Sunday, January 26, 2014

Homemade: Deodorant

I've been thinking about trying homemade deodorant for a while.

Apparently, my armpits are incredibly sensitive. When I apply the store-bought stuff, it burns like the dickens and breaks me out in a rash. I have a large bump that hasn't gone down for months. I've tried every kind: women's, men's, antiperspirant, non-antiperspirant, sensitive skin, all natural...Nothing has helped. 

In addition to the problems I've had with manufactured deodorants, there are all the rumors. While we are told there is no real scientific evidence that aluminum or other ingredients in deodorants pose threat to human health, I always hear "yet" at the end of that sentence. 

Keeping those two things in mind, when I ran across recipes for homemade deodorants, I was intrigued. I've never seen arrowroot powder anywhere before, so I stuck it on the "someday" list, and moved on looking for other products I could make that were easier or more accessible. I recently discovered arrowroot powder at one of the local health stores we go to, and it reminded me of what I had seen before. I had to get it!. When I got home, I went through a bunch of recipes, read a lot about the different ingredients and their purposes, and finally came up with a recipe I thought I could manage to put together.

I figured it would be terribly complicated, and I figured it wouldn't work that well. I have never been so happy to be wrong! 

Homemade Deodorant:
Empty deodorant container
3 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp arrowroot powder
3 Tbsp baking soda
3-6 drops tea tree oil


First I dug out 3 Tbsp of coconut oil and put it into a microwavable dish. That stuff is much harder that it looks; I actually bent my measuring spoon!


I put the oil in the microwave for 45 seconds, stirred it, and then put it in for another 45 seconds. While that was going, I measured out the arrowroot powder and baking soda and whisked them together.


Once the coconut oil was totally liquid, I whisked it in to the dry ingredients.


Here's where I messed up. When I added in the tea tree oil, I just kind of...poured it. I will definitely use a dropper next time! I added in a little too much, but I still liked it. It's very invigorating, and it has a lot of great properties, so I didn't mind.


I whisked a little more, and then grabbed my container. I just used an old (aluminum-free) deodorant container I had cleaned out. 


The mixture poured in really easily! The temperature in my house is cool enough that coconut oil will solidify (especially during this Indiana winter...), but I was super excited and very impatient, so I popped it in the refrigerator for a while. And voila!


This stuff is AWESOME! I can put it on at night, and it will last through the next day, even going to the gym! I have had zero smell, and even better...ZERO irritation! I'm never going back!

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