I think at this point, most of us have tried making our own DIY deodorant after learning about the dangers of aluminum-containing, store bought poison.
If you're anything like me, the first couple times were a disaster!
My first try seemed OK at first, until my boyfriend sat next to me, and with a puzzled look asked, "What the hell smells like furniture polish!?"
FABULOUS. I don't even use furniture polish (olive oil works great)
Back to the drawing board.
At the time I had been dabbling in making some healthier versions of a lot of things for my home, like laundry soap and toothpaste... even my own ear mite oil for the dog (success BTW, recipe blog?).
As a matter of fact, I became so obsessed, I couldn't wait to get home from work to scour through YouTube videos and blogs for different recipes and techniques to try ;)
Through all my trials, what I discovered is that baking soda burns. It works like a charm for odor protection though.
If you follow most recipes on the internet, they are very high in baking soda which is far too alkalizing for our skin in large doses. Some people have no issue with it, but, I am a walking, talking, bag of over-sensitivity, ouch.
I decided to play around with the recipe to remove the most amount of baking soda I could, while still keeping the effectiveness of it.
The other dry component of DIY deodorants is corn starch... most corn is GMO, and I didn't like the texture it gave, so I started using arrowroot powder.
The arrowroot gave it a nice texture, but wasn't quite enough to compensate for the lower amount of baking soda as far as the whole 'odor-and-wetness' issue we use deodorants for.
Back to researching.
What I found was bentonite clay. This stuff is amazing for so many reasons and I use it in many of my creations!
It was perfect to help boost the recipe just enough so the baking soda wasn't missed ;)
I tried using just sodium bentonite initially, and then discovered combining it with calcium bentonite was more effective.
As well as the dry ingredients, you obviously need ingredients like solid butters and oils to bind them together.
A lot of recipes call for coconut oil, which is fabulous for so many things, but for me it wasn't stable enough, it melts too easily for solid deodorant in stick form ( I initially used old containers)
I tried shea butter, too unstable for my recipe because it gets really grainy under certain conditions.
I really never did try cocoa butter (hmm maybe someday).
What I settled on is mango butter! This stuff is creamy and soft and *sighs* just lovely!
I found that the mango butter worked best when combined with a little oil.
I have used many over the past 2+ years and what I finally settled on is avocado oil.
It is loaded with vitamins and has great anti-bacterial properties (a SUPER plus because most body odor is caused by bacteria poop EWWW!)
If you are making your deodorant to put in a container to be scooped out and applied with your fingers, consistency isn't really THAT big of a deal, but I was trying to get it to roll up and apply like the stuff I had grown accustomed to (sans the crap!)
Beeswax was the answer. Not only did it make my recipe come together enough to be able to use from a deodorant tube, but the beeswax also provides MORE anti-bacterial power SCORE! *grins from ear to ear*
I also usually toss a little vitamin E into all of my recipes because it is a natural preservative, and it is great for the skin
- consistency, check.
- effectiveness, check.
- skin softening, check.
- natural preservative, check.
BUT WHAT ABOUT SCENT??!!
Certainly NOT going to use the furniture polish-smelling one.
I find it best to use essential oils because most of them are antibacterial and won't add chemicals and other crap to your healthy new recipe like the artificial scented oils will.
My favorite is Lavender Spearmint (OMG)
I hope that I have given you what you came to this post for.
DIY is always fun! Mixing and experimenting is my favorite part :D
I hope that your recipe turns out perfect for you!
If you wanna skip all the work and try my Mango & Avocado Bentonite Deodorant <----just click="" just--="">
I love to share my creations so if you see anything you like in my Etsy store and want to know how I make it, let me know in the comments below!
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xoxo
Jamiann
