Deodorants & antiperspirants – INCI ingredient analysis

Deodorants and antiperspirants are applied to clean, dry underarms, usually once a day. The two terms are not interchangeable: a deodorant addresses odour, typically through fragrance and ingredients that act on odour formation, while an antiperspirant also contains aluminium salts intended to reduce perspiration. Many products combine both functions and say so on the pack.

The ingredient that defines an antiperspirant is an aluminium salt such as ALUMINUM CHLOROHYDRATE, ALUMINUM SESQUICHLOROHYDRATE or ALUMINUM ZIRCONIUM TETRACHLOROHYDREX GLY. Aluminium-free deodorants instead use ingredients such as TRIETHYL CITRATE, ZINC RICINOLEATE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN or SODIUM BICARBONATE, together with ALCOHOL DENAT. and PARFUM. Sticks are based on STEARYL ALCOHOL or waxes, roll-ons on water thickened with gums.

Aerosol sprays usually begin with BUTANE, ISOBUTANE and PROPANE, because the propellant makes up most of the can's contents; the cans also carry flammability warnings. Aluminium zirconium complexes are restricted in Annex III, which sets conditions for their use and excludes them from aerosol dispensers. Alum crystals appear as POTASSIUM ALUM or AMMONIUM ALUM, which are aluminium salts too.