The Odaban effect is produced by the astringency of the active ingredient, 20% Aluminium Chloride Hexahydrate. The Aluminium in this salt combines strongly with protein in the sweat ducts, overnight, to form an insoluble and inert compound that acts as a partial “poral plug” just below the surface of the skin. Thus, the following morning the treated surfaces can be washed without any loss of Odaban's protection, which remains in place for several days, just below the surface of the skin.  

Radio-isotope tests have shown that the active ingredients of Odaban do not stop the sweat glands from working. The drying effect of Odaban is produced by poral "plugs," formed from a combination of aluminium and skin protein.
It is the partial blocking of the sweat ducts by these poral "plugs" that causes a re-routing of the perspiration to the blood capillaries where it is transported to areas of the skin from which evaporation can take place more easily or to the kidneys for excretion. The net result is to leave the treated skin area dry and without compensatory sweating elsewhere on the body.
The insolubility of the aluminium/protein complex formed is such that there is absolutely no absorption of aluminium into the body's system. Odaban is therefore completely safe to use on a long-term basis and even during pregnancy