homemade deodorant
When I was pregnant with my first baby I knew that I was in for it. All of a sudden I was concerned about things I had never thought about before. Organic food, the chemicals in body products, whether or not I should use disposable diapers, it was enough to make my head spin. But, after I had her, and I started nursing, one of my biggest concerns was deodorant.
I always used a regular deodorant and antiperspirant. I had heard about aluminum dangers before, but whenever I looked at ingredient labels, aluminum was always on the list. I decided to write it off and hope for the best (this was my prior life – before I turned into a complete freak when it comes to food and everything green).
When I started nursing my daughter, I all of a sudden had a huge fear of wearing deodorant. I didn’t want her to put her hand in my armpit and then stick it in her mouth, and I was concerned about the proximity of it from where she was nursing. I didn’t want the chemicals to be near her, and then I realized I didn’t want them near me either.
For a time I just stopped wearing deodorant. If I smelled, no one mentioned it, so I will pretend that I didn’t! Of course, during those first months I wasn’t getting out all that often and was not so concerned about needing deodorant. However, there did come a time when I figured wearing deodorant would be a good idea again! And back I went to the grocery store looking for something natural. I ended up, again, not finding anything that I was happy with. Instead I came home and started to research.
What I found was that you can make your own deodorant, so that is what I did!
Homemade Deodorant
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 Tablespoon grated beeswax
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
4-6 drops tea tree oil (or other essential oil)
3 Tablespoons corn starch (or arrowroot powder)
3 Tablespoons baking soda
Melt coconut oil, beeswax, Vitamin E oil, tea tree oil in a double boiler. Add corn starch and baking soda until combined. Let cool and then spoon into an old deodorant container *or* put in a glass jar and store in fridge if your house is warm.
Do you make any of your own beauty products? Are you concerned about chemical exposure in deodorant or other hygiene items?
Linking up at the Barn Hop and Rural Thursday
I have had problems with this recipe. Even with half the amount of baking soda it breaks out my under arms and hurts after only a few days of use. Which sucks, because this really does work. I found I had to reapply it mid-day, but if you notice yourself start to smell a bit this will knock the smell out. Unfortunately I doesn't work well without the baking soda, so I am stuck to buying ridiculously expensive "natural" deodorant from a store. Ahh well. :/
**Deleted previous comment due to spelling error, other than one word this is the exact same comment**
I just had someone ask me about this about a week ago. I'll have to refer them here.
Would it firm up a bit more if you doubled the wax content, do you think?
The reason it isn't as hard is because of the coconut oil. It has a very low melting point. But, I really only need to keep it in the fridge during the two warm months we have in Maine 🙂 The rest of the time it stays hard enough sitting in my bathroom. I'm sure if you have air conditioning it wouldn't be an issue!
What a great idea and I have most of these ingredients. Thanks for sharing at Rural Thursdays this week, Heather. 🙂
Excellent! I will be making our own when our stockpile runs out…I hit way too good of a deal last year and we are still not finished with it. I do make our own toothpaste and cleaning supplies though. I have not found a shampoo or conditioner recipe that works with my hair yet. I tried the baking soda and vinegar wash and half my hair fell out so I am being a bit more cautious now… I am determined to be competely chemical free in the next two years.
This is a great post! 🙂
Wow! Great post ~ very informative and so right to be concerned with what we are putting into our system ~ especially a new born baby ~ yet I sometimes wonder how people have survived historically ~ very complex ~ you are smart to 'control your life' and very creative too ~ (A Creative Harbor)
I would love to try this! I've been trying the 'natural' brands recently, but none of them work. 🙁 One worked for a while, then stopped. It's a bummer, because I'm really active at my job and can't be stinking!! Does this work very well? I do want to find something that does, without metals in it!
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I really do think that it works. Although every person is different. It is not for sweating. I feel like I need to preface with that because most commercial deodorants also include an antiperspirant, which this does not. But, the thing I like most of all is that it seems to neutralize any odor that you might have, not just mask it 🙂
How informative! I have been cooking and baking everything we eat from scratch, and have just recently started looking at things like toothpaste, dish detergent, clothes detergent, and yes…deodorant. Thank you so much for sharing! You couldn't have posted at a better time ☺
Does it work well? With all the running I do, one thing I always need is an effective deoderant 😉
It definitely doesn't work to stop sweat, but since we were made with sweat glands for a reason, that isn't as big of a deal to me 🙂 Yes, I think it works quite well though. But, I don't do nearly the amount of running you do either…or any 🙂
So easy and smart! You even have a little dispenser 🙂