making deodorant

Posted on March 1st, 2010 by mountain girl  |  9 Comments »

I really like making things at home. Especially when the alternative is either unhealthy or somewhat pricey! Deodorant, for example. Unless you unload your wallet at Whole Foods, it’s loaded with unhealthy toxic additives such as aluminum. In fact, several studies have indicated a possible link between deodorant and breast cancer. Yikes!

So, you guessed it…this morning Zia and I tackled a batch of homemade deodorant.

Homemade deodorant sounds scary, you say? Fear not. I’ll test it out and let you know how it works before you ever need to try it out on your own sweaty stinky pits!  I am not only the chief lab technician, I am also the chief lab rat. And just because I have a pretty good feeling about this concoction, I’ll first show you how I made it. Your mother will not mind at all if I do.

I started out with this handy-dandy recipe. Zia stirred together the 1/4 cup each of baking soda and cornstarch. (Hmm…guess I forgot to photograph the cornstarch.) I added about 1/2 tsp gentle strength tea tree oil, and we mixed it in. At this point it was still completely powdery.

Then came the coconut oil, probably about 3T. It was a little hard to mix in, so I set the mixing glass into a bowl of very warm water until it softened enough to cream together.

I love this consistency. It’s strikingly like creamed powdered sugar and butter. Very frosting-like. It was hard for both of us not to taste it. Ha. It would’ve tasted terrible, I’m sure. I quickly gave Zia a little bowl of coconut oil bits to nibble on- one of her favorite snacks.

That made her very happy, as you can see! The next step was to smash the whole mixture into a cleaned and dried container.

I happened to have the perfect thing on hand.

The amount the recipe made was perfect for a recycled deodorant container. The mixture hardened quickly once it cooled.

The final product. (Oops, I spelled it wrong on the label. On purpose, of course, just to see if you would notice.)

And so, you, too can have your very own all natural, aluminum-free, handcrafted deodorant…for a mere $19.99.

Just kidding. But you can make your own…for mere pennies. And, yup, I’ll let you know how it works after I’ve sufficiently put it to the test.

After all, stinky sweaty pits never lie.

9 Responses to “making deodorant”

  1. Angela says on :

    oh man I never even thought to put some tea tree oil in there!!!! Amazing idea. Will do ths next time. Zia is so adorable 🙂

  2. Poco Mountain Girl » Blog Archive » homemade deodorant test results says on :

    […] this homemade deodorant? Just a note to say that after 3 weeks of testing and using nothing but this, I think it […]

  3. Sarah says on :

    Wow! Thanks for sharing. Anna just made up a plain batch that called for arrowroot powder. It’s good to hear from someone who’s used it with an essential oil. Will definitely try! :o)

  4. mountain girl says on :

    Oh, cool! Arrowroot would probably be even better…didn’t think of that, though I do like to use it as a thickener in place of cornstarch or flour.

  5. Sarah S says on :

    The arrowroot powder can be used as a moisture absorber instead of the cornstarch. The baking soda is of course for odors. The tea tree oil acts as an antibacterial – a very important ingredient. Some people don’t like the smell so they want to make it with other essential oils. If you do, just make sure you choose one with antibacterial properties.

  6. Poco Mountain Girl » Blog Archive » a morning routine: two versions says on :

    […] pull on my jeans and a shirt, put on a hoodie, and swipe on some homemade deodorant. I take my water with lime out into the loft, do a few stretches, and sit down cozily to read my […]

  7. Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says on :

    So how do you find the homemade deodorant works? Are you happy with it? Do you get residue on your clothes?

  8. mountain girl says on :

    I LOVE this deodorant! It will leave a little residue on your clothes if you use a lot, but it honestly works SO much better than other natural brands I’ve tried. I forgot to bring ours on our last trip, so I ended up buying a Tom’s of Maine deodorant. It didn’t have the lasting power at all that the homemade kind has.

  9. Jennifer |The Deliberate Mom says on :

    Good to hear! I guess I’ll be making this too! Thanks Mia!