Homemade Deodorant! Easy DIY!

Four ingredients vs 24!!

Today I wanted to share my latest DIY project:  homemade deodorant!  Again, in my quest to find natural solutions...this one has only 4 ingredients and your choice  essential oils you'd like for scent.  Compared to the 24 ingredients in the natural brand I love and have been using... well,  ready to check it out?!

This is actually MUCH easier than you think!
You can obviously try different recipes but this is the one I went with for a couple of reasons.
#1.  No baking soda or corn starch (a lot of reviews I'd seen with these in the recipes had people complaining about sensitivities to either /or).
#2.  No aluminum!  I'm posting a couple of articles here and here so you can read if you're interested and you can make your own opinion and  choice. 
#3.  No cocoa butter.  Ok... I tried a recipe at the beginning of the month with cocoa butter and it came out hard as a rock... and with a funky smell... so I'd rather omit it for this. 
It's really not that intimidating and you really have nothing to lose... so... here is what you'll need for the recipe I made.  
HOMEMADE ALL NATURAL DEODORANT
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp beeswax (I used white beeswax).
4 Tbsp coconut oil (I used Brambleberry's not just your store bought coconut oil jar).
1 Tbsp Shea Butter (try NOW Foods; not all Shea butters are created equal, trial & error).
4 teaspoons clay (you can use bentonite or green clay or ... ).  I used bentonite. 
​​20-25 drops essential oils of your choice.  I used a combination of these 3:
Tea tree (antiseptic/antibacterial & odor fighting properties).
Lavender (soothing & I like the smell) ;)
Lemon Eucalyptus (energizing & clean smell I love).
Deodorant container (I cleaned one of my old ones, reduce, reuse, recycle)!
Directions*:
*If you've read my previous posts... I don't like to microwave things to melt or make recipes... hence the double boiler... 
1. In a double boiler*, heat the beeswax until melted.

2.  Add the shea butter until melted. 

3.  Remove from heat.
4.  Add your coconut oil (already melted).
5.  Add in your clay and mix well.

6.  Add in essential oils of your choice and stir to mix in.
7.  Continue stirring until the liquid starts getting more pudding like consistency (you can do a cold water bath if needed but I found this was pretty fast).
8.  Scoop some of the product onto the bottom of your deodorant stick (Make sure it's pushed all the way down so you have the room for your product).
​I did this because my deodorant stick didn't have a solid bottom (it had holes and I didn't want to pour the liquid right in... it would have gone straight through to the bottom).
 9.  Pour or scoop the rest of your product into the deodorant container and try to smooth out as best as possible.
10.  DO NOT CAP (did I say trial and error)? :)
11.  Place in your freezer for about 30 minutes.
12.  Take out and leave at room temperature for several hours (6+ hours).
13.  If necessary, twist your deodorant up, and wipe on a paper towel to make any uneven spots smoother.   
14.  Ready to use... Test it out!!! :) 
    
I really liked this recipe, it is nice and soft but not too soft.  

In the future I'd like to try Grapefruit essential oil along with the lavender.
I'd also like to try arrowroot powder instead of bentonite clay since the bentonite clay gives it that grey/green color.

Have you tried making your own natural, home-made deodorant?  Do you want to make one now?  If so, please feel free to comment below and let us know your tips to success or if you're feeling inspired to try it!   

Tita
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