I don’t know about you, but I live in the SOUTH, where it is hot and humid for most of the year. A good deodorant can become your best friend. And a natural antiperspirant? Even better. I’m not saying that this will keep you from sweating, but the arrowroot powder does help. The baking soda neutralizes any odor and lasts all day long. Best of all, it’s much more solid at room temp than other homemade deodorants. You don’t need to keep it in the fridge all the time. After many trials and errors, this is the best recipe I’ve come up with for a GOOD, SOLID deodorant that lasts all day.
Melt beeswax and coconut oil in a pan or double boiler over low heat. Whisk in the baking soda and arrowroot powder. Remove pan from heat, and stir in essential oils. Add more if it isn’t fragrant enough for you. Pour into deodorant container. Leave uncapped for 24 hours or until cool. Then cap.
Hey Sarah, thanks for the recipe! I made my version of this deodorant earlier, I didn’t have beeswax or tea tree oil so made it without! Plus I didn’t really know where to get beeswax here in Ireland. My Nivea deodorant ran out so had to make this with what I had!! It’s been tried and tested today, spent over an hour scrubbing my kitchen floor on my hands and knees and I’m still smelling fresh, so fresh that I’m a little in shock :-) So thanks again!
Rebecca.
^^ Sorry thanks to Courtney for the recipe!
Rebecca.
This is fantastic! I thought it was easier to measure the beeswax and the coconut oil in ounces, so I converted it over. The beeswax works out to be 1 oz, and the coconut oil 1.43 oz. I did a little bit of math to find out how much it costs, so this is my total amount (minus the essential oils):
1 oz (28.3495 g) beeswax ($20 /kg) = $0.57
1.43 oz (40.5398 g) of coconut oil ($13.02 /kg) = $0.53
18 g tapioca starch ($3.30 /kg) = $0.06
32 g baking soda ($2.40 /kg) = $0.08
Total = $1.24
That’s cheaper than “normal” deodorant. If you’re American (I’m Canadian), then it’s likely that your materials are even cheaper than mine (we have a high cost of living here)!
I forgot to mention that I also used old deodorant containers; so I didn’t factor in the cost for new ones. :)
Oh, and I’m sorry… I subbed the arrowroot for tapioca. Starch is starch. I figured it would work the same (and it does)! Arrowroot is RIDICULOUSLY expensive around here!
This is wonderful, Sarah! Thanks for sharing your findings!!
I’ve been using this recipe for several months now and I really like. Thank you so much for posting it! I like it so much I made a video about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ8kNM_QWOg
Hope you like it!
Thanks Bill! I really appreciate the comment! :) Checked out your video, too!
I just made this for the third time. I love this recipe and just wanted to tell you. I am a doula and I need to smell nice and not sweaty when helping women during birth, especially the long ones and I have never felt self conscious or that this deodorant was fading. Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m a doula, too! So glad this recipe was helpful! :)
I love the deodorant and am amazed at how well it works at keeping the odor away. I gave some to my son and husband to use and they requested a more “manly” scent than the lavender oil. I haven’t tried the tea tree and lavender combination yet, but wondered if you had success with any other essential oil scent blends? Love your website! Thanks.
I have found that Rosemary EO works well for a more “manly” scent because it smells like pine. :) http://amzn.to/18JeefG
(Hi, it’s me again.)
Are the essential oils necessary?
No, they are not.
I can’t wait to make this! You’ve got a real fan here after I made the “Better than Burt’s Bees Lip Balm!”
Glad you liked the lip balm! :)
Can you substitute the essential oils for any oil(s) you want? Also, is this recipe only enough for one stick?
You can pretty much substitute the oils for whichever you want, but make sure that they are therapeutic grade and safe for pregnant women (if you’re pregnant).
I keep a small bowl of plain, dry carb soda in my bathroom to use as deodorant, and applied with a scrunched nylon bath ball. No recipe to make up, no extra ingredients, and it does the job just fine.
I run out of my regular eco-deodorant and so I grabbed an empty spray bottle, filled it with about 50 mls water, 10 drops of organic lavender essential oil, 1/2 teaspoon of bicarb of soda and gave it a good shake. I have used that for three weeks, and it really works :)