I don't think of myself as having mulitple chemical sensitivity, but I'm near an Axe wearer

[BurtWorm]

and I feel like I'm going to pass out. How do I know this is Axe? Because I remember the last time I smelled a sample of it and I had a similar reaction. My eyes are tearing, my throat is tightening, my lips feel like they're about to peel off. In short, it's as though I'm in the middle of a mustard gas attack. Looking on line, I see that that is exactly how people who describe themselves as susceptible to MCS talk about Axe.

I wear deodorant and eau de toilette, so I don't consider myself pro-BO, so to speak. (There was one of those life-style pieces in the NY Times style section a couple of weeks ago about people who've stopped showering, shampooing and rolling on. Anyone see that?) But I'm thinking I wouldn't mind it if the Feds, while they're cracking down on Four Loko, would go after Axe as well. I really think it might be toxic. Does anyone but teenage boys think that shit is sexy? If not, can we start a campaign to disabuse them of that notion?

PS: I'm not even that near the Axe wearer (I almost typed Axe murderer!), and I'm suffering!

[davidinalameda]

1. that crap should be used for chemical warfare

my nephew uses it

I'm odor sensitive and it just crippled me the last time he was here

[BurtWorm]

6. The chemicals listed in it are literally nauseating

http://dontmesswithmcs.blogspot.com/2009/10/chemicals-claim-another-victim-kelly.html

Axe body spray ingredients include:

* Isobutane, commonly used in refrigerators and as an aerosol propellant. It's highly flammable, as is just about everything else in Axe. It's most likely used here as a dehydrating agent so a persons skin doesn't stay wet. Axe is probably applied immediately before a person gets dressed, so they want it to dry as quickly as possible so the product doesn't stain any garments or cause them to stick.
* Alcohol Denat. Denat is added to the alcohol to make it taste bad so people don't drink it. It also keeps the body spray from clumping together and foaming up. And since it's basically alcohol, it also works as a dehydrating agent.
* Hydrofluorocarbon 152a, used in pesticides so frequently you can read all about it on pesticide and chemical safety web sites. It's most likely used as a propellant in Axe.
* Triethyl Citrate, another anti-foaming agent.
* Isopropyl Myristate, a dehydrating agent for the spray, but one so effective it's also used to kill lice.
* Fragrance, undefined, so who knows what is really in there. Given the other ingredients in Axe I sincerely doubt it's anything good.
* Butane, a liquefied gas that is also highly flammable and sees use in refrigerators. Butane is proven to cause serious medical problems. It's not suspected, it's been proven....and it's in Axe body spray. It is also a propellant, but with the cooling effect butane and the other refrigerants used in Axe have, I wonder if the manufacturers want it to have a cool sensation when sprayed on the skin.
* Propane, another flammable/propellant/refrigerant. Yes, it's the same stuff people use to fire up their barbecue grills with.

[Canuckistanian]

19. It's a wonder that the BATF doesn't ban it

Butane? Isobutane? Propane? Alcohol?

Sounds like the ingredients for a bomb.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

21. Alcohol is normal in deodorants. The others... not so much. -nt

[truedelphi]

25. Sorry about your plight. And yes, in the crazy world known as our government,

(And it sounds like I am making this up but I am not:)

For whatever reason, Personal Care Products are basically unregulated.

Pesticides are regulated, somewhat.

So if the government was asked to oversee the application by the company producing Axe for a license to sell it over the counter as a pesticide, and the manufacturer revealed all these ingredients, it is likely the product wouldn't get its license! But it is personal care, so, so what!?!

Look at any product now sitting in your bathroom. Note the word "Quaternium," which means formaldehyde. Something like 80 percent of all commercial hair products contain this formaldehyde. And formaldehyde is something that should be avoided by anyone with fibromyalgia, and MS, and Parkinson's.

Formaldehyde is also a major carcinogen, so toxic that it is in one of the top spots on Prop 65's list here in California.

But it is contained in many shampoos, and hair mousse and styling gel products.

And you are right to point out all the other nasties that personal care products carry.

