Freshman year of college. My roommate, who I referred to then as someone I’d be friends with but never BEST friends, had about 20 different kinds of deodorant. Because I’m a weirdo, I drew her a magic marker poster of all her deodorants. And I misspelled deodorant: deoderant. After that, we became BEST friends (not because of the poster, probably) and I NEVER spelled deodorant incorrectly again. (Except right there. Which was on purpose!)
I blogged almost a year ago about this homemade deodorant recipe, and after a full year, I’m still loving it! Several of our family and friends use it as well and are pretty pleased with the results. Here is a little video tutorial if you want to watch me make a total mess in my kitchen (par for the course) where I talk about why I like it and Rob attempts close-ups of essential oils. (Thanks for filming, honey!) We will get better at making videos, I promise. Next on my list of things to conquer…
A few video notes: *My armpits turned brown as pregnancy mask that weirdly showed up in my pits. You wouldn’t notice it, and it’s not a side effect that anyone else I know has. *Don’t you love our new kitchen?! Still haven’t finished a recap post on that, but it’s coming. *The brand of gelato with these nifty containers is Talenti, available at Kroger or other grocery stores.
Homemade Deodorant Recipe
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup baking soda
20 drops tea tree essential oil
20 drops essential oil of your choosing for scent (I use peppermint or Thieves)
4 T coconut oil, to texture
Mix the cornstarch and baking soda until all clumps are gone. Add the essential oils and then the coconut oil. I would start with 2 tablespoons and keep mixing, adding a tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency you like. I store mine in a screw-top plastic gelato container in the bathroom. This supply will last roughly five to six months. I’m terrible at estimating costs, but it’s cheap.
Why do I use homemade deodorant??
I started using it when I began to get concerned about things like aluminum in the store-bought brands. I tried some organic deodorants (not antiperspirants), but as an athlete, I found that I was terrifically stinky after roller derby. And actually, I was struggling with feeling stinky even with the store-bought deodorant PLUS antiperspirant. So this was about safety and health, but also smell.
If you watched the video, you heard this story, but I tried the store-bought antiperspirant one night at derby practice and then homemade deodorant at the next day’s practice. My teammate said that I smelled much better with the homemade deodorant–and I had NOT told her what I was using when. For me, that sealed the deal. It has now been almost two years and I have found that this is a GREAT recipe. Some people find that the baking soda irritates their armpits, but it’s probably all about skin type.
What essential oils do I use?
I use Tea Tree
*If you are interested, you can sign up as a retail member just to buy or wholesale. I’d recommend wholesale because you can order a starter kit for $150 or $160 that comes with a slew of oils to try PLUS diffuser, which is a great thing for scenting your home and dispersing oils in the air for health. Diffusers alone run like $100, so it’s a great savings!
As a final, but important point: I still sometimes smell my armpits in public and my husband has just asked me, respectfully, to stop.