This is probably not the first time you’ve heard of homemade deodorant. It’s a pretty common concept in holistic/naturalistic blogs. But what many might not mention is why it (sometimes) doesn’t work out so well.

I don’t think there is any question that it’s a good idea to keep as many artificial ingredients out of our diet and off of our bodies. So homemade deodorant seems to be a natural progression for those of us that place value in such things. And truth be told, the cleaner we’ve eaten, the less body odor we’ve had.

But let’s face it, it’s deodorant. It has to work.

First, our simple, simple recipe and then we’ll discuss some issues.

Homemade Deodorant

3 tablespoons coconut oil

3 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons arrow root powder or cornstarch (optional)

15 drops essential oil* (optional)

*oh my gosh, so many from which to choose

Directions:

Soften the coconut oil and mix in the other ingredients. Spoon into thoroughly cleaned conventional deodorant container (you can buy empty containers, but that seems like a waste of money to me). Quick firm it in the fridge.

Could it be any simpler?

Here are a few of the problems we faced when we first started making homemade deodorant.

It gives me a rash!

How we fixed it: If you experience a rash after a few days of wearing homemade deodorant there are a couple of different ideas that might help.

First, for us, the rash might be from the baking soda. So cut back on the amount until you can find a happy medium of what works but still won’t be irritating to delicate skin.

I decided to go back and forth with my normal deodorant for a few weeks. I found that I could go longer and longer in between using the store bought kind as my skin became accustomed to the change.

A last tip that had a dramatic effect for me was to dry my armpits really well before applying the homemade deodorant. I think the coconut oil on wet skin HOLDS IN MOISTURE (I’ve even heard of people getting a fungal infection from homemade deodorant). So get your blow dryer and really dry your underarms before applying. It will seem weird at first, but like many other grooming rituals, you’ll likely get used to it in no time and wonder why you haven’t done it all along.

Having said all that, sometimes I will still get what feels like the beginnings of a rash. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it that I can find. When that happens, I simply use conventional deodorant for a couple of days. I’d rather use natural ingredients for the vast majority of the time than not at all.

It’s inconvenient!

How we fixed it: We mix it up in a bowl which we reuse and put it into an old, thoroughly cleaned, store bought deodorant container.

I wouldn’t use it if it were in a pot, a jar, or if I had to dip my fingers into it and smear it on. But having it in a deodorant container is just like using store bought deodorant. Not inconvenient at all.

Making it literally takes me about 2 minutes. It’s so easy. It does take a little while to firm up (from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on ambient temperature, or just stick it in the fridge for a few minutes if you’re in a hurry) but we have 2 at all times, so when one is empty, I have a couple of weeks to get the other one made and ready to be used. Easy.

It Melts!

How we fixed it: Well, we didn’t really. If it gets too hot in your house, it will get gooey. Coconut oil melts at 76 F, but it seems that adding the baking soda tends to give it some extra stability. But anything above about 80 F you’ll want to put it in the fridge. Which is really nice anyway when the weather is that warm!

I’ve also read that a couple tablespoons of cocoa butter helps keep it solid, but I’ve not tried that yet.

As with most things, I try to keep this super simple and as economical as possible.

These are the oils we used this time.  It produced a more masculine scent.  Really nice.