Christine Robyn's Blog

There are tons of studies that say antiperspirant *may* lead to some forms of cancer. I stopped using deodorants with aluminum a long time ago because, while it seems more pleasant not to sweat, it doesn’t seem natural. One day I stumbled upon a recipe for making deodorant, I was amazed by how simple it was, and how logical. Baking soda, cornstarch, and coconut oil are really all you need. You can also add essential oils to make it scented, or add tea tree oil to make it antibacterial.

Materials Needed

Recipe:

1/4 cup Baking Soda

1/4 cup Cornstarch

4+ tablespoons of coconut oil

Optional:

few drops of essential/tea tree oil.

Instructions:

Mix the baking soda and cornstarch together. It helps if the coconut oil is a softened solid. Mine was solid, so I zapped it in the microwave for a few seconds.

It's too cold in my apartment when my coconut oil is rock solid.

Mix the dry ingredients and the oils together.

I like to mix it by hand

And then either keep it in a bowl/container, or put in empty deodorant container.

Finished Product

I like to pop it in the fridge for a few minutes after it’s done to help it solidify faster.

Note: This makes almost 2 full sticks of deodorant for me. I’ve read to use 5 tablespoons of coconut oil, but I tend to like it at about 4 tbs. Testing it out and adding more of one thing or another is key. If you don’t use enough coconut oil it will clump, but won’t hold together uniformly. If you use too much, I find that it gets too liquid-y when applying.

I’ve been using this mixture for about a year now. As a deodorant I think it works really well. It’s absolutely comparable to any store bought deodorant I’ve purchased, plus I think it lasts a bit longer throughout the day. There’s also no stinging after shaving, no harsh chemicals, it’s cheap and easy, and even though coconut oil irritates my skin, I never have a problem with it in this.

There are things you have to be careful for, like in what temperature you store it at. Coconut oil has a melting point of 76ºF*, and that means your deodorant is going to turn into soup come May. I don’t have air conditioning (nor would I keep it that low), so in the summer I keep it in the fridge. Once, I accidentally had it in the car for a little too long and it melted all over everything in my travel bag =/. If you’re traveling with it, definitely keep it in a zip lock bag, and plastic bag to ensure it won’t spill on anything else. The deodorant easily washed off of my clothes, but I was kind of annoyed of the hassle at that point and tried the crystal stone deodorant. Maybe I wasn’t doing it right, but that didn’t work for me at all. I used it for about 2 months (I wanted to give my body enough time to “get used to it” as everyone always says) but it didn’t do anything for me. I find that I like this basking soda version the best, and I have a stick of store bought Dove for in case of emergency (will get switched to something better when it runs out).

Here are some links you might find helpful:

Effective Homemade Deodorant: My Baby Steps Story: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/08/27/effective-homemade-deodorant-my-baby-steps-story/

Quick Stick Deodorant: http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/03/quick-stick-deodorant.html

*source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_oil