All Natural and Effective Deodorant
This is one of my favorite body care products to make. I love that it doesn't build up chemicals in my body (like studies have been telling us about store bought deodorant for as long as I can remember). I also love how effective it is and how great it feels. I have never found a store bought deodorant I actually liked.
How it works is important to most of you, so I will offer a short explanation. Baking soda is the odor remover. It is a very effective odor remover (see, look MIT agrees with me). Besides the odor remover, you are adding a scent via essential oil, that way you smell fresh rather than just lacking odor. The oils and waxes you add are all for application purposes. They keep your skin softer and more pampered than just applying straight baking soda. They also allow you to use this deodorant the way you would store bought deodorant, thus you don't have to change your routine. Finally the arrowroot powder is just a base to help stick all the ingredients together smoothly. But, as I said, the baking soda is the only "active" ingredient.
Disclaimer: You are accustomed to wearing a deodorant and antiperspirant combo bought in the store. This is *not* and antiperspirant, so it will not keep you as dry as you may be used to. It may take some getting used to, but as I said I prefer this!
Here's the recipe:
~2 Tablespoons coconut oil
~2 Tablespoons shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter (I use one Tbsp each of shea and cocoa butter)
~2 Tablespoons + 1 tsp soy wax
~1 tablespoons baking soda
~2 Tablespoons organic arrowroot powder
~A few drops of essential oil (I like peppermint to keep a nice clean scent. Lavender is also a good choice). If you're like me and you think essential oils are often expensive then you can use peppermint or other extract. If you're using food grade extract add about 1/3 of a teaspoon. Just guess, it's okay to estimate here.
~Optional: Vitamin E oil as a preservative (I just add a couple drops to help this recipe last months)
Making this looks a bit like a chemistry project, or a drug lab, but I promise you can make it with items found in your house.
Directions:
1. Find a a small pot and a small glass jar or container. Gather all your ingredients and measuring utensils. You will also need a metal spoon or some other metal stirring utensil (it won't be damaged it's just easy to remove wax from metal as opposed to wood or plastic).
2. Fill the pot with one inch of water and place the jar in the middle of the pot. You will melt your ingredients in this jar.
3. Bring water to a boil.
4. Add your soy wax, shea/cocoa/mango butter, and coconut oil. Stir occasionally until the mixture is fully melted.
5. Add baking soda and arrowroot powder. Stir together.
6. Add essential oil or extract.
7. Stir thoroughly
8. Remove from heat and set aside. Let it cool for about an hour.
9. Pour into your deodorant container. (See directions below for preparing your container).
Now that you have your deodorant set aside and cooling you're probably realizing that you need to have a way to apply it. You have a while to prepare your container since the deodorant takes over 24 hours to fully set and be ready for use.
This is a soft deodorant. You can make a harder type by using beeswax or about 2x the amount of soy wax in this recipe. However, the softer version applies more easily and is less messy. So for this soft deodorant you will need an empty "soft solid" deodorant container entirely because you need the inner cap that allows for the even application of your deodorant. I chose the one below.
Then, this is going to seem ridiculous, but you also need a Secret invisible solid container. The reason you need this container is because the inner mechanism which moves the deodorant up (and in our case moves back down to be refilled) only goes two ways in this type of deodorant stick. In the smooth solid type it is made to only go one way. I managed to break it after a few days, so clearly that didn't work well. Having the second container to put the caps from the first container on was a perfect solution.
Also, in case it seems silly to waste the deodorant you're buying for the containers, bear in mind that you can reuse the same container every time you make this recipe. So for a $7 investment it is well worth it.
Preparing your deodorant container:
1. Remove the outer cap from your smooth solid deodorant.
2. Remove the inner cap, the one that has holes in it to evenly dispense the deodorant. You may throw away the actual stick and container of deodorant, you don't need the smooth solid one, just the caps.
3. Set both of these caps aside.
4. Remove the cap from the invisible solid container and throw it away.
5. Wind the deodorant all the way out and remove the stick of deodorant from the container.
6. Now this will seem odd, but I promise it works and melts nothing. To remove the remaining deodorant, fill a pot with water and place it on the stove. Put the container in the water and bring the water to a boil. Check the container and flip it over occasionally until all the deodorant is gone.
7. Clean your pot with hot water and a good soap like Dawn Dish Soap.
8. Let your container cool off and if your deodorant has been cooling for an hour pour it into the container. Replace the inner cap and set the deodorant in a safe place and let it set for about 23 more hours.
9. Replace the outer cap to store.
10. Use as you would normal store bought deodorant.
Congratulations! You are now one step closer to a naturally glamourous lifestyle.
