You know when you search for something for months and months, or maybe even years, and you finally find it? Isn’t that just the best feeling?
Well that’s how I’m feeling right now about deodorant. Yes, DEODORANT. I know, weird.
My quest for a natural deodorant started about a year and a half ago. I was careful about what I put in my body but I hadn’t given a thought to what I put ON my body until I read an article about the dangers of deodorant/antiperspirants. It basically said that if you switching NOTHING else in your beauty routine you should at least find a natural deodorant. (I believe that article was this one and then this is another great post as well about why you should ditch the deodorant)
That got my wheels turning and I started thinking about the fact that I was about to have a baby that I was planning to breastfeed and who would quite frequently be in very close proximity to my armpits. I decided to find a better option.
The problem was…well, I’m stinky. Sorry but that’s the truth. Over the past year and a half I have tried ten (that I can remember off the top of my head) different deodorants and NONE of them have worked. It’s funny because I really don’t sweat that much so the fact that I no longer use an antiperspirant isn’t a big deal but for whatever reason natural deodorants just did not work for my body odor.
I’ve tried:
– Primal Pit Paste (2 different scents, both made my armpits break out)
– Tom’s (didn’t help the smell, not as natural as I first thought anyway)
– Young Living’s deodorant (both scents, neither eliminated the odor)
– Thieves toothpaste (sounds weird but a lot of people in my oils group use it as deodorant with smashing success but it just made me itch and again, didn’t help with the smell)
– Thieves spray (another one that people in my group suggest, but didn’t work for the smell)
– Plain coconut oil mixed with essential oils
– Just essential oils rubbed into my armpits
– Homemade spray deodorant (witch hazel and essential oils…again yet another that did not help the smell)
Really the only thing I didn’t try that lots of people recommend is that crystal deodorant thing. But otherwise I’ve exhausted a pretty big list.
After allllll those deodorants (and I gave them all a fair try, most of them I used the whole entire stick/container because I hate throwing things out) I still hadn’t found something. Within a few hours my armpits just stunk. None of my shirts could be worn more than once in between washings because they stunk. And really, even when I was using the hard-core stuff (Secret Platinum Protection) there was still an odd smell. Not b.o. necessarily, but just a yucky deodorant-y smell that I didn’t like.
So a few weeks ago I finally decided to make my own stick deodorant. I scoured Pinterest and finally settled on this recipe; I had all the ingredients at home except beeswax so I asked a beekeeper friend from church for some and then I was all set. I considered several combinations of oils but decided to keep it very simple and use lavender and tea tree because of how good they are both for skin and for eliminating the yuck that causes body odor.
Recipe:
- 1 TBSP grated beeswax (I get mine from a local beekeeper, you can also buy some here)
- 3 TBSP coconut oil (I get mine from Sams, here’s some from Amazon too)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 5 drops Young Living’s lavender essential oil
- 5 drops Young Living’s tea tree essential oil
Making the deodorant took seriously all of five minutes. I used an old deodorant container that was empty (they also sell them on Amazon
Easy peasy.
I didn’t expect much. I figured I’d either break out in a rash or it wouldn’t help the smell at all. But I put it on and off we went.
Let me just shout it from the rooftops that IT WORKS! I was BLOWN away!
I am not kidding, for the first few days of using this deodorant I sniffed my armpits multiple times a day because I just couldn’t believe it.
There was NO smell at all. I mean, nothing. No stink and not even a perfume-y smell. It literally smelled like nothing. Occasionally when I sniff I get a whiff of coconut but that’s it. And the same with my shirts. I would sniff the armpits after I took it off to put it in the hamper and you couldn’t even tell that I’d worn it all day! And I put it to the test too…I went for a long walk outside every day, most days were 80+ degrees, and I sweated a lot but still no stink.
