The death of aerosols

I wonder if any of you remember the horrific news stories about the damage that aerosols were doing to the ozone layer? I do. It may surprise you to learn that it was On 23 January 1978 that  Sweden banned aerosol sprays.  It  was the first country to do so and, I'm glad to say, things have moved on a fair bit since then.

But, although aerosols with their dangerous propellents have disappeared, the contents of the sprays rather than the carriers they use have not changed that much. I remember when no-one thought twice about zapping flies with ten-second bursts of fly spray, regardless of the insecticide, and even today insect sprays still contain damaging ingredients that can harm not only humans and animals that breathe them in but also the surfaces they touch.

In our field of work, it's the deodorants that concern me. Well-known brands of antiperspirants (still using the good old spray can) contain nasties like paragons and chemicals that stop the natural process of perspiring or sweating. Young people in particular seem to have a need to use mountains of the stuff and take no heed of the harm these antiperspirants do to their skin.

We all need to get rid of toxins, and sweating (perspiring) is the natural way for the skin to rid itself of toxins. Deodorants, however, seek not to stop the action of perspiring but to lessen the odour of the sweat which, in our modern civilisation, we regard as bad.

The use of essential oils in natural deodorants also should be viewed as a benefit. These essential oils act as anti-bacterials and anti-inflammatories, so helping to lessen the risk of harmful infection taking root under the arms or in other places.

So, when choosing a deodorant, consider the benefits to your skin and the fact that they are helping your odd perform what is, after all, a normal function.

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