[BurtWorm]

37. You make an extraordinarily good point there.

:wtf:

[eppur_se_muova]

46. Actually, "quaternium" refers to many different quaternary ammonium salts ...

quaternium-15, specifically, is a formaldehyde releaser. Others are not; this does not mean that they are necessarily harmless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternium-15

I can't find a good online list, and I don't have the Merck Index handy -- https://www.medicinescomplete.com/mc/merck/current/login.htm?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medicinescomplete.com%2Fmc%2Fmerck%2F2010%2F08027.htm for subscribers -- maybe some info in this book would be useful? :shrug:

http://books.google.com/books?id=pKrBNbkE2c0C&pg=PA858&lpg=PA858&dq=quaternium+definition&source=bl&ots=4CpLCrWjbI&sig=AQ_gVIdMEjRIr5HzKRyhSGE015E&hl=en&ei=HYHlTIClEYSClAe-tLz0Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCsQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=quaternium%20definition&f=false

[Initech]

40. I bet some combo of Axe Body Spray and Monster Energy Drink would be found under volatile chemicals.

Should be on the list of banned substances.

[MineralMan]

2. Just say, "Dude...you reek!" to the teenagers.

If that doesn't work, a good hosing down with the nearest fire hose should do the trick. Just "Break Glass in Case of Emergency" and have at 'em.

[kick-ass-bob]

7. What is wrong with good ol' fashioned

deodorant?

I get a face full of Axe cloud every morning. :(

[csziggy]

45. You want to influence young men? Pay an attractive young woman

To tell them, "Whoa, what is that? It REEKS!"

[JackintheGreen]

3. I prefer the Shower Hammer

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-make-showering-awesome-again.html

[renate]

42. that link is WELL worth clicking on

Truly truly funny--thanks!

[knitter4democracy]

4. As long as we include Brut as well, I agree.

I have similar reactions around that stuff if it's the right kind, and I teach high school. Many students have similar reactions, and while we know we can't tell kids not to wear perfume or cologne, we've talked about how to lessen it.

[Cirque du So-What]

5. My sons went through an 'Axe' phase

I like to claim some credit, as I would announce 'you steenk!' every time I passed through their noxious cloud.

[lumberjack_jeff]

13. Mine too. That shit sucks. n/t

[704wipes]

39. I think AXE smells like BO

I imagine this was a sick joke. Hey, let's make a deodorant that smells like BO and sell it
to teen age knuckleheads who think they will get the girl with it?

[madrchsod]

8. i prefer british sterling.....

[Ganja Ninja]

9. I have a lot of problems with those plug in scented oil air fresheners.

No matter what scent they all smell the same to me and it isn't pleasant.

[supernova]

10. My SO used Axe body wash

until he started spending more time over at my house and horning in on my Suave ocean spray scent wash.

:rofl:

I tend to prefer more neutral smelling ablutions like that.

[closeupready]

14. I love Suave Ocean Spray fragrance - I use the shampoo.

LOL

[supernova]

17. Revlon used to put out a scent called "Aquamarine"

that my mom loved and used for years. They just stopped the shampoo only in the early 90s I think. I loved that scent too. No reason to mention it except that scents do evoke strong memories.

[Raine]

43. They still make it, it's hard to find but

I get it at the 99Cent Store (I'm in Los Angeles County). I recently just bought two bottles of it, so I know it's available. I love it! :-)

[TriMera]

23. I use that, too! Inexpensive and a very mild, clean smell. n/t

[MadHound]

11. It's not just Axe, but a lot of various scents and perfumes,

I think in part people have forgotten how to apply the stuff, instead of spraying and then walking through the cloud, they just drench themselves in it.

But I have noticed that some of the more recent creations do seem more powerful. My wife is allergic to a number of these scents, and sometimes we simply have to get up and leave, get some fresh air for her, because the idiot ten rows down threw on half a bottle of some crap.

Me, I've always shied away from body scents. Deodorant and soap should do it for almost anybody.

[supernova]

12. You get used to it too

so you start using more soap/perfume/aftershave/ just to be able to smell it.

[TlalocW]

16. More and more people just buy one scent

And their sense of smell quickly gets used to it so they think the perfume is losing its potency so they need to put more on. I worked with a woman who left behind a wall of scent that you literally slammed into even if she hadn't been in the area for five minutes. When I lived in an apartment, I was able to follow the scent trail left by a neighbor down to the parking area. It's ridiculous. I don't wear cologne - partly because it's not my style, but mostly because I'm sure I would do the same thing, and everything else I use - shampoo, body wash, mousse, anti-perspirant is scented, and I figure that's more than enough.

