Its interesting the things we take for granted until something goes wrong. I've been having irritations with my Nivea deodorant. The only other time I've experienced this was when I used one of the Adidas deos but stopped using it since then. Considering that I usually buy more than one of these things in case I need to travel or so I don't buy the same thing all the time I'm not sure what to do with it.
I've been going through the chemical contents of the product to see who the culprit is and I'm still not sure if its one of them or a combination of them but some definitely raise red flags.
Citral - Likely suspect
Wikipedia says its an aroma compound used in perfumery products for its citrus effect. Should be avoided by people with perfume allergy.
Now I don't think I have perfume allergy but this Citral could be bad for me. My previous can of deo didn't have Citral.
Geraniol - Also a likely suspect
This one is a monoterpenoid and an alcohol, used in flavours such as peach, plum, lime, orange and a 1994 report from tobacco companies say its one of the 599 additives they put in cigarettes to improve their flavour. Again should be avoided by people with perfume allergy.
Linalool - This could well be the bad boy
Basically an alcohol, used for its floral scent. Known to cause allergic reactions such as eczema in susceptible individuals. More info.
Limonene - Not innocent
Has strong smell of oranges, known to be a skin and respiratory irritant. {Thats why I always sneeze after using the deo}
Coumarin - A different kind of bad
Used as an anti-coagulant in the pharma industry, has appetite suppressing properties but if you're thinking of trying some, it has a bitter taste. Moderately toxic to livers and kidneys, sometimes used as pesticides because they're toxic to rodents.
And then there's Butylphenyl Methylpropional which also causes allergies.
I did a search and found out that most companies have products for people with sensitive skin. There was an ask.yahoo answer that suggested using those products but sure enough i'll be looking closely at the chemical contents of the products I buy from now on.
-ONWARD