On “wellness” websites and in gossip between friends, a strange trend has taken hold: something as banal and every day as swiping on antiperspirant has become as taboo as smoking a pack of cigarettes or lying in a tanning bed. The reason? Aluminum. “Natural” and “aluminum-free” deodorants have begun cropping up everywhere, even in mainstay antiperspirant brands like Secret and Dove.
Below, find out what aluminum is, why the ingredient has become so controversial, and whether or not you should swap out your normal deodorant for a natural one.