The SECRET to Natural Deodorant that WORKS (make your own in 5 minutes!)
- Molly Ishmael
- Sep 18, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Feb 20, 2022
I used to think natural deodorant didn't work for me. Then I found out the SECRET - and now everything makes sense about why it never worked before! Please, take a moment to read my story. It might be yours, too. Then find out how to make your own custom deodorant in 5 minutes!
By the way: This recipe is one the SHORTEST and easiest on my site, but the post itself is one of the LONGEST. Yup. That's because I went through a 20-year journey trying to find natural deodorant and I want to share in case any of you empathize with the struggle. If you're serious about making the switch, it's worth reading this post so you can finally understand how to do it successfully. It only takes a few minutes to read my story and doing so could change your life for the better starting today.
My homemade deodorant took 5 minutes to craft and has worked efficiently ever since.
I've tried the store bought versions. But there are two sides to every coin and store bought versions can have their drawbacks, whether it's an astronomical price, lack of efficacy, ingredients you don't like even in the natural kinds, or difficulty finding a scent you like. I have personally struggled through ALL those issues and now I'm so relieved to struggle no more. I started making my own homemade recently and I've never been happier.
First off, the elephant in the room. Does natural deodorant really work?
I bet we have all tried all-natural deodorant in the past that seemingly failed us. I remember trying the crystal version (yes, that's a thing), and multiple off-the-shelf scented versions, all with no aluminum, and all that never seemed to help. I had a customer-facing job - I couldn't be smelly! So even though I've always been health-conscious, I gave up on natural deodorant for many years. That is, until a leading professional in the industry shared the SECRET to finally getting it to work!
Scroll down to read my story. It only takes a minute to read, and it may change your life.
Bonus - you can package these for adorable, health-conscious gifts! Feel free to share my recipe, too! LINKS to these adorable jars and cute spatulas below.
My Story: Transitioning to Natural Deodorant (and the secret to finally doing it successfully!)
I never liked using aluminum-based anti-perspirant, but anytime I tried to move away from it, honestly (and this is embarrassing to admit) the odor would get out of control! Plus my armpits would become a soggy mess - I've even had clothing ruined from excess sweating. Over the years since I was a teenager, I kept using stronger and stronger anti-perspirants with more and more aluminum, and that would help at first, then my body would adapt and the problem would return. I thought there must be something wrong with me - I must be a really sweaty and smelly person!
I wished all-natural worked for me, but it didn't seem to, and I didn't want to be the stinky one in the group. Plus, for 11 out of the past 15 years I've lived in South Florida, so the thought of sweating profusely in extremely hot weather without effective deodorant was a scary one. I put my concerns on the back shelf and tried not to think about the ingredients.
Then in 2018 we decided to start trying to have a baby. But before getting pregnant, I wanted to have an-extra healthy body. I started to reconsider rubbing aluminum (a heavy metal neurotoxin associated with dementia*) and parabens (linked to breast cancer**) into my open pores next to my boobs. Also, seeing as the girls are also the meal factory for babies, the concern abounds on multiple levels. With myself AND baby in mind, the thought of continuing to use my anti-perspirant started to bother more than ever before. I was determined to make the switch. So once again, I bought an expensive, all-natural deodorant - one of the big brands. And once again, day one, I was smelly at work.
I had enough. I sent a "perturbed" email to the company, complaining that they advertise it "actually works" when it didn't work for me. Imagine my surprise when the founder of the company wrote me back!
He told me they issued a full refund for me (which they did.) BUT he more to say! He went on to ask if I gave my body a chance to DETOX from the unhealthy deodorants first which can take days, maybe even a week or so. Wait, I was supposed to give time for my armpits to detox? No one ever told me that before!
It turns out that using aluminum-based anti-perspirant stops you from sweating. Haha yes, that's the point, right? But think about it - what's happening to all the sweat and bacteria and everything else that can't exit through your pores? Could it be accumulating in there, eventually rendering even the strongest anti-perspirant ineffective? I even know one woman who was so desperate to stop the sweat, she had a procedure done to STOP her armpits from being able to sweat. Wow that does NOT sound healthy! Our skin is designed to breath. If we clog it with heavy metals and inhibit the natural processes, the smell may actually get WORSE - causing us to buy MORE and MORE of strong and stronger anti-perspirant. It's a self-defeating game.
I decided to try his advice. Since I still had the natural deodorant (they refunded me but let me keep the product) I gave it another try. This time, I started on a Friday, as I figured my smelliest days would occur over the weekend away from the office (and all humans, haha). I didn't socialize for a few days and just let my body do its thing. Sure enough, within a few days I didn't smell anymore! I couldn't believe it. I had struggled with sweat and odor for 20 years - and now it was just gone. Everything started making sense - it seems the more I had clogged my pores with aluminum intended to stop sweat, the more the toxins and bacteria built up under my skin and eventually broke through smelling worse than before. I reasoned that the more my body tried sweat and was inhibited, it probably tried to sweat more, perhaps causing the excess perspiration I had experienced, ironically, ever since using anti-perspirant. But the longer I went without antiperspirant and allowed my skin to breath and clean itself, I barely felt like I needed much product at all.
However, there was one problem. For an entire year, I continued to buy and use the same wonderful brand from the founder who took the time to email me. I sent him such a big thank you note later! But unfortunately, eventually the baking soda in the recipe started bothering my skin - I figured this out after some research when my poor pits developed a horrible itchy rash. Apparently it's a common issue. It doesn't happen to everyone, but I've always had very sensitive skin, so it happened to me.
