Founded some 50 years ago by Tom and Kate Chappell, today it may be the best known brand within the personal hygiene category. In addition, there are several other lesser known natural ingredients we would recommend avoiding that are commonly found in this category. Lavender essential oil

So much so that it has been linked to gynecomastia (breast tissue growth) in teenage males. That’s according to a study done by researchers from the NIH and University of Colorado. ( 1) They still strive to make products with natural ingredients that are usually vegan, however that doesn’t necessarily mean everything inside is the good stuff. Does Tom’s of Maine deodorant have aluminum? Given the many unknown safety concerns about hops and its effects on endocrinology, you will want to avoid Tom’s of Main deodorants which contain it. Maybe for a post-menopausal woman wanting phytoestrogen therapy it’s not bad, but for men, it is almost never desirable!

To demonstrate just how potent of a phytoestrogen lavender oil is, they measured its biological effect versus actual estrogen (estradiol) in cultured human cells: Yes, the same hops that is in beer. This may be one of the reasons for man boobs jokingly being associated with heavy beer drinkers. Perhaps there is some truth to that. Generally speaking, Tom’s is a good deodorant which avoids artificial ingredients and scents. However, safety concerns linger over their versions containing aluminum, as well as natural phytoestrogens.

That’s thanks to Colgate-Palmolive, who bought them out in 2006. Given Colgate’s size and distribution, you’ll find it everywhere. Out of the 32 varieties of deodorant and antiperspirant that Tom’s of Maine makes, 25 are aluminum-free. The 5 varieties which contain aluminum chlorohydrate are antiperspirants. Those consist of Coconut Lavender, Natural Powder, and Fresh Meadow for women, as well as Mountain Spring and North Woods for men. Similar to our recent piece on Jason toothpaste and tea tree oil, a number of Tom’s deodorants for women contain lavender oil. The good news for beer drinkers is that the 8-prenylnaringenin in hops, which is one of the better known phytoestrogens in hops, is only found in low levels in beer. ( 2)