DIY Homemade Green Deodorant

So I finally made my first REAL batch of all natural deodorant. And I finally got my hubby to smell my armpits. What did he say?? "I don't smell anything. Cool."  Then when I started talking about how I needed a man (referring to him) to try it on, he decided sleep was a better option. Love..Haha! I'll get him one day :)

Since I'm pregnant, I've been a little bit more aware of what I'm putting in and ON my body. Since I can be nerdy I did some research on commercial deodorants and the chemicals they contain. If you want to know more information, keep reading. If you want to skip the boring educational stuff scroll down to the recipe (but I urge you to at least read up a little bit on the facts!)



The good, the bad, the ugly...

We as humans are made to sweat. It's one way how we release toxins from our body and cool off. Most commercial deodorants contain aluminum and many other chemicals that block our pores and keep us from sweating AND are linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer's. Here is a link to Control Your Impact which explains how these deodorants are actually drugs which change the function of the body and are regulated by the FDA. Some people think that sweating is what makes us smell. It does NOT. Bacteria is what makes us smell. I have noticed that some of these deodorants make me itch, burn, give me a funky smell, or breakout. Which is probably why I've spent so much money going through so many different brands. You know what I'm talking about ladies...

The Cosmetics Database (my new best friend) gave my last anti-perspirant a rating of 4 out of 10, which doesn't sound so bad. But once you break down all it's ingredients things start to get ugly. The highest rating comes from the fragrance which was a whopping 8 out of 10 and is known to cause neurotoxicity, allergies,and immunotoxicity. Other ingredients (some I can't even pronounce) caused cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, blah blah blah..I've had enough. I made up my mind, the end.

Now to the good...I have made a HOMEMADE deodorant that not only works better than commercial deodorants, I know exactly what's in it!!! In my last post I talked about how I made one with basic ingredients you probably have at home (it was a creamier consistency). I did notice that I was starting to burn (most likely due to the baking soda and corn starch) and break out a bit so I have had to tweak the recipe to fit my sensitivity.

Ingredients:

3 tbs Coconut oil
2 tbs Shea butter
2 tbs beeswax
3 1/2 tbs arrowroot powder (if you're sensitive to baking soda and corn starch)
10 drops of essential oil (I used tea tree, lavender, and verbena) 

*You will also need a clean deodorant container and a double boiler.

Melt shea butter in double boiler. I used a GLASS measuring cup in a small pot. Works fine, don't judge me haha.

Mix in coconut oil and beeswax. Make sure to stir constantly and don't let it boil! Overheating may cause a gritty texture.

Add arrow root powder and stir until well mixed and looks like a creamy/cloudy color. Add essential oils now.

Pour into you CLEAN container. Since my husband has a weird deodorant container collecting habit, I have cleaned and re-purposed one of his (guess it was meant to be right?).

Let it cool completely ( I stuck mine in the freezer) and you're done!!



Fun and SAFE!!! I will never go back to commercial anti-perspirant deodorants again. Just keep in mind that everyone's skin is different. So if you plan on making your own, you might have to play around with the recipe a bit.