DIY Deodorant Update

A while back I did a post about DIY deodorant. I wasn't a big fan of the scent and the consistency needed to be firmed up a bit in my opinion. The original recipe can be found here and is pretty awesome in and of itself so you should go check it out. My tweaks are below.
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp Beeswax Pellets
1/4 C Baking Soda
1/4 C Cornstarch 
10 Drops Purification Oil
10 Drops Sweet Orange Oil
5 Drops Lemon Oil

OTHER:
Empty Deodorant Tube

PROCEDURE:

1. Melt coconut oil and beeswax pellets slowly over very low heat in a small saucepan.
2. Remove from heat once completely melted.
3. Mix in cornstarch and baking soda until smooth.
4. Add any essential oils you so desire. 
• You can add the ones from the original recipe, the ones I am using or different ones altogether. If you do not have any oils feel free to leave them out, the deodorant will still work. 
5. Pour mixture into an empty deodorant tube or other twist up container. I prefer to let mine sit for a minute and begin to settle then give it a quick mix before I pour it but this isn't necessary.
6. Allow the tube to cool completely.

The tube can be a little difficult to get going but, out of all the variations of beeswax I have tried, this is the easiest while still remaining solid enough to use easily in a roll-on form.  
 

Exfoliation and Facial Care

Your facial skin is very sensitive and as such it is important to take good care of it. Most cleansers and exfoliation creams have harsh chemicals in them that can cause more harm than good, especially to sensitive skin. For this reason I have slowly moved to an all natural skin care regime myself. The best part? Well, other than the fact that my skin isn't being exposed to chemicals I mean... I can make everything from items already in my pantry which means its super inexpensive and I don't have any wasted 'products' expiring before I use them. How much does one teaspoon of baking soda cost? Less than a penny typically. A healthy pinch of coconut oil? Usually, less than $0.07... and a single teaspoon of apple cider vinegar costs less than 3 cents. So It costs me AT MOST $0.10/day or $3.00 a month to clean, exfoliate, tone, and remove make-up off of my face... and I don't need to do it every day! How much does your skincare routine cost you each month? A brand name pack of make-up removing cloths will run you $4.50... so that cost can add up very quickly. 

Make-up Remover:
Coconut oil is amazing! You will see it in most of my recipes used for moisturizing just to begin with (and not even touching on cooking!)... from lotions to pre-shave cream to make-up remover this is a very versatile substance. Simply rub a bit on your eye lids in a circular motion and then wipe it off with a soft cloth to remove makeup, including mascara!

Exfoliator #1:
This is a simple mixture of baking soda and water and is ideal for occasional use rather than everyday use. Mix together 1 tsp baking soda, 1 drop lavender (optional) and 1 tsp water. Put mixture on a cleansing pad and rub in gentle circles on your face. Rinse with warm water, pat dry and follow up with toner.

 

Exfoliator #2:
While sugar is not a good choice for your daily nutrition it is a good option to exfoliate your skin. Simply mix sugar and oil in a 1:1 ratio and rub gently on your face. Let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing with warm water and pat your face dry. I have seen this type of recipe used in spas with some added oils as part of a massage or other treatment... you can even purchase sugar scrubs at beauty supply stores. Without fail they are far more expensive than they should be. It will cost you less than $1.00 to mix up a fairly generous amount of this concoction which leaves your skin smooth and glowing. Again, exfoliation isn't something you should do every day as once or twice a week should be plenty.

Toner:
Another super simple beauty item directly out of your pantry... apple cider vinegar. A mix of 4 parts water to 1 part ACV makes an effective toner. Simply pat a bit on after you exfoliate and this pantry staple is now a cheap but effective skin toner. It does, of course, smell like vinegar but the smell dissipates very quickly so should not be a deterrent.

Cleanser:
Cleansing your face is something you do every day most likely so it needs to fairly gentle on your skin. Personally, I typically just cleanse with warm water most days but there are some days that I want something a bit more substantial... like if I get a breakout of acne. Usually acne isn't a problem for me anymore unless I fall off the wagon so to speak but there are indeed times where I eat something I shouldn't or don't realize that there is an ingredient that I shouldn't eat in a dish while I am out to eat. These are the times I rely on my cleanser and some do some extra TLC on my skin. Like all the other recipes on the list here I have the ingredients for my cleanser in my kitchen pantry. Simply mix 2 tsp of coconut oil with 1 tsp of baking soda and you have an effective but gentle cleanser. Rub in gentle circles on your face, wait a few minutes then rinse with warm water and pat dry. Follow up with toner for a complete skincare routine. One note about coconut oil: while it should be liquid at room temperature sometimes your room temperature is a bit cooler so it will be solid. If this is the case it is a little more difficult to mix together. Simply toss it in the microwave for 10 seconds and it is very easy to mix!

