Why Aluminum Free Scares Me

I want to start this out by saying that I know this can be a touchy topic so keep in mind this is just how I feel from my own personal experiences. Up until I started watching beauty guru's on YouTube, I honestly never thought twice about antiperspirant/deodorant and its side effects or any bodily harm. Since last year, I started getting samples or full sized aluminum free deodorants and I only ever used them in correlation with aluminum deodorants so I wanted to try them by theirself. A few weeks ago I decided to "purge" (which I looked up and found it wasn't a possible thing) my armpit pores. There was a point where no matter how much scrubbing I did, my deodorant never came off in the shower. At first I thought it might have been my body wash/loofah combo so I changed it up and used a rag and a sudsier wash with no luck. I was even sweating more and I figured something had to be done. So with trial and error, I started to use witch hazel and go deodorant free until I could get my armpits in better shape. I wasn't sweating as much, my pores looked much better and I was even getting a closer shave. After research, I realize now that witch hazel isn't the best for you but that's where trial and error comes in. I started using deodorant with zero aluminum and was actually really happy with my results for the first week which was a surprise considering I had heard people break out when they first make the switch. My second week came around and I started getting a rash which spiraled out of control. My body went into freak out overload and I had bumps under my armpits, down my sides and all the way to my hips. My bumps quickly became agitated as I started taking 2 baths a day instead of a shower (typically I take quick showers instead) and the issue felt like it got worse by the hour. After about 2 days, my bumps became infected and I now had one on my side and one right above my armpit. I battled through the pain and draining them and they finally started getting better and shrinking. However, the bump on my side is still there and the skin around it is dried out and still really hurts when I lay on that side. My other bumps which were small have also started growing in size and are becoming painful. I keep a clean atmosphere with everything around me clean so it doesn't make sense. The only thing I changed was my antiperspirant/deodorant (aluminum free) step in my routine. I'm back to using aluminum because I'm afraid of how much worse I could get and I don't feel it's worth it anymore. In conclusion, do your research and make an informed decision. Everything you put in or on your body can have a positive or negative effect.