Besides, I'm a ninja. I don't want people to be able to detect me sneaking up on them.

TlalocW

[walldude]

15. C'mon Burt... you have to remember High Karate!

Brut! Old Spice! Jade East! English Leather! Men have been using crappy smelling stuff for decades. Axe is just the new version of all of these oldies but goodies...

[BurtWorm]

18. The scents old men used to wear!

I think formaldehyde was an ingredient in a bunch of those.

[pinboy3niner]

29. Dude, you just nailed my H.S. repertoire, lol!

Except for the Old Spice--that was my dad and his generation. I'd go out on dates absolutely drenched in Brut, Jade East or English Leather, thinking I was "too cool for school," LOL!

It was only much later, after being exposed to someone who was allergic to strong scents, that I began avoiding them.

Today, a whiff of one of those old faves gives me flashbacks of my youth, in all its silliness and glory...

[jberryhill]

31. British Sterling, all the way

Is that stuff still around?

That, and Vitalis, and all you have to do is sit back and let the women flock to you.

What was that "dry look" stuff that replaced Vitalis?

[walldude]

35. Be surprised at what you can find on e-bay..

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=british+sterling&_sacat=See-All-Categories


Vitalis.. and Aqua Velva.. man those take me back...

[jberryhill]

30. There's something about an Aqua Velva man! /nt

[monmouth]

20. I think of my dad everytime I smell Old Spice. Loved it...n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

22. Obligatory Isaiah Mustafa video link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

This thread is now diamonds.

[petronius]

27. How does that dude say all that without laughing? It must be dozens of takes...

:rofl:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

32. It gets better. Read all about it here:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheManYourManCouldSmellLike

[petronius]

48. That is freaking hilarious! I've watched a bunch, and a bunch more to go... Thanks! (nt)

[monmouth]

28. Well that helped make my day! Pelosi still leading, "Worst Persons"

tonight and Isaiah Mustafa "talkin' to me." Many thanks...

[lunatica]

24. There's a reason why so many workplaces tell you not to wear perfume

One person's heavenly scent can make another one puke. I'm definitely grateful we have such a policy at work.

[formercia]

26. Hydrogen Peroxide, soap and Water

If it will work on Skunk odor, it will work on you.

Just apply the common 3% Peroxide solution to the stinky parts a few minutes before showering and you will be amazed how effective it is.

[renate]

41. I didn't know about hydrogen peroxide for either skunk or BO

I have a teenager who's having a hard time dealing with the sudden advent of stinkiness. I'll pass this hint along--thank you!

[formercia]

44. I love Garlic, but it makes my sweat rank.

The peroxide does the trick.

I hope it does the same for your Youngster. :hi:

[LynneSin]

33. Honestly, I wish people would forgo- perfumes and other scented items in the workplace

Nothing is worse then getting on the elevator with a woman (usually it's a woman) who overdose the perfume. I'm in just as bad shape as what you described.

Also, perfume is NOT the way to mask cigarette smoke. OMG that is a killer. Bad enough I'm stuck near someone who smokes but then they try to use perfume to hide the fact that they smoke. It's a nasal nightmare. I have once complained to my boss about someone who did that all the time.

[zen_bohemian]

34. I sneeze when it is sprayed in the room I am in

I always thought it has such a fine mist when it's sprayed that it gets in the air and easily into the lungs. I have some body sprays from bath and body works that does the same number on me as the axe does. My head gets stopped up and I sneeze for about 5 minutes after its sprayed.

[NNN0LHI]

36. Yea, I have a nephew who used to wash his clothes with rocks to avoid fragrances

He sure was a stinky fucker. I couldn't stand getting near him.

Don

[derby378]

38. When I have it, I use Pasha by Cartier

Expensive, yes, but ChickMagic also had high sensitivity to various colognes and perfumes, and Pasha was one of the few men's colognes that she actually liked, let alone could physically tolerate.

[eppur_se_muova]

47. Axe = a fool and his money are soon parted.

End of explanation.

[formercia]

49. It must be the commercials

pushing the limit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_ySo29c-Gg&feature=related