Try another brand, right? I tried another, even more expensive brand that didn't use baking soda. That worked for about 2 years, yay! But slowly it stopped working completely and an unattractive smell started to creep up. Weird! I have two theories for why this happened. First, perhaps the typical deodorant stick dispenser was to blame. Granted the first brand I used had the same dispenser style, but it also had baking soda in it which may have helped. If you don't shower right before every single use, at some point you're rubbing dirty pits into the stick only to use it again later. Second, it contained a number of additives, certainly much better than an anti-perspirant, but there were still a number of ingredients made in a lab and I wonder it that eventually had the same effect as the unhealthy kinds - a build-up of strange ingredients in my skin. Either way, I finally had to stop using it; it was actually making me smell worse.
What to do? I contemplated buying yet another brand and seeing if that would work for the next year or two, just like the last ones. But then, perhaps meant to be, I stopped by a local aromatherapy shop to buy an essential oil I was looking for and the lady behind the counter happened to mentioned she makes her own deodorant. She gave me her recipe. She said she has been doing it for years and never has a problem! I checked online and her recipe was similar to several other popular ones you can find and the testimonials are the same - one person said they used it for 7 years and they're still going strong! I became encouraged again. After all, I already had all the ingredients except arrowroot powder, and so with one click on Amazon, I had everything I needed to try my hand at making my own deodorant for the first time, ever.
Well, to sum up: I loved it. I made a few tweaks to the recipe, such as reducing the baking soda due to my sensitive skin, adding vitamin E for the same reason, and inventing my own signature scent (mine is a citrus blend with a woodsy undertone, but you can use any scent you like.) It's been working beautifully for the past month! Obviously I can't speak for the long term yet, but I hope that my story is like so many others who use a similar recipe and found a permanent solution to their search for natural deodorant! Thank you for reading my story. I really hope that it helps others, too.
Sources:
*Aluminum: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2198876/
**Parabens: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14745841/
Also, here is an interesting article from Time.com on the dangers of many commercial deodorants and antiperspirants: https://time.com/4394051/deodorant-antiperspirant-toxic/
AND NOW, SCROLL DOWN for my super simple recipe - totally natural and free of aluminum and parabens!
The ingredients you need include: Coconut oil, baking soda, arrowroot powder, vitamin E, and essential oils for fragrance.
If you're like me and don't have arrowroot powder sitting around, here it is!
You will also need a small, airtight container for storage. I also recommend using a small spatula to help get the product out of the little jar then use your finger to apply it.
Here are the jars I used for the gift set I made my mom. They're just the right size, too.
The most fun part is getting to curate your own scent mixture!
And maybe the best part is getting to craft a signature scent that you can change with the season or just based on your mood! You could make a new batch each season - I just love having creative license with the scents. Right now I'm all about the grapefruit and lime. Here are more suggestions to try:
Fall Scent Ideas:
Cinnamon and vanilla
Ginger and orange
Winter Scent Ideas:
Peppermint and chocolate
Rosemary and bergamot
Spring Scent Ideas:
Rose and lemon
Gardenia and jasmine
Summer Scent Ideas:
Grapefruit and lime, my favorite! I love a bright zesty burst of scent in the morning.
Basil and lavender
I adore the fruit scents from Plantlife. This brand offers organic oils as an option.
Just in time for the holidays comes this spice-based set. Don't be afraid to try non-traditional scents!
If you'd rather skip mixing your own fragrance, feel free to try pre-mixed essential oils. Imagine a deodorant scented "Relax" or "Invigorate" - that sounds amazing! I love combining grapefruit, lime, and oakmoss or lemongrass. Scents smell different on different people, so if one combo doesn't appeal to you or work with your chemistry, just try another.
This lovely set from Plantlife offers blends including "Energy" and "Calm."
No matter what scents you prefer, you can use the recipe below as a base and experiment from there. It looks like it's time to get started! Have fun!
HANDMADE ALL-NATURAL DEODORANT
Prep Time: 5 mins / Makes 5 ounces
2 Tbsp baking soda
¼ cup arrowroot powder
5 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vitamin E oil
20 drops essential oil for fragrance (I use 9 grapefruit, 9 lime, 2 lemongrass)
DIRECTIONS
1. Gently heat the coconut oil so it is liquidized.
2. Mix all ingredients together using a hand whisk.
3. Pour into a small glass jar with a lid. Wait until it solidifies again, then you can use it immediately. It's meant to be good for about 6 months if stored properly in cool, dark place, but it doesn't take me that long to use this amount.
MY TIP: Immediately after mixing and pouring into the jar, refrigerate for an hour to hasten the solidifying process. This also helps it set up quicker so the oils don't get a chance to separate. After the mixture settles to a solid, you don't have to worry about it separating again. Enjoy!
STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS WITH PHOTOS
Step 1. Heat the coconut oil slightly so it is liquidized.
Step 2. Mix all ingredients together using a hand whisk.
3. Pour into a small glass jar with a lid. Wait until it solidifies again, then you can use it immediately. It's meant to be good for about 6 months if stored properly in cool, dark place, but it doesn't take me that long to use this amount.
MY TIP: Immediately after mixing and pouring into the jar, refrigerate for an hour to hasten the solidifying process. This also helps it set up quicker so the oils don't get a chance to separate! After the mixture settles to a solid, you don't have to worry about it separating again. Enjoy!
Above are two scents I created for my mom. Don't forget to share this recipe with your friends and family who want to make the switch!
I gave a few of these tiny spatulas to my mom and I use them myself. Perfect size and cute, to boot!
Since finally starting to make my own deodorant, I haven't looked back. It honestly works better for me than the store-bought versions AND it clocks in significantly cheaper. I just hope you have the same success I did! Please, leave a note in the comments if you try it, and we can help each other achieve our goals of finally enjoying an all-natural deodorant that really works.
With Love,
Molly
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