Homemade Natural Stick Deodorant
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I love my original homemade deodorant and have been using it for years. Although my old recipe worked well for applying with the hands I didn’t like using it in stick form. I felt like it didn’t go on well and I couldn’t get enough of it on for it to work as well. I thought it would be fun to make a stick deodorant that went on really well, works, and is moisturizing. So with some research and tweaking I came up with this…
Homemade Natural Stick Deodorant
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbs coconut oil
1 Tbs shea butter
1 heaping Tbs beeswax
2 Tbs cornstarch or arrowroot powder
2 Tbs baking soda
10 drops essential oil ( I use tea tree, lavender, or lemon for their anti-bacterial properties)
Few drops of vitamin e (optional)
Directions: In a small pot or sauce crock pot melt coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax. Once melted mix in baking soda and cornstarch really well. Turn off heat and stir in essential oils. Pour into an empty clean deodorant container. Let cool. I put mine in the freezer so that it would cool quickly and decrease the chance of the baking soda and cornstarch from settling. That’s it!
This stuff goes on really smooth and my armpits feel so moisturized without feeling overly greasy and it goes on clear! To me if feels more like commercial deodorant, but I can feel better about not putting on tons of chemicals and aluminum. Better for the environment and myself! Yay!
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FYI If your just switching over from the commercial products your body may go through a 1-2 week transition period where this deodorant may not seem to be working as well as you might think. But once your body gets used to it it will work wonders! So don’t give up your body will thank you!
Have you ever tried homemade deodorant? What do you think of it?
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I am going to have to try this, thanks for posting! Have you had success re-using your old d.o. containers or do you buy new ones? If you re-use what is the best method for cleaning them?
I always reuse old ones! They are a little bit of a pain to clean but I do it just with soap and water.
I’m going to try this recipe soon and was wondering if it melts at a certain temperature. In the summer, I camp a lot and wanted to try to make something that could be kept outside and still be used.
Thats a great question! I am not positive because I haven’t had over the summer yet. My old recipe that didn’t include beeswax started melting around 74 degrees. This should hold up better!
Hi Amy,
It’s an interesting recipe, but please tell me for how many hours using this homemade natural stick deodorant you will not getting to sweat?
I’m sure this differs from a body to another, but I’m curious if this deodorant really works and prevents you from sweating.
Thanks,
Adela
Hey Adeluna! With this deodorant it decreases the amount of sweat, but doesn’t prevent you from sweating. But it is better for you and is not chalked full of harmful ingredients that have been linked to breast cancer. Hope that helps!
So this is totally ignorant, but where do you buy shea butter and beeswax?
O no its ok! I get my bees wax from Hobby Lobby and my shea butter from Mountainroseherb.com. You can get beeswax from Mountain Rose Herb I’ve just had mine from Hobby Lobby for like 2 years.
I use homemade as well, and love it. I did have some trouble with baking soda, but I backed off on the baking soda and that helped, and also not putting it on right after I finished shaving was probably helpful as well 🙂
I make my own as well and to combat the interaction with the baking soda i add a bit of ground up oatmeal flakes. It seems to soothe it but yeah it even burns when applying after shaving…
HUGE OUCH!
What a great tip! That will be very helpful to some readers!
Try adding alun powder instead of baking soda
My recipe call for coconut oil, monoï, arrowrrot powder, a little tad of baking soda, a bit of cocoa butter, dash of orris root powder, tea tree E-O, lime E-O and patchouli E-O. Smell divine and no stinking or sweat … even after 2 days!
Amy, we’ve had a hard time finding the right deodorant on our homestead. Little did I know we could simply do it ourselves. Thanks again. You rock!
I love this I would love for you to come over to my blog hop and share this and other posts there!
http://countrifiedhicks.blogspot.com/2013/02/mondays-with-countrified-hicks-blog-hop.html
I am very excited to try this, thank you! FYI to those with break out problems, the breaking out is usually because the aluminum from store bought deodorant is leaving your body and not necessarily from using a new product. It can also take a while (months honestly) for this to go away. It took me a few months and it was tough but I stuck it out and now I don’t get the rashes anymore. It actually was worth it. You feel lighter and healthier overall. It’s a different length of time for everyone. I know someone where it just lasted a couple of weeks. Regardless, it’s good to get that aluminum out of your system! I hope this recipe is good with keeping the smell away. Very good tip on the diet change and how that can affect your smell!
I’ve been trying various recipes for over 2 months and I’m still struggling to find something that works. If Baking Soda even wafts over to my underarms I break out and frankly I can’t take the discomfort and pain this entails. So I keep searching. Maybe in a few more months I can try it again b/c Baking Soda sure works!
I’ve been making my own deodorant for a while now and love it! Wouldn’t use anything else! Don’t know why I didn’t think of shae butter and beeswax, I’ve only been using coconut oil, arrowrood, clay, and essential oils. I’ll definately need to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday! 🙂
I feel the same way! I wish I would have tried it a long a time ago! Good luck making it!
I made deo several years ago, but my pits turned brown from it. I made a new batch last week and it broke me out. I may have to try the clay instead of baking soda. I bought some from Nourish Almond Vanilla deodorant (http://www.nourishusda.com/product-category/products/organic-deodorant). I like it, but would prefer to make my own.
Please add me to your email list. I love your postings. Thank you very much.
I would love to switch to a homemade deodorant. Sounds like a good idea. I am pinning this to give it a try in the future.
KC
You definitely won’t regret it!
This looks great! Would love to have you share this on Wildcrafting Wednesday at:
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/wildcrafting-wednesday-7.html
and The HomeAcre Hop tonight at:
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/the-homeacre-hop-5.html
Hope to see you there!
