I am always on the look out for natural or homemade recipes that will help me be frugal, environmentally healthy, family safe, etc. so I can spend my money on something else like healthier foods, “slurges” of like a candle on occasion or more money on school stuff. There is controversy on if aluminum is a cause of dementia/Alzheimers. My grandma died with Alzheimers and so I am very weary of anything said to contain “things” that can lead to Alzheimers. So I chose to stay away from commercial deodorants and now make my own. This is one of those recipes that allows me to be healthy as well as frugal. This is not an exact science recipe, so you can work with it to get what consistency you want.
There are lots of recipes if you just do a search.
I like mine personally. It works for people who sweat a lot and it also controls odor.
Radiant Life has a recipe using arrowroot powder.
My recipe:
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, more or less depending on how much you want to make
- Baking Soda
- Corn Starch
- essential oil, I used Tea Tree Oil, about 3-5 drops or your desired scent level
First you need to get your coconut oil to a liquid state. If its winter its probably solid, but in the summer mine is usually liquid all the time.
To liquify the coconut oil, I put it straight in my mason jar that I will be mixing in for storing my deodorant. I then put the mason jar in a pot of water to create a kind of double boiler effect, on the stove and heat the water. It doesn’t have to boil as you don’t want your oil to get super hot, just to melting point.
After the oil is liquified, you can start adding equal parts of Baking Soda, Corn Starch and your essential oil if you chose. I start by adding 2 tablespoons. So as you mix it, if you want it thicker, you add equal parts of each again. Keep mixing until it stiffens up enough for you.
I keep mine in the mason jar but I have heard of people using emptied deodorant containers. I personally like the look of the little jelly jars, which are perfect for gift giving if you want to give some away.
You find many versions on line for free. Don’t pay for homemade recipes! I have seen them for sale. I know people want to make money, and I don’t have a problem with entrepreneurship, but there are too many online for free. I have collected a lot of these home made recipes over the past several years, and I end up tweaking them for what ever reason. I will share more over time.