I will be discussing lotions and body butter in about a week so check back then for some all-natural but still simple recipes. What other diy all natural recipes would you like to show up in the blog? Until next time, have a healthful day!

Curious where I get my ingredients? I get my ingredients all over the metroplex, on Amazon and through Young Living as a distributor. Don't want to search out stores to pick them up? I'll make it easy! You can place an order through me for any oils you may need and here are some quick links for the rest of the ingredients on Amazon should you wish to order online:

    

Homemade Deodorant

I am allergic to aluminum... this means traditional, store bought, deodorants are pretty much off the table for me. Now-a-days this doesn't bother me as I've seen quite a bit of research to show that our traditional deodorants with antiperspirant properties are bad for you anyways but for years it was the bane of my monthly shopping expedition. Until you have tried more store-bought options than you can remember you just don't understand the struggle to find a good aluminum free deodorant. Ones I remember off the top of my head:

1. Tom's- It failed... miserably... peaches and sweat is NOT a good combination people! This battle was about half my college career... it was not pretty.
2. Adidas - They stopped making their aluminum free stick deodorant RIGHT after I realized it seemed to work pretty well of course. Still a college student in a small town with only Tom's peaches and sweat option I jumped on this while I had the chance.
3. ClayDry- This seems to work fairly well and was recommended by the owner of the store I purchased my essential oils from while living in California but it smells similar to gin so was far from my favorite option.
4. Lavolin 36 hour- This one works pretty amazing actually but I am distrustful of something that mysteriously lasts through my shower... just saying. I used the roll-on kind which is a little expensive but takes a few months to get through so this was my go to... until now!
5. many many others...

A little less than a year ago now I started cutting out chemicals from my household cleaners and slowly that trickled into my 'beauty aisle' type products such as lotions and shampoo. I had developed some chemical sensitivities in the past few years and I wanted to reverse the adverse effects and become healthier in general... especially if we were going to have children someday which was coming up in conversations. Eventually I got to the point where I wanted to make them at home so that I knew exactly what I was putting on my body and in the air in my home plus save some money. So I began my search for a diy all-natural deodorant. There are a ton of recipes out there but many of them are pastes and I really didn't want a paste that I needed to spread on my underarms... it seemed messy and honestly, I really wanted something that was easy to apply and travel with. One of the recipes I found that seemed like it would work really well is here. So I gave it a try and it was pretty straight forward and easy to create. The recipe made 2 tubes of deodorant just like she said it would and it works!

The ingredients were pretty much things I already had on hand in my house (except corn starch but that was a quick fix at the grocery store and now I have more than enough for my suburban homesteading/diy adventures to come for quite a while): cornstarch, baking soda, coconut oil, beeswax, and essential oils (lemon, frankincense, and lavender).

I simply followed the step by step directions to combine all the ingredients with low heat then add in the essential oils once well combined. It was a quick recipe to follow and ended up giving me two beautiful sticks of deodorant.

One note: it is a little difficult to get them to turn properly with my containers at first but I just used a towel to get a firm grip and kept turning until it began to move and now there are no issues.

I've been using the deodorant for about two weeks now and have had no problems with smelling sweaty and gross in the day to day activities, even in a Texas summer!

Now for the problems...

1. I do NOT like the scent, it smells too masculine for me personally. Luckily when I make my next batch (I'm giving one bar away to a fellow aluminum-allergic POTSie friend so maybe in a month or so) I can change the scent. The scent is growing on me though so perhaps I'll just decrease the amounts of the oils to lighten up the scent. We shall see...
2. The deodorant seems to melt as I am putting it on so the spread-able factor isn't quite right. I will fix this by adding a little more beeswax next time.

That's it... all in all I would review this recipe very favorably. Next batch I make I will give the changes I proposed a go and add an update to this post.

UPDATE: I have tried about a million combinations at this point it feels like. I ended up halving the recipe but upping the beeswax and using Purification oil and Sweet Orange Oil plus a little bit of Lemon Oil to create the deodorant I am using now. I will post an official update post with the measurements in September.

Give it a try... it's easy, healthier than store bought options for your body, and quite inexpensive to boot! 

I will be sharing my lotion/body butter recipe soon (wonderfully rich and silky... and only slightly more complicated than this recipe) so look for that in a few weeks! What would you guys like for me to try and make next? Comment below!

Curious where I get my ingredients? I get my ingredients all over the metroplex, on Amazon and through Young Living as a distributor. Don't want to search out stores to pick them up? I'll make it easy! You can place an order through me for any oils you may need and here are some quick links for the non-perishable ingredients and tools on Amazon should you wish to order online: