Natural Deodorant Stick
-1/8 c arrowroot powder
-1/8 c baking soda
-2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
-1 heaping tbsp beeswax
-2 drops castor oil (optional - helps it to slide on better)
-8 drops tea tree essential oil
-8 drops lavender essential oil
-up to another 10 drops of another essential oil for scent purposes
1. Add all ingredients into a small pot over medium heat on the stove.
2. Stir until everything has melted into a smooth consistency.
3. Have a container ready. We emptied mainstream deodorant containers and washed them out in a pot of boiling water. Make sure it is turned back down the bottom.
4. Pour the melted mixture into the container until full.
5. Allow to cool and set on the counter for a couple of hours.
It is a good idea to have a "detox" period of about a week where you use no deodorant or antiperspirant after quitting the mainstream stuff and before beginning the natural replacement. I was happy to be doing this in the winter. When you do use it, this homemade deodorant will be softer than conventional deodorant. Be careful not to twist it up too high when using or to put on too much. Also, this will not prevent you from sweating, it will only prevent you from smelling bad. I have heard that your body will adjust as time goes by. I am still waiting to see.
I have been really impressed with the effectiveness of this deodorant. We made one for Brad as well, and it works even on his man sweat. Neither of us have been smelly, in fact we can smell the scents of the essential oils we each used. Mine is lavender scented, and Brad's is the spa spirit essential oil blend from the Spa Spirit Lip Balm post. The only downside I have come across thus far is that our white shirts end up with yellow in the arm pits, but I haven't found it to be a big deal. I am not sure what exactly causes this though. Is anyone out there able to educate me?
Have you tried any natural alternatives to antiperspirant?
The yellow stains are sweat stains, I use baking soda and peroxide to remove these.
ReplyDeleteI have heard this before. I find it odd though because we don't get the yellow stains if we don't use the deodorant and just go "au naturel."
DeleteMy Dad uses regular deodorant and has this staining problem no clue why. I use a mix of Dove dish washing soap and hydrogen peroxide and it works great and scrub that area and throw it in the wash. It works great.
ReplyDeleteI am interested in seeing how this goes with you both. I've thought of switching but have not done anything about it yet. I'm behind on my email reads so I saw your follow up email first and clicked through to here. Please keep us posted!
How do you go a week without deodorant? I don't think that's an option for me. I workout 5-7 days a week and I have man odor under my arms. I've literally tried every natural deodorant I can find and I get irritated. Its the aloe juice as every deodorant that doesn't have propylene glycol tends to have this in it. I went back to my conventional deodorant, this is day 2. I'll try out your recipe as DH is almost done with his mainstream deodorant stick.
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to go a week with NOTHING, but just a week w/o conventional. Try making a paste with baking soda and water and using that for a week. Or, you can probably just go straight to using this recipe. It just may take about a weekish to adjust, but EVERYBODY is different. I never went through a "withdraw" phase. I workout often, as well.
DeleteI made an "Off Duty deodorant" with witch hazel, rose water and a few drops ylang ylang essential oil. It works great when I'm not "On duty" at work. I haven't tried it at work because I don't want any break thru wetness and when things get stressed I tend to have more.
ReplyDeleteI created one awhile ago and put it in an old deodorant container. The application was fine, but as it dried, it would flake off my armpits and onto whatever i was wearing.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the consistency of yours and how much do you put on your armpits?
Mine is pretty similar to regular deodorant in its consistency, though I would say a little softer and more moist. I put on like 3 swipes worth.
DeleteHi 👋🏾 guys and gals! I’m new to the party here, but not to diy deodorants. I’ve been experimenting since 2015 when I gave up on commercial deodorant because of irritation.
DeleteA few things. I detox my pits with bentonite clay mixed with apple cider vinegar once a quarter (if I remember).
Instead of going Au natural, slice up a lemon 🍋 and swipe it under freshly washed underarms. Carry a few slices with you if you feel the need to reapply!
DO either of you smoke cigarettes? I use to have the yellow staining problem when I smoked and after I stopped it went away. I've known others to have the same problem from smoking.
ReplyDeleteHm, that is interesting. Neither of us smoke though.
DeleteIts an interesting tip.. i am not exactly sure that such sorts of things will happen.. but its recommended to use natural deodorant that are not harmful.
ReplyDeleteI've been using straight baking soda & cornstarch or baby powder and it's been working great. Also found some yellow stains at times but I had terrible sweat stains from using conventional deo- going natural, I have no problems removing the stains, my clothes don't hold any funky sweat smells and I'm perspiring less than ever! Natural really does work- just give your body some time. I did find that detoxing from refined sugars and wheat helped too.
ReplyDeleteThe beeswax is causing the stains! You could try making a new batch without the beeswax and see if that helps.
ReplyDeleteI use a very similar recipe to this but without the castor oil and beeswax. I am one of those very sweaty people and i can honestly say this works sooo much better than any deodrant i have had to buy in the past. I didn't think it would work to start with but after a few months i would never look back :-) I love to use grapefruit and lime, smells yummy!
ReplyDeleteCool! I use Lavilin - www.lavilin.com
ReplyDeleteLove it and recommend it to everyone!