This week’s blog is a recipe for homemade deodorant! It is hot here, and we don’t have AC, so we are sweatin.’

I started buying aluminum-free deodorants a decade ago, my mom actually bought me my first one. She stuck them in my sister and my stockings at Christmas after reading about how they might be a healthier choice–she is always ahead of the curve. It was Kopari‘s original coconut deodorant and it worked wonderfully and smelled really nice. Since then, I’ve tried a variety of aluminum-free deodorants. Some of my other favorites are Lavanilla and Each & Every, though I see new ones at the grocery store all the time. I’ve even gotten my husband to ditch his Degree Sport and Old Spice deodorants for Dr. Squatch (which he loves, but like the others mentioned, are a little pricey at ~$15/tube). There are a few that I’ve tried and do not recommend: Native, Crystal, Tom’s, and Wild. These just didn’t work for me, and in my opinion are just awful.

Anyways, as before mentioned, our favorite aluminum-free deodorants are a little pricey and I figured I could DIY some homemade ones. I have very sensitive skin, so I avoided baking soda–which is the cornerstone of most homemade deodorants–and used arrowroot powder + kaolin clay instead. The vehicle for getting this powder to the pits is a mix of tallow, cocoa butter (seriously my favorite ingredient, always), beeswax, and shea. I scented my deodorants with essential oils and added just a tiny bit of vitamin E oil for preservation.

Let’s make homemade deodorant!

• Tallow: Tallow is a moisturizing base for this deodorant.
• Cocoa Butter: I love cocoa butter. It smells amazing, and for deodorant, is hard at room temperature, which helps with glide and keeping the bar hard without having to rely too heavily on beeswax (high beeswax bars can start to feel waxy).
• Beeswax: Beeswax helps harden the stick.
• Shea Butter: Shea butter provides a host of antioxidants and vitamins to your skin. I buy unrefined, which has higher vitamin content, but smells very… shea-y.
• Arrowroot Powder: Arrowroot powder does most of the heavy lifting in this recipe. It is a starch that absorbs moisture.
• Kaolin Clay: Like arrowroot starch, kaolin clay absorbs moisture and this helps to minimize the ideal conditions for bacterial growth.
• Vitamin E: Vitamin E slows down oil oxidation, extending the shelf-life of this deodorant (~12 months).
• Essential Oils: Essential oils naturally scent these deodorants. Essential oils like tea tree and lavender are able to boost odor control with their antimicrobial properties.

Gentle Deodorant for Sensitive Skin

This is a hard stick deodorant recipe designed with sensitive skin in mind. It uses natural ingredients and skips baking soda, which can be irritating to sensitive skin.

This deodorant supports the skin barrier, helps absorb moisture, and creates a smooth, creamy stick that glides easily without feeling greasy.

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Servings: 1 deodorant stick

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

• 30 g tallow
• 5 g shea butter
• 5 g cocoa butter
• 7 g beeswax
• 14 g arrowroot powder
• 8 g kaolin clay
• ½ tsp vitamin E oil
• 20 drops essential oils of choice (this amount is for sensitive skin, if you would like a stronger smelling deodorant, you can double this amount)

Equipment

• empty deodorant tube
• small pot
• heat-proof jar
• scale

Method

 

1. Make sure you know how your deodorant tubes work so that you don't have to figure it out while your deodorant solidifies in the pan!

   Prepare your tubes so that they are ready for pouring.
2. Weigh your tallow, shea butter, cocoa butter, and beeswax in a heat proof jar.
   
3. Melt the oils together in a double boiler.
   
4. Meanwhile, weigh the kaolin clay and arrowroot powder in a small bowl.
   
5. Once the oils are fully melted, quickly stir in the powders. If the deodorant is starting to solidify, you can put the jar back in the double boiler to liquefy.
   
6. Once the oils and powders are incorporated, take your jar off the heat and quickly add in the vitamin E oil and essential oils. Pour into your readied tubes.
   
7. Allow the deodorants to sit undisturbed for at least a day, then enjoy!
   

I wanted to make a girly version for my sisters and me. These are scented with geranium, lavender, and frankincense; and thought it would be fun to replace a little (about a quarter) of the kaolin with pink clay. This was too much pigment! There is a slightly pink cast when applied. If I apply and then walk around without a shirt for five minutes, I don’t get staining, but obviously this is an inconvenience. I will continue to experiment with coloring (maybe woad, butterfly pea, and arnica), and I’m also planning to experiment with magnesium hydroxide for a homemade sport deodorant.

Read more about natural deodorant:

The Herbal Academy’s Natural Deodorant with Bentonite Clay