Make Your Own Deodorant (It's A Deodorant And A Dessert Topping!)

I stopped using mainstream antiperspirant a long time ago, both because it irritated my skin and because I was concerned about the health implications of the aluminum it contained. I tried a variety of "natural" deodorants, like Tom's of Maine, but wasn't able to find one that was completely satisfactory. Some of them irritated my skin, perhaps because of the base—propylene glycol, alcohol, etc. Some didn't work very well. Some of them ("rock" deodorants) left me with further questions about safety. I was never quite satisfied. I was not willing to sacrifice health, so I sacrificed some functionality. I found a great aloe-based deodorant by Alvera that was not quite heavy-duty enough for me. But I didn't mind if I smelled a little sweaty sometimes, so I used it for a while.

Things must be worse for the ladies. Many women shave their armpits, making them more vulnerable to irritation. Also, many women would rather not smell sweaty, or have big sweat stains under their armpits. Not as big a deal for many guys I think.

I'd been thinking about making my own deodorant for a while. A few weeks ago, inspired by some blog posts (here and here) I took the plunge. I haven't looked back.

Here's the recipe I used:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 4 tbs baking soda
• 2 tbs cornstarch (or 3 tbs arrowroot—see Addendum 2, below)
• 8 drops assorted essential oils (including tea tree)
  

Melt the coconut oil (a hot water bath should do it). Put it all together in a half-pint mason jar. Shake, shake, shake, stir, stir. Put it in the freezer for a while so that it solidifies.

I had a bottle of mixed tea tree-lavender oil sitting around, so that's what I used. Tea tree is a good place to start, because of its natural antimicrobial properties. I may try adding some ginger. Garlic has some great qualities, too…tempting!

If your house is warm and your deodorant is liquid when you want to use it, give it a shake.

To use it, dip your finger in and spread it around in your armpit. You may want to wash your hands afterwards, but you don't have to.

And if you add some lemon oil and a pinch of stevia, you may be able to say, "It's a deodorant…and a dessert topping!"

ADDENDUM (1/2/2011):

I have recently been using a modified version of the recipe. It is basically the same, but uses only 3 tbs baking soda and 1.5 tbs corn starch. It works just as well, and is slightly milder.

ADDENDUM 2 (6/21/2012):

Folks have raised concern over using corn starch, since non-organic corn starch is almost certainly going to be GMO. One way to address this is to use organic corn starch (which cannot be GMO). Another is to substitute arrowroot. Opinions vary about whether or not arrowroot is a one-to-one substitute for cornstarch. In my experience, you may want to use half again as much arrowroot as cornstarch. I have annotated the above recipe to reflect this.