Because of the rising health concerns in regards to aluminum and because of my ever growing desire to become more natural and holistic in my health habits, I decided to try my hand at homemade deodorant.

I generally sweat a lot and knew that I didn’t want to make the switch from an aluminum filled antiperspirant to a natural deodorant in the middle of summer, and I have been waiting around for a time cool enough to try my hand at this DIY recipe and it seems that the time finally feels right.

Over the past few months I have been researching other people’s recipes online, analyzing the ingredients, and then making my own. The research process was rather enjoyable and I learned a lot about the different ingredients that are sometimes used in natural deodorants. I looked at both individual’s recipes, as  well as the ingredients of some well known natural deodorant companies, and this is what I came up with in the end:

1. Coconut oil is antibacterial and anti fungal, and I have even read about people who use pure coconut oil under their arms as a deodorant! Although I don’t feel quite confident enough to do that, I knew that including coconut oil in my recipe would be an absolute must.
2. I included both shea butter and cocoa butter for their nourishing and moisturizing benefits. Some studies have even shown shea butter to be anti-inflammatory!
3. Arrowroot powder and bentonite clay were two of the dry powdery ingredients added to help absorb moisture. Lately I have really been enjoying arrowroot powder (I have also been using it as a setting powder, and as dry shampoo), but there are several different options for powders to use in a homemade deodorant, so feel free to do some research yourself to find out what would work the best for you!
4. Bentonite clay also supposedly draws toxins from the body, and since I had some sitting around (I use it for face masks) I decided to add some to my deodorant as well.  I also want to mention that as long as you use 2 tablespoons of powder, it doesn’t matter much how you mix and match the kinds of powder (for example you could do two tablespoons of arrowroot powder and no bentonite clay).
5. Baking soda was added to help control the smell. Although I would love to be able to use deodorant without baking soda since it can be quite harsh on the skin over time, I wanted to include it initially at least as I am still making the switch to natural ingredients and as my body is still adjusting.
6. I added vitamin E oil to my deodorant to help soothe my skin. Vitamin E oil is extremely moisturizing and helps restore the natural oil balance to the skin.
7. Lastly I added some essential oils. There are many different essential oils that you can use in your natural deodorant, but I decided to use melaleuca (tea tree) and frankincense. Melaleuca is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and frankincense increases the strength of any other oil and is also a disinfectant and astringent. As some essential oils can cause sensitivities, please do your research and/or consult with a professional before using any on your skin! If you want to learn more about essential oils, check out my introductory post to them here! Or check out my video here!

In addition to these recipes, you will also need two glass bowls, a glass container (for the finished product to be stored in) and some hot water.

1. To start off combine the coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter in the smaller glass bowl.
2. Heat some water and pour it into the larger glass bowl
3. Place the smaller bowl with the coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter into the bigger glass bowl with the hot water
4. Stir the coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter until it melts into a clear liquid
5. Combine the arrowroot powder, bentonite clay and baking soda in a small bowl and pour it into the coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter mixture (Note: use plastic utensils when handling bentonite clay!)
6. Add vitamin E oil and essential oils to the mixture
7. Mix until a creamy consistency is obtained
8. Pour into glass container
9. Let the mixture sit for a while to let it harden, or if you need it quickly you can place it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes until it hardens

That’s it! I keep my glass jar in my cabinet and use a small plastic scooper to take out a small amount every morning. I warm the deodorant between my fingers and then smooth it under my arms. I decided to make my deodorant without wax pellets added to it, but if you wanted to have a more solid mixture to make it easier to travel with you could add a few teaspoons of wax pellets to your coconut oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter mixture when melting it. This would create a more solid texture and would enable you to pour the liquid into an old deodorant container, for example, to make it easier to travel with.

So far I really like this deodorant, but it is also very obvious to me that it is a deodorant and not an antiperspirant. If you are used to a deodorant blocking your sweating then switching over to a natural alternative might take some getting used to. I am still getting used to it, and I am not sure if this recipe will take me into the summer months or not, but if I can switch from aluminum containing antiperspirants to natural deodorants for even just half of the year, I would consider that a success!

I hope that this recipe was helpful, and if you do end up trying it, please let me know how it works for you! I would also love to hear of any other recipes that you have used that works for you, so please let me know in the comments what recipes you have tried out and that have worked for you!