, organ system toxicity, and persistence and bioaccumulation; the only moderate concern was that of contamination; there was low concern for cancer implications, ecotoxicology, endocrine disruption, and neurotoxicity. Overall, the deodorant has a Low-Moderate hazard potential, scoring a 3.

It doesn't seem like there are any chemicals in the deodorant that Okala mentions in Ch. 15.

I decided to research Violet 2 further, as I've always found the naming of dyes interesting (Red 40? Why 40?) On EWG, Violet 2 has a score ranging from 2-5 (depending on usage). Violet 2 is an FDA-approved synthetic dye made from petroleum sources and used in cosmetic products. There is Moderate concern for its use because of possible organ system toxicity and limited evidence linking it to cancer. The dye is only approved for external application to the body, with the exception being lip and eye care products due to the risk of the dye entering the body. That's probably one of the reasons why my deodorant warns me "Do not apply to broken skin" on the back of the label.

Honestly, I'll probably still keep using this deodorant, at least as long as I still have some of it left. The next time I go shopping for deodorant though, I probably will at least take a peek at the labels of a few of my options and keep a little of what I've learned about chemical toxicity in mind when making my choice.