What role does aluminium play in skin care products?

Aluminium is a metal used in deodorants called antiperspirants to help inhibit the production of sweat. Aluminium facilitates the contraction of sweat glands and thus helps prevent sweat from penetrating armpits.

Aluminium in the body basically comes from food and drinking water. But in recent years, there has been concern that aluminium from deodorants can be absorbed through the skin and contribute to an aluminium level in the body that can be harmful. This triggered the EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) to initiate a variety of actions to hedge the risk. As a result, they require deodorants with aluminium salts to be labelled with:

"Do not apply to irritated or damaged skin."

Derma's Deo roll-ons with aluminium are approved by Asthma Allergy Nordic and AllergyCertified, who both consider aluminium to be safe to use.

The Nordic Swan Ecolabel has, until recently, allowed aluminium as an ingredient on the basis of no other viable alternatives. However, in their new criteria they have set a maximum limit of 0.6% aluminium in leave-on products until the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) performs an evaluation. After which, The Nordic Swan Ecolabel will determine whether aluminium should be allowed for use in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products without restriction.

There are alternatives to antiperspirants that don’t involve aluminium. Some work by camouflaging sweat odour with the help of perfume. But perfume substances in deodorants are often the cause of allergies. That’s why Asthma Allergy Nordic and AllergyCertified do not allow products to contain perfume. As a result, there is no perfume in our Derma's Deo roll-ons.

Other antiperspirants try to kill the bacteria that causes perspiration odour. To tackle this, brands often use triclosan, which is suspected of being an allergenic, skin irritant, endocrine disruptor and contributing to the development of bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

Asthma Allergy Nordic, AllergyCertified and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel do not permit the usage of triclosan, hence it is not found in any Derma products.