Aluminium-free, alcohol-free, fragrance-free: how to read a deodorant label

Short answer: turn the pack over. Ingredients are listed roughly from most to least. Here is what to look for:

• Sweat-blocking aluminium salts, such as aluminium chlorohydrate, if you want to avoid antiperspirants
• "Alcohol" or "Alcohol Denat.", if drying alcohol bothers your skin
• "Parfum" or "Fragrance", if you want no added perfume

The front of a pack makes promises. The back tells you what is actually inside.

First: deodorant or antiperspirant?

This is the most important thing on the pack.

• An antiperspirant reduces sweat. It does this by plugging your sweat ducts with aluminium salts.
• A deodorant works on smell. It does not stop sweat.

If the pack says "antiperspirant", or promises to keep you dry for hours, it contains a sweat-blocking salt.

What "aluminium-free" really means

Look for these names. They are the sweat-blocking salts used in antiperspirants:

• Aluminium Chlorohydrate (or Aluminum Chlorohydrate)
• Aluminium Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Gly
• Aluminium Sesquichlorohydrate

An honest note about alum. Deodorants built on fitkari list Potassium Alum. Potassium alum contains aluminium as part of its structure. What it does not do is block sweat ducts. It works on bacteria at the surface of the skin.

So when an alum-based deodorant, including ours, says "aluminium free", it means no sweat-blocking aluminium salts. We would rather you knew exactly what that means. There is more in potassium alum is not aluminium chlorohydrate.

What "alcohol-free" really means

Drying alcohols are the ones to watch if your skin is sensitive:

• Alcohol
• Alcohol Denat.
• Ethanol
• Isopropyl Alcohol

They kill bacteria quickly but evaporate fast and can dry out thin underarm skin, especially after shaving.

Not every "alcohol" is drying. Cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol are fatty alcohols. They are waxy and soft, and they are not the same thing. Glycols such as propanediol are also different. They help hold moisture.

What "fragrance-free" really means

"Parfum" or "Fragrance" on a label can stand for a blend of many scent ingredients, listed as one word. Fragrance is a common cause of skin reactions.

"Unscented" is not the same as "fragrance-free". An unscented product can still contain a masking fragrance to hide the smell of the other ingredients.

Natural oils are still scent. Rose oil, lavender oil and other plant oils add smell, and some skin reacts to them too. They are just listed by their plant names.

Preservatives are not a bad sign

If a deodorant contains water, it needs a preservative to stop bacteria and mould growing in the bottle. Common, well-known ones include Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate.

A water-based product that claims to have no preservative at all should make you ask how it stays clean.

Other names worth knowing

• Sodium Bicarbonate is baking soda. It is common in natural deodorants, and it irritates some people's underarms.
• Parabens are another family of preservatives. Some people prefer to avoid them. We do not use them.

Reading our label, line by line

Here is every ingredient in our spray, and what it does.

Ingredient	What it is	Why it is there
Aqua	Water	The base
Rosa Damascena Flower Water	Rose water	Base, freshness
Potassium Alum	Fitkari	The active. Works on odour-causing bacteria
Glycerin	A humectant	Keeps skin soft, not tight
Propanediol	A glycol	Holds moisture, helps everything mix
Triethyl Citrate	A compound made from citric acid	Common in deodorants, helps control odour
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract	Aloe vera	Soothes the skin
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil	Rose oil	The only scent. A trace amount
Polysorbate 20	A solubiliser	Helps the rose oil mix into water
Sodium Benzoate	A preservative	Keeps the bottle clean
Potassium Sorbate	A preservative	Keeps the bottle clean
Citric Acid	From citrus	Adjusts the pH

That is twelve ingredients. There is no aluminium chlorohydrate, no drying alcohol, no synthetic fragrance and no parabens.

If anything on a label, ours or anyone else's, does not make sense, write to us at support@vuraskincare.in. We will explain it.

Quick answers

Is aluminium-free deodorant better?
It depends on what you want. If you want to stop sweating, you need an antiperspirant. If you want to stop smell and let your body sweat normally, a deodorant is enough.

What deodorant ingredients should I avoid with sensitive skin?
Drying alcohol, "Parfum" or "Fragrance", and baking soda are the usual suspects.

Is potassium alum aluminium-free?
It contains aluminium as part of the compound, but it does not block sweat ducts like antiperspirant salts do.

Try the Vura Mineral Underarm Spray →