Homemade Deo Recipe! I'm calling it No B.O., No B.S. Deo. There's a product to make you less stinky called No BO DEO, but it seems weird.
My inspiration for homemade deodorant came from a couple
of sources—mainly common sense and cost. I’ve read the conflicting reports that state how
anti-perspirants have aluminum that is linked to Alzheimer’s disease and breast
cancer. I have a common sense-approach to reading researched articles, but it stands
to reason that putting a poison on the surface area where your sweat glands are—is
not a good idea. Sweat glands are designed to release toxins in the form of
sweat and odor from your body—so I’d like to let those things go.
Common sense part two—I still have my typical Lady Speed/Dove/Secret
Anti-perspirant. (I have basically no brand loyalty already. I smell the kinds
at the store that are on sale or I have a CVS coupon for and pick one; I guess
it’s not hard for me to divorce myself from the idea of a certain scent to my pits!)
These little tubes are getting more and
more expensive! It’s hard to find them under $4 without a coupon and it's nuts
to me to waste that much cash. If I’m doing something particularly stressful
(court date, first date, anything with the word date in it) or strenuous (10K—um,
just signed up for that today, yikes!), I will probably go with the traditional
anti-perspirant.
Here’s my other thoughts on non-anti-perspirant deodorants:
I’ve tried Burt’s Bees, Tom’s of Maine, and a very natural approach (spraying
alcohol and letting it dry) and I was disappointed in all. I felt moist,
sticky, stinky, and like I just had a natural-scented (Earthy lavender,
calendula, etc.) perfume on my sweaty pits. I don’t want to stink. I’m the clean hippie, y’all!
I don’t want to talk trash about the Burt’s Bees kind, or any brand for that
matter. I understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder—and on the same
logic, stink is in the nose of the smeller. Being smelly after a long day of
physical work, well, that doesn’t terrify me. It just makes me realize that I need
to take a shower or apply more deo.
Here’s my recipe.
It’s been working for about 3 weeks and I’ve had a couple of friends try it out too. I found it to be fairly inexpensive, because most of the things I already had. I could tell you exact measurements, but then I’d have to kill you.
1. Coconut oil (I go with organic from Trader Joe’s or Your
Dekalb Farmer’s Market)
2. Non-Aluminum Baking Soda (This is key—the A&H kind
may or may not have aluminum, which you’re trying to avoid. I go with Bob’s RedMill. They have it in the Natural Section at Kroger.)
Technically that’s all you need, but it’s kind of
disgusting just like that.
3. Aloe (I go with the drinkable kind (George’s), but you
could do the cosmetic/sunburn kind.)
4. Arrowroot Powder (Bob’s Red Mill again, or YDFM had it
for considerably cheaper. Check bulk sections of natural stores, would be my
recommendation.)
5. Essential oils (I got a local Lavender and Eucalyptus
from the Grant Park Farmer’s Market, but I also like AuraCacia brand (at
Vitamin Shoppe and some scents at Kroger) in Tangerine or Sandalwood.
What do I do?
Heat up whatever amount of coconut oil you think you want
to try to use in the microwave. I would recommend starting with about half a
cup. Start with 15 seconds and work up; you don’t need it to be hot, you just
need it to be liquid. (It’s easier to measure when it’s liquid, too.) Use
approximately the same amount of baking soda. Mix them together with a spoon
(you could use a food processor or blender, but it doesn’t really need that.)
In liquid form, it’s easy to go overboard with the baking soda (I did this with
my first batch and it was like dried play-doh), so try to measure a little, and
not just eye-ball them.
Add approximately an eighth to a fourth of your
original amount of coconut oil of Arrowroot powder. Arrowroot powder is needed
for thickening and smooth-ening. It
doesn’t like hot temperatures and will get very crumbly if you microwave your
deo. I use about the same amount (8th/4th) of aloe so
that the baking soda is less shocking to the skin.Continue mixing and add the essential oils, if you feel so inclined.
