I was sent to a Shopper’s Drugmart on a mission for my guy with one prescribed task…buy some flash tape, whatever that is. Now keep in mind, going to the pharmacy is never a 5 minute pop-in for me…I’m always compelled to scour a few random product labels and suddenly an hour’s gone by. Call it a crazy compulsion. I call it a healthy obsession.

Either way, tonight, I’m kneeling in the deodorant aisle, squinting at fine print to see if Adidas 0% Aluminum and Soft & Dry Aluminum Free Deodorant still contain antibacterial triclosan/triclocarbon (now in the midst of being declared official toxins, though the government refuses to ban them outright), and wouldn’t you know it, check and check. They’ve still got the endocrine disrupting chems in there.

Then I spot Secret Natural Mineral Deodorant with “naturally derived odour protection.” Interesting. What exactly is giving this antiperspirant natural mineral powers, I wonder. Well, flip the product over, peel back the sticker and lo and behold it’s got the exact same aluminum zirconium as every other conventional  antiperspirant. It’s the second ingredient right after environmental menace cyclopentasiloxane, followed by the EXACT same ingredient list as the non-naturally labelled Secret Scent Expressions sitting right next to it on the shelf! The ONLY difference between the “natural mineral” version and the regular one is that it’s got a little calcium carbonate in 10th place on the ingredient list. Wow. That puts it right up there with Degree NatureEffects for being a total poser! Degree NatureEffects, by the way, also has regular Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex Gly, eco toxic Cyclopentasiloxane, endocrine-disrupting preservative BHT, oh and a little corn starch for good measure.

Don’t get duped. This Secret’s out.

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