Thanks for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/01/wildcrafting-wednesday-7.html
Hey there! My husband and I have been using homemade deodorant for about a year now and have been really pleased with the results. The recipe we’ve been using is less waxy than this, and a fair amount is wasted to crumbling – I think I might have to give yours a go. I agree with you that the cost savings and health benefits are well worth the ever so slight inconvenience.
O no that doesn’t sound good! I haven’t had any problems with this one doing that so far.. Good luck trying this recipe!
I am slowly switching all to all natural “beauty” products! Thanks for the recipe for the homemade deodorant!
So glad you like it! Good luck with going natural.
One thing I noticed when we went to a mostly plant based diet was we didn’t have a problem with body odor anymore. We haven’t used deodorant in over 6 months. When we did use it though I made a similar recipe and we loved it.
Thats so strange! Totally doesn’t surprise me though since when you sweat you remove a lot of toxins and if you rid your diet of those toxins than your probably way less stinky!
wow lucky you!
i’ve been vegan for 12 years and still stink 😉
We went vegan and lost the BO stink. When we *stink* now it’s because of garlic or Indian spices:)
If I eat any amount of garlic my hands smell for days!! Some people process food differently I think.
do u have problems with it staing ur clothes?
I have not had a problem with it leaving stains. I remember a friend who had issues with staining and when she switch to a very similar recipe I posted the staining went away!
how about melting does it melt above certain temperature? have had that problem in past too with homemade ones.
I’ve had this problem too but the beeswax should prevent it from melting
That looks great! At least as good as deodorant can look! : )
I definitely want to try this recipe out next, after I finishing using up the batch I just made from your other recipe. (which is awesome)
Haha thanks Sara! I think you will love this one as much as the other!
hiya!
i’ve tried a recipe very similar to this (basically without the wax) and both me and my husband ended up breaking out pretty painfully in the ole’ pit area. after some research, i realized that many other people seem to be bothered by the baking soda in the recipe, but seeing that its a huge part in being “deodorant”, its kind of hard to do without.
i’m assuming you haven’t had this problem, so i am wondering if you know if having a wax in there as well seems to take a bit of the harshness away from the baking soda?
i love the idea of getting away from the store bought brands, but unfortunately its my only choice right now, as that little salt-lick of a deodorant doesn’t seem to do the trick!
thanks for any info – love your site 🙂
I’m sorry that baking soda makes you react that way! I have heard other people having issues with it too! Personally it doesn’t bother me and I think you may have a better chance with this deodorant because it has less baking soda in it. If you want to completely stay away from it you can try this recipe from Frugally Sustainable. She uses clay instead of baking soda. So hopefully you won’t react as bad. Or you could try to use a natural store bought kind like Toms (but honestly I don’t think it works at all and I smelled horrible when I used it, but maybe you would have a better shot and aren’t as stinky as I am 🙂 Also, Im so glad you like me site! Good luck hopefully you can find something that works for you! http://frugallysustainable.com/2012/07/a-homemade-herbal-deodorant-for-sensitive-skin-and-a-fun-giveaway-for-you/
thanks so much for the other recipe amy, i’m on it!
yeah, those stones are a great idea, if they worked…
i must be a stinky gal too, they just never seem to work for me, so i’m pretty excited about
this other recipe – thanks again!
Amy, thank you for this recipe, I’m definitively gonna try it! 🙂
Nikole, you can use alum crystal (potassium alum= natural mineral salt) instead of baking soda. Alum crystal is a 100% natural mineral salt, used since the Ancient times as natural deodorant, medicine and anti-microbial. For this recipe you can buy powdered alum crytal or buy the stone and crush it yourself with a kitchen mortar.
Just be sure that you’re buying “potassium alum” (100% natural alum crystal) NOT “ammonium alum” (synthetic).
thanks so much natty, i’ll have to try that!!
THANKS! I’m very sensitive to baking soda. Tried the bentonite clay in a powder and it didn’t do much for me odor wise. I have yet to find a deoderant that doesn’t cause problems or make me break out (I’m wondering if the sweat causes yeast issues under the arms? Just a theory.) At any rate, I’m curious about the alum crystals. Do you use it in the same proportions as the baking soda? If so, I’m giving this a try posthaste!
Susan PL: If you think it is a bacterial odor problem, I would add the tea tree oil. It is a natural antiseptic.
I slightly cool mine and put it into a Dixie cup. I can scoop it out or tear it off as I use it. Cheap and easy.
According to http://www.mercola.com potassium alum is actually potassium aluminum sulfate. If we are trying to eliminate aluminium in our store-bought deodorant, shouldn’t be be avoiding this as well – even if it is “ancient?” I’m not being critical, I really want to know if anyone can advise me. Thanks!
A lot of the time the reason people have BO issues is because they are toxic in their body… Try also cleaning up your diet or perhaps do a full body detox. I am a nutritionist and had found when people clean up their diets their BO is almost none existent. Just food for thought. 🙂
Good point! I’ve heard this before and I wish it was true for me because we eat 95% healthy and organic and I still stink! haha! I think mine is related to hormone imbalance. For some though cleaning up their diet totally does work!
Amy, through my research it could be Hormonal or yeast. Some people even though eat a clean diet have an issue with Yeast and or Hormonal… I would recommend detoxing the whole body. The Colon, Liver, Parasite, and heavy metals. Those can cause BO as well. 🙂
Well that probably me to a T! I’m pretty sure I have a hormone imbalance related to some food allergies and some other issues. I need to go back onto whole30 or paleo like eating for awhile to get it back on track! Thanks Kim for researching that.
I also am very sensitive to baking soda My husband and I just use a small wedge of lemon first the juice side then the skin side, works great just need time to get use to it and might have to brush off a pulp or two with your towel :}