Measuring the essential oils, well that’s
your preference. Start with maybe 5-10 drops and see how it smells to you. If
it’s not scented enough, you can always add more. I personally like one with
about a half cup of each baking soda and coconut oil, plus the arrowroot and
aloe and 10 drops lavender and 10 drops tangerine oil. I also like Eucalyptus
oil—about 10-15 of those with a little lavender too. Place in a small jar (I
like repurposed ones!) and keep in bathroom or bedroom. See the note below
about temperature.
How do I use it? It doesn’t go in my deodorant container!
I know. You have to use your fingers and dip a small
amount out and then rub it in your pits. I suppose you could put it on your
feet and backs of legs—wherever you get stinky, there’s no reason you couldn’t.
Be careful with tight clothing, specifically dark clothing, because the baking
soda will show on the outside, but then again, it’s easily brushed off. I just
wash my hands after I put it on, no big deal. It won't stain your clothes, either. Baking soda actually boosts/is an ingredient of detergent.
I put mine in different mini jars (old jelly jars or
other cosmetic jars) and made different strengths of scents with the essential
oils. Who doesn’t love choices?
How long does it last?
Realistically, about 10-12 hours. If I go for a dog walk/run in this muggy
Southern heat, it wears off a little sooner. I still sweat though. I want the
toxins out, not in.
I can reapply if I am worried I’m going to stink. That’s
not so hard!
What should it look like?
It should look like a paste or dough. Reminds me a little
of cookie dough or margarine in a tub—but not quite that smooth and greasy. If
your consistency is off, you can remix in more liquid (aloe or coconut oil), or
if it’s too wet, add more baking soda or arrowroot powder. Hotter than 80 degrees
will make it melty, just like other deodorant! If your bathroom gets hot and
steamy, it will get more liquid in there.
Why use these items?
Coconut oil has antibacterial and moisturizing
properties. Baking soda is an elemental compound that neutralizes odors, but is
gritty, so not the most comfortable thing to rub on your body. Arrowroot powder
is similar in property to cornstarch, but has some other minor positive aspects
of absorption, etc. and since it’s not corn, it’s not genetically modified. I
figure there’s enough corn in my life otherwise. Aloe is mentioned in the Bible,
so it’s been tested on humans for a while—it’s cooling and moisturizing for
skin. It also helps balance if you’ve got shaving irritation in your pits—the baking
soda isn’t as rough. The essential oils are the smell-goods. Tea-tree oil is a
smell I don’t care for, but it has natural anti-bacterial properties that fight
odor. Lavender and Eucalyptus are also used in some cultures cosmetics for that
purpose. Lavender has astringent properties, so that can’t hurt for deodorant
purposes! I personally like the sandalwood and tangerine/Sweet orange smells
because they aren’t the typical cosmetic scents; therefore they smell even
cleaner to me.
Where did you get this crazy idea?
A site I really enjoy for whole-food choices and
seemingly-honest authorship is 100 Days of Real Food and the author and her
husband recently positively reviewed a deodorant called “Primal Pit Paste.” I’ve
been attempting to watch every penny and I thought, hmm, I could make this too!
If you read their (adorable) site, you’ll read a story about a parent who was
worried about the lifetime of aluminum building up in their children’s bodies
as the catalyst for non-anti-perspirant deodorant.
A side note here is that, due to many aspects of
unhealthy living, our bodies have become allergic or sensitive to many
ingredients that are regularly in our food and body products. I have a poultry
allergy, and that has been a 15-year ongoing journey of discovering by mistake
just how many chicken and turkey products are in things that don’t seem like
it. If you try something like this and you have a reaction to the baking soda,
it’s probably because of the other things in your diet and body-care regimen. There
are plenty of sites for breaking down baking-soda (pH-basic) sensitivity.
Give it a shot! If you really are scared of making it
yourself and want me to make you a sample so you can try it, shoot me a
message, leave a comment, or get your
soon-to-be unstinky self over on Facebook.
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