Effect of Occlusion on the Percutaneous Absorption of Aluminium from Antiperspirant Products

Despite the widespread, and generally very safe, use of aluminium-containing antiperspirants there is a paucity of studies examining, in vitro or in vivo, the percutaneous absorption of aluminium and even fewer that examine this phenomena from consumer formulations. Aluminium has been considered to be a neurotoxicant, with suggestions that it may play a role in brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. However, the United Kingdom's Alzhemier's Society currently suggest that, while there might be “circumstantial evidence linking this metal with Alzhemier's disease … no causal relationship has yet been proved”. They further comment that, as evidence for other causes of Alzheimer's disease continues to grow, “a possible link with aluminium seems increasingly unlikely” (Alzheimer's Society, 2013).