Personal Thoughts August 28th 2006 by honourableghoul, on Flickr

I’ve been making and using homemade deodorant for a while now, but I gotta say, I gave it the acid test last week and came out smelling like a rose. Or, actually, smelling like nothing, since I make unscented deodorant!

Here’s what we had going on:

  • Moving son’s belongings out of second story bedroom
  • In 90° heat
  • In 70% humidity
  • Then moving them into his dorm
  • …and saying goodbye

Man, if that isn’t a good test of deodorant, I don’t know what is!

First, let me explain why homemade deodorant. I used anti-perspirant as a teen, but all I really wanted was just not to stink. These days I live in a pretty controlled environment most of the time, and the heat is rarely too uncomfortable. When I venture outdoors in summer to tend my garden, I need the cooling of perspiration to help me manage my body temperature. And now that I’ve heard some of the dangers of the chemicals in deodorants and anti-perspirants, I’m resolute not to use them.

The fact of the matter is, there is no pre-market testing for the safety of the chemicals we apply to our bodies daily. Don’t go to the grocery store and assume that because a beauty or health care item is on a shelf, it is safe for your use. It’s just not true.

But I still don’t want to stink. I tried the deodorant stone, but have heard some disagreement about its aluminum content. I tried various “natural” deodorants, but they all contain synthetic chemicals or fragrances. My skin is my body’s largest organ, and quite frankly, if I wouldn’t eat it, I don’t want it on my body.

An internet search yielded several formulations of homemade deodorant which I tried. Some gave me yeast rashes, some gave me chemical burns and some just didn’t work. I tested each ingredient on my skin for several consecutive days, found the problem ones and started reformulating. Here’s the final recipe I came up with. It’s a two-step application, but still fairly simple to make and use.

Homemade deodorant

coconut oil
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 cup arrowroot powder

Combine the baking soda and arrowroot powder in a small glass jar (I like jelly canning jars, they are fairly break-resistant) and shake well with the lid on. Each day, apply a small amount of coconut oil to underarms, dust with powder. I use a Kabuki makeup brush reserved for this purpose.

The coconut oil is anti-microbial, very skin-healthy and helps the powder “stick.” The baking soda absorbs excess perspiration and neutralizes odors. The arrowroot powder acts as a medium for diluting the baking soda so it won’t burn the skin, but doesn’t feed yeasts like cornstarch might.

If you like scent, a few drops of a gentle essential oil mixed into the coconut oil (melt it first for easiest mixing) would be a good choice. Be sure you test the essential oil on your skin first, as some can be very irritating. If you really want to stick to the food-only guideline, you can simmer a cinnamon stick and a couple whole cloves in coconut oil for several hours and strain out the solids. Other food ingredients like citrus peels, flower petals or herbs would make interesting bases.

For my “two steps is too hard” teens, I melt the coconut oil and combine it with the powder, stirring repeatedly as it firms.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

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