Tags
aluminum free deodorants, coconut oil deodorant, deodorant, homemade deodorant, zinc oxide, zinc oxide deodorant
Some of you may not know this yet, but I’m really weird. 🙂 My youngest sister Jessica is a senior in high school and she says she has a hard time explaining me to her friends. I tell her she can use the term “weirdly awesome” and leave it at that, but she likes to give a bit more of an explanation. She sums it up like this –“she makes her own toothpaste!” Well, I not only make my own toothpaste, but I also make my own lotion, hand wash/body wash, shampoo and conditioner, etc… And it’s not just skin care products, I also make my own sauces and dressings and mayo and things like that for cooking. I do all of this for health reasons and it turns out that it’s actually a lot of fun and it saves me money. 🙂
As far as skincare products go, I had thrown away pretty much all of my store bought products that are full of chemicals and preservatives and switched over to homemade, but there was one item I hadn’t been able to let go of quite yet –my deodorant. I had tried several brands of natural, aluminum free deodorants from the store a few years ago and none of them worked for me at all. My choices seemed to be to go around with body odor or to go back to my old brand of regular deodorant. I chose the regular deodorant because, not only did I not want to offend others with my stench, I didn’t want to offend my own nose either. Back then I didn’t even know it was possible to make my own stuff so I didn’t even consider that as an option.
Ever since I started making my own products I’ve had deodorant in the back of my mind but was always nervous to attempt making my own. A few weeks ago I finally decided to attempt it and I was definitely not pleased with the results. The deodorant may have been ok if I applied several times a day but who has time for that? So I did some more research and came to the conclusion that zinc oxide powder (I had to order it online) is the key ingredient for an effective deodorant.
Zinc oxide powder is used in natural diaper rash creams and in natural sunblock. Why would I use it for deodorant? First of all, please remember that I’m not a scientist so I may not explain everything right but this is my understanding of it all. Also, it’s important to note that I wasn’t trying to make an antiperspirant deodorant –just a deodorant. Sweat is a natural and healthy thing for our bodies. And the sweat isn’t what causes the smell –it’s the sweat mixing with bacteria as the sweat decomposes. Zinc oxide supposedly reacts with the short fatty acids that are responsible for the smell by converting them into odorless zinc salts and it is antibacterial so it inhibits bacteria growth. I also used coconut oil (smells great and is antimicrobial), arrowroot powder (to thicken and to help absorb moisture from sweat), cypress essential oil (smells great and has a bit of an antiperspirant effect without blocking sweat completely), and lavender essential oil (smells great and is antibacterial).
Most of the deodorant recipes I found using zinc oxide powder were a spray deodorant, which I didn’t want. So I decided to attempt my own cream deodorant. I softened some coconut oil and stirred in the zinc oxide, arrowroot powder, and essential oils. It was a nice, white cream. But by the next morning it was completely hard because my house is so cold! The melting point of coconut oil is 76° F and my basement (which is where I’m living now) is probably around 60° right now. So I had to melt down the deodorant again and pour it into an old, cleaned out deodorant container and let it harden. Now I can use it just like regular deodorant. And if it gets too warm and soft in the summer time then I can either store it in the fridge or use it as a cream like I had originally intended. 🙂
So, did my second experiment work? Well, I used it for a few days and it seemed to be working great. Yesterday I really put it to the test and was super pleased with the results. I didn’t shower yesterday, and if I’m being completely honest I hadn’t showered the day before either. I know, I know –that’s disgusting but it happens sometimes. I did wash my armpits and put on deodorant in the morning though, which worked great. And then last night I played basketball. I hadn’t played in years and it was definitely more of a workout than I remembered –I was sweating like crazy. But guess what? I smelled my pits and they did not stink at all and I didn’t even reapply before playing!!! After two days of no showering and a strenuous workout I can definitely say that I’ll be sticking to this recipe. 🙂 Here it is if you’re interested.
Treasa’s Homemade Deodorant
1/3 c. extra virgin coconut oil
4 T. arrowroot powder
2 T. zinc oxide powder
15 drops doTerra Cypress essential oil
10 drops doTerra Lavender essential oil
Soften your coconut oil and whisk in the arrowroot powder, zinc oxide powder, and essential oils. For the essential oils you can use more or less depending on scent preference and you can also use other oils if you want. I really like these though. 🙂 If your house is cool, pour your cream into an old, cleaned out deodorant container and put in the freezer for a bit until it hardens. If your house is warm, pour into a clean jar and use it like a cream. This works best when applied to a clean underarm so if you’re gross like me and don’t shower that morning, at least wipe down your pits. Hopefully this works as well for you as it does for me! 🙂