The day after I made my deodorant I taught an online class for my oils team about natural skincare and reducing toxins in your home. I mentioned that I was trying a new deodorant recipe but I wasn’t ready to definitively say if it worked for me until I’d tried it for a bit longer. Apparently there are quite a few people in the same boat as me because I’ve had several tell me they are waiting to hear an update. So here it is folks, this stuff rocks ;). I’ve been using it for about two weeks now and it is amazing! No rash, no stink.
The recipe I used says that the beeswax helps it not to melt in the summer heat and it definitely doesn’t melt like coconut oil would but it does get soft so be careful, don’t push hard when you apply if your deodorant has been in a hot car or outside because it’ll be very soft. Also, for what it’s worth, I found this article about how to balance your ph if your deodorant gives you a rash so I’ll be keeping this one in my back pocket in case it happens again.
The deodorant is in a stick form but it’s not quite the same consistency as a “normal” stick deodorant. It glides on nicely but leaves some white residue that I just rub in with my fingers. That is definitely not a deal breaker for me considering how wonderfully it works but I thought I’d mention it.
And there you go, ladies and gents. My year and a half long quest to banish my stinky pits is over! Hooray!
UPDATE: It’s been almost two years and I’m still using and LOVING this deodorant. It’s absolutely a keeper. I do think that a lot of the stink and rash issues I had at the beginning when I first started trying natural deodorants had to do with detoxing and getting the years of grossness out of my system. Now that I’ve been living a natural(er) lifestyle for several years I think I could go back to the Young Living options or the other options and they’d probably work just fine for me. However, getting through that transition period this was the ONLY thing that did it for me and I love it so much that I’ll probably just stick to it.
I now make this in triple batches (3 tbsp beeswax, 9 tbsp coconut oil, 3/4 cup baking soda, 3/4 cup arrowroot or cornstarch, 30 drops essential oil) and it’s the exactly perfect amount to fit in 5 of these deodorant containers.
Not a Young Living member yet and want to get a wholesale discount? Wanting to get into a more natural lifestyle but aren’t sure how to get started? Let me help you dive into essential oils! I’d love to mentor you on your journey!
Geranium is awesome to use too.
Love your posts thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ve been searching for years to find a safe and effective deodorant and THIS IS IT! I’ve been using it for about a month now and will never use anything else. Again, THANK YOU!
YAY!! I’m so glad it has worked for you!
Hi Caitlin! I am really excited to try this. I too switched from toxic antiperspirants to a DIY one from Mommypotamus that I loved and worked so well, but the baking soda made me develop a red rash and thus I had to let it go and went back to the store bought stuff. I have been trying to find another DIY one and after reading your post and that it did not make you break out, I am looking forward to trying this!!! Thank you so much! BTW, I am a high school English teacher and I love your blog!!
I hope this works for you!
Hi!! I have been using this deodorant for a couple weeks now and it works so well! And so far NO Rash reaction!! Thank you so much!
That’s fantastic! I’m so glad! Thanks for sharing :)
How much does this recipe make?
It fills up my deodorant container plus about 2 oz more that I store in a small jar.
I used a recipe similar to this for years. It is the baking soda that works. Then I broke out in redness, rash and PAIN. No fun! It took a couple of months of healing and stinking before I could where anything under my arms. I diluted the baking soda and tried again. Same thing the very first day. Months of healing and stinking. Tried a whole new batch very diluted. Still broke out. I’m soooo frustrated and sad. It was the ONLY thing that works. So, I just use coconut oil with essential oils and stink by the end of the day and wash before going to bed and wake up so stinky I can’t stand myself. My dear sweet husband hasn’t said a word. Poor man! But I refuse to put aluminum on. I did use his Aubrey’s Men’s Stock Herbal Pine Deodorant. It actually worked but made me smell masculine. I quit using it because it has soy oil in it. I still want him to use it because the alternative for him is way worse. He’d go back to using Right Guard. No. As for me, just call me Stinky.
