I can’t pronounce the ingredients on an antiperspirant label, so I make my own deodorant.
A little over two years ago I stopped buying antiperspirant and deodorant all together. I was pregnant at the time and concerned about toxins being trapped inside my body because of the sweat gland plugging properties of antiperspirant. I was also looking to save money. I made my own deodorant and haven’t looked back.
There are all kinds of deodorant recipes all over the internet using essential oils, fancy powders, and hard-to-find ingredients. We’re breaking it down to the bare minimum.
My natural homemade deodorant uses two ingredients.
We’re making the simplest creamy deodorant out of baking soda and coconut oil today.
I’ve tried recipes that include essential oils. They smell great as you stir them into the paste, but the scent fades almost immediately because of the baking soda.
I’ve tried DIY deodorant recipes that call for arrowroot powder or cornstarch to keep underarms dry. Mine didn’t stay dry.
In the end, I concluded that the basic baking soda coconut oil blend works best and keeps me smelling fresh without any fancy add-ins. Works for me!
Let’s get to it!
Natural Homemade Deodorant
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
2-3 Tbsp. baking soda
Melt coconut oil over low heat. This will only take a second, so keep a close eye on it.
Remove from heat and stir in 2 Tbsp. baking soda. Continue adding baking soda until the mixture has the consistency of toothpaste. Spoon into desired container.
The deodorant will harden as it cools. Use your fingertip to scoop out a small bit and rub onto underarms each day.
See, I told you this was simple, doesn’t-even-need-a-recipe simple. Do keep in mind that coconut oil becomes liquid above about 76F so if you keep the natural homemade deodorant in a warm spot, it will soften. No worries, just cool it down and it will solidify again.
If you travel with this deo, be sure your deodorant container has a good seal. Learned this lesson the hard way. No one wants to arrive at their destination to find a big mess inside their luggage.
Tell me, what skincare products do you make at home?
Here’s what you’ll find around my house:
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I have wanted to try doing this! I think I will start with your recipe. One question…does your husband use it too? Blessings!
No, my husband doesn’t use it. He’s pretty furry and I can only imagine it would be a little uncomfortable for him 🙂 He does adapt most of my natural living practices however weird they might be, but not this one. Hope you go ahead and try it!
Thanks for sharing this. I like to make facial and body scrubs at home with honey, brown sugar, salt and a little olive oil.
Mmn. I’ll bet those smelly great with brown sugar and honey. I’ve tried body scrub with salt before and it burned my legs…probably because I tried it on freshly shaven legs, silly me. I think I’d be happy trying this with sugar. Thanks for the suggestion.
I use Tom’s of Maine which is a deodorant not antiperspirant. I don’t like the aluminum in the latter. I’m really interested in trying this deo though because I have both ingredients and I love how simple it is! I have to reapply my deo a couple of times a day. Is that something you have to do too?
Keri, I generally don’t reapply throughout the day unless I work out and shower. I can even apply this at night and wake up smelling fresh. It lasts quite some time, though everyone’s body chemistry is a little different, so your results may differ a little. Hope this helps!
I am definitely going to try this. I think I am allergic to regular deodorant. It makes me itch like crazy. Thanks so much for sharing. When I have time I will check out your other natural recipes. Happy Friday!
I’ve been wanting to make my own deodorant but I’m actually nervous about the oils staining the underarms of my clothes . Have you had any problems with this?
I really want to try this out because I hate all the toxic ingredients in regular deodorants and manufactured “natural” ones are sooooo expensive. Plus these are two ingredients I always have available.
Wishing you a blessed day.
xoxo
I haven’t had any additional trouble with armpit stains when using this. In fact, the yellowing has been the same for me using this homemade deodorant and when I used typical drugstore deo. I always have pit stains and I’m terrible at getting them out. We don’t have hot water hooked up to our washing machine, which doesn’t help matters any, but just know that this will not cause stains any more so than regular deodorant. Coconut oil is very easily removed and requires no extra laundering steps to get it out of clothes. That’s why it’s also cloth-diaper safe too!
I always like to experiment with my new items made and this time decided to add on grounded ginger just to bring on a little bit more of freshness. I think it worked out really well.
Thank you so much for the great and simple homemade deodorant.
Best
Radi
Great idea! I imagine ginger would really make this smell nice too. Thanks for sharing, Radka.