I have been experimenting with making some of my own skincare products and hair shampoo and conditioners for a while now. Recently I came across a post on the Wellness Mama blog about making deodorant at home and thought I'd give it a go and see what I thought.
Here's what I did...
This recipe, from Wellness Mama's Blog, is for a bar or stick type deodorant. I didn't have any Shea butter but it mentioned that I could add more coconut oil and arrowroot to thicken it up.
I let it cool slightly and then poured it into some used commercial twist up deodorant stick containers that I had cleaned out.
So then I decided to try making a more liquid deodorant that I could put on using my fingers rather than a stick/bar that glides on. To melt the coconut oil - just leave in the sun for a few minutes!
I put about 200mls of melted coconut oil straight into the container that I wanted to use and thickened with about 2 tablespoons of arrowroot. Then I added a large tablespoon Bi-Carb and mixed it in. Some people find the bi-carb to be an irritant so start with a smaller amount and increase it if you don't react. You need to find a balance between the activeness of the Bi-Carb and its potential to irritate! The Bi-Carb makes the solution alkaline and makes it harder for the bacteria to grow and multiply. The Bi-Carb is the more active ingredient in this recipe. The coconut oil is the carrier and is also a mild anti bacterial. The arrowroot is a thickener. Without the arrowroot the mixture will be too runny to apply, although I have read that some people just use coconut oil and nothing else as a deodorant.
And once it hardens up a bit, its ready to use. I just scoop a bit up onto my fingers and smooth it under my arms. You don't need much, maybe a thumbnail size blob.
So far, I have had a very small amount of itching on really hot days but the rest of the time I don't even remember that I'm not using a commercial product. Not everybody tolerates the bi-carb so you need to test it for yourself to see how much you need and/or can tolerate. I have had some pretty full on days at work and so far, it seems to be working for me. I have made about three batches of it and I'm finding it great. I love the scent! My husband used it for a while and finds it ok for warm days but not so good for days when its very hot. I think different body chemistry reacts in different ways to this deodorant - just like any other product I guess.
I have found this mixture to melt a bit in the heat of the day and to be quite solid at night or when its cold so I think I'll make it thinner in the winter and thicker in the summer by increasing or decreasing the arrowroot.
This is a deodorant not a anti-perspirant so you will still sweat, but hopefully you wont smell and if you shave your armpits, don't use this mixture straight after as the Bi-Carb can sting!
I also found this website that did a review of three home made deodorants that was very interesting. Have a look and if you do make your own, let me know how you went.
Score card:
Green-ness: 5/5 for using totally natural ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.
Frugal-ness: Clove oil isn't expensive but
Time cost: About 3 minutes!
Skill level: Mixing and stirring!
Fun-ness: Great fun - especially as it works for me!
Here's what I did...
This recipe, from Wellness Mama's Blog, is for a bar or stick type deodorant. I didn't have any Shea butter but it mentioned that I could add more coconut oil and arrowroot to thicken it up.
So I used what I had and melted it all together in a pan of water.
I let it cool slightly and then poured it into some used commercial twist up deodorant stick containers that I had cleaned out.
The big disappointment was that once reassembled with the new deodorant inside, it wouldn't wind up... Somehow I had jammed both of them, or more likely, they were never made to be reused, which is a shame on so many levels.
So then I decided to try making a more liquid deodorant that I could put on using my fingers rather than a stick/bar that glides on. To melt the coconut oil - just leave in the sun for a few minutes!
I put about 200mls of melted coconut oil straight into the container that I wanted to use and thickened with about 2 tablespoons of arrowroot. Then I added a large tablespoon Bi-Carb and mixed it in. Some people find the bi-carb to be an irritant so start with a smaller amount and increase it if you don't react. You need to find a balance between the activeness of the Bi-Carb and its potential to irritate! The Bi-Carb makes the solution alkaline and makes it harder for the bacteria to grow and multiply. The Bi-Carb is the more active ingredient in this recipe. The coconut oil is the carrier and is also a mild anti bacterial. The arrowroot is a thickener. Without the arrowroot the mixture will be too runny to apply, although I have read that some people just use coconut oil and nothing else as a deodorant.
I popped in a few drops of clove oil and fragranced it with sweet orange oil which makes a really nice combination. The clove oil is also meant to have anti-bacterial properties and so will also help with controlling the bacteria that grows in your armpits!
And once it hardens up a bit, its ready to use. I just scoop a bit up onto my fingers and smooth it under my arms. You don't need much, maybe a thumbnail size blob.
So far, I have had a very small amount of itching on really hot days but the rest of the time I don't even remember that I'm not using a commercial product. Not everybody tolerates the bi-carb so you need to test it for yourself to see how much you need and/or can tolerate. I have had some pretty full on days at work and so far, it seems to be working for me. I have made about three batches of it and I'm finding it great. I love the scent! My husband used it for a while and finds it ok for warm days but not so good for days when its very hot. I think different body chemistry reacts in different ways to this deodorant - just like any other product I guess.
I have found this mixture to melt a bit in the heat of the day and to be quite solid at night or when its cold so I think I'll make it thinner in the winter and thicker in the summer by increasing or decreasing the arrowroot.
This is a deodorant not a anti-perspirant so you will still sweat, but hopefully you wont smell and if you shave your armpits, don't use this mixture straight after as the Bi-Carb can sting!
I also found this website that did a review of three home made deodorants that was very interesting. Have a look and if you do make your own, let me know how you went.
Score card:
Green-ness: 5/5 for using totally natural ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.
Frugal-ness: Clove oil isn't expensive but
Time cost: About 3 minutes!
Skill level: Mixing and stirring!
Fun-ness: Great fun - especially as it works for me!
Comments
aluminum free deodorants?
aluminum free deodorants?
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