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Make your own natural deodorant at home...!

I have been experimenting with making some of my own skincare products and hair shampoo and conditioners for a while now. Recently I came across a post on the Wellness Mama blog about making deodorant at home and thought I'd give it a go and see what I thought.

Here's what I did...


This recipe, from Wellness Mama's Blog, is for a bar or stick type deodorant. I didn't have any Shea butter but it mentioned that I could add more coconut oil and arrowroot to thicken it up.

 
So I used what I had and melted it all together in a pan of water.
 

I let it cool slightly and then poured it into some used commercial twist up deodorant stick containers that I had cleaned out.

 
The big disappointment was that once reassembled with the new deodorant inside, it wouldn't wind up... Somehow I had jammed both of them, or more likely, they were never made to be reused, which is a shame on so many levels.

So then I decided to try making a more liquid deodorant that I could put on using my fingers rather than a stick/bar that glides on. To melt the coconut oil - just leave in the sun for a few minutes!


I put about 200mls of melted coconut oil straight into the container that I wanted to use and thickened with about 2 tablespoons of arrowroot. Then I added a large tablespoon Bi-Carb and mixed it in. Some people find the bi-carb to be an irritant so start with a smaller amount and increase it if you don't react. You need to find a balance between the activeness of the Bi-Carb and its potential to irritate! The Bi-Carb makes the solution alkaline and makes it harder for the bacteria to grow and multiply. The Bi-Carb is the more active ingredient in this recipe. The coconut oil is the carrier and is also a mild anti bacterial. The arrowroot is a thickener. Without the arrowroot the mixture will be too runny to apply, although I have read that some people just use coconut oil and nothing else as a deodorant.

 
I popped in a few drops of clove oil and fragranced it with sweet orange oil which makes a really nice combination. The clove oil is also meant to have anti-bacterial properties and so will also help with controlling the bacteria that grows in your armpits!


 
And once it hardens up a bit, its ready to use. I just scoop a bit up onto my fingers and smooth it under my arms. You don't need much, maybe a thumbnail size blob.

So far, I have had a very small amount of itching on really hot days but the rest of the time I don't even remember that I'm not using a commercial product. Not everybody tolerates the bi-carb so you need to test it for yourself to see how much you need and/or can tolerate. I have had some pretty full on days at work and so far, it seems to be working for me. I have made about three batches of it and I'm finding it great. I love the scent! My husband used it for a while and finds it ok for warm days but not so good for days when its very hot. I think different body chemistry reacts in different ways to this deodorant - just like any other product I guess.

I have found this mixture to melt a bit in the heat of the day and to be quite solid at night or when its cold so I think I'll make it thinner in the winter and thicker in the summer by increasing or decreasing the arrowroot.

This is a deodorant not a anti-perspirant so you will still sweat, but hopefully you wont smell and if you shave your armpits, don't use this mixture straight after as the Bi-Carb can sting!

I also found this website that did a review of three home made deodorants that was very interesting. Have a look and if you do make your own, let me know how you went.


Score card:
Green-ness: 5/5 for using totally natural ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.
Frugal-ness: Clove oil isn't expensive but
Time cost: About 3 minutes!
Skill level: Mixing and stirring!
Fun-ness: Great fun - especially as it works for me!

Comments

Lois said…
I have tried several homemade deodorants over the years but none lived up to my expectations. Your recipe is different by containing both the bicarb and the arrowroot powder. I'm going to give this a try as I have decided I do not want to support the company that bought out the one that made my deodorant.
Practical Frog said…
I'm not big on supporting the big companies these days... so I know what you mean. It seems to work well for me and its not expensive so if it doesn't work for you, you haven't wasted huge amounts of money on it. Read the comments on Wellness mamas blog too - some interesting observations. Let me know how you go! - K x
Practical Frog said…
I don't think there is aluminium in any of the ingredients so yes - I would say so... I think Aluminium is added as an antiperspirant - to physically stop you from sweating. This one just stops you from smelling. - K x
Ada Angle said…
The use of aluminum deodorant in the underarm will block the sweat pores and can be a main reason of getting skin allergies. Get natural deodorant for girls and help them stay fresh and healthy!

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