So frustrating! Have you tried arrowroot powder instead of baking soda? I’ve heard different people say that arrowroot is a good alternative if you’re sensitive to baking soda. That was going to be my next thing to try if this particular recipe hadn’t ended up working out so well. I’ve also heard of people using diatomaceous earth but I’m not sure if that’s instead of baking soda or in addition to it – might be worth investigating though!
I really think it’s the baking soda that is effective. Every recipe I’ve seen online that everyone touts as effective includes it. But, it’s definitely worth a try. I got YL Geranium recently and heard it works. I put it on neat and put coconut oil on over. The true test is overnight. I put it on the first time yesterday morning. This morning I wasn’t smelling like roses, but it wasn’t awful either and I had only reapplied the coconut oil last night before bed. Promising but very expensive. I always added EO’s to my deodorant concoction anyway so I’ll try the arrowroot and coconut oil and geranium, tea tree, etc and see if it is as effective as straight geranium. It would def be more cost effective. Thanks for the idea! If it doesn’t work I’ll check out the DE as I have some of that already.
Hi Caitlin, I wanted to let you know I too went through the trenches finding a deodorant. I have two basketball nuts in the house. It looks like the recipe you have is similar to mine. I use Arrowroot powder instead of corn starch. I add an extra tsp to my recipe to help with wetness and not have any pit stains. The guys love it, they no longer stink, they said it lasts all day for them. I know I can still smell my deodorant the next morning. I use Lemongrass and Tea Tree. I don’t like the chemicals in baking soda so I do not use that in anything. If you would like to try a full recipe let me know…. I can email it to you or anyone that’s interested!
Thanks,
Mary G
I have same issue with my son.he is 13 and stinks. I had to have him using deodorant. but im worried of the adverse effect if long term usage. do u mind sharing the recipe.
Ita try the recipe I posted here in this blog post. It works great for everyone who has tried it (including my husband)!
I made it and I love it, but I used an old degree brand container and I cannot get it to come out. Should I have prepped the container differently? Maybe it’s too cold in my house!
Maybe too cold or maybe try using less coconut oil/beeswax and use a bit of liquid oil (like olive, jojoba, almond, etc.) and see if that makes it a bit softer.
I have yet to find a natural deodorant that slows down my sweating. I don’t know the name of it, but I excessively sweat and living in Arizona makes it awful! Seriously during the summer I actually have to change my shirts constantly during the day because my armpits sweat all the way down my shirt. Do you know if this would help with sweat? The only deodorant that SEMI helps with my sweat is the clinical strength stuff at the store but I know that stuff is horrible for the body.
I don’t think it will, at least not at first, however I found that the longer I used it the less I sweat now so I’m wondering if it helped my body regulate itself over time.
What is consistency supposed to be when you ‘pour’ it into the containers. It won’t melt and looks like shortbread consistency. Is it supposed to be liquid-like and pourable? How could I mess a simple recipe like this?
It should be a thick liquid and definitely pourable. I wonder if you used too much baking soda or not enough coconut oil?
Here’s a video I made demonstrating how I make mine and it shows what it should look like when you pour it.
Hello, I was thrilled to find this recipe for natural deodorant as I have been searching for one that got rid of the BO, After getting the beeswax from Amazon, and. as you said, it was a breeze to whip up. And, just like you said, NO BO by the end of the day. I was beyond excited!! BUT, after about a week, I noticed my pits became itchy and red. OH NO! I’m allergic to something in the recipe! I was devastated! Do you have any idea which product to eliminate? Is there anything I can substitute? I used the arrowroot rather than the cornstarch. What do you think is the most likely culprit to cause irritation?
Thanks so much!
It’s likely the baking soda, that seems to be the main irritant. However, it’s usually because your armpits need a detox. I highly recommend Googling “armpit detox” and using one of the recipes that pop up (they usually have ACV and activated charcoal) to detox your pits then hopefully the baking soda will no longer be an issue for you. That seems to be the case for most people!