Make Your Own Natural Deodorant
My husband found a recipe for how to make natural deodorant and suggested I try it.
I was happy to oblige, and I’m so glad I tried it. So far it’s been the best deodorant I’ve ever used!
This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.
How to Make Your Own Natural Deodorant
When I originally made this recipe, it didn’t have enough baking soda in my opinion, so I increased the amount.
I found other recipes online that had a lot more baking soda.
But I decided to just add a small bit more to the recipe since I know baking soda can cause irritation to some sensitive skin.
I’m very pleased with my final recipe!
Here are the supplies needed to make your own natural deodorant:
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened if necessary
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 15-20 drops essential oil of your choice (I used lavender)
Instructions:
1. Â Soften 1/4 cup coconut oil, if needed. Â This makes it easier to mix with the other ingredients.
2. Â Add the essential oil to the coconut oil (you can also just leave it unscented).
3. Â Blend together.
4. Â Add the baking soda.
5. Â Add the arrowroot powder.
6. Â Mix thoroughly. Â I found that a fork works well to get it all blended together.
Looks like frosting…
7. Â Add the mixture to a glass jar or other container. Â I’m using a cute little jar that my midwife gave me years ago with some of her wonderful homemade calendula salve. Â I save every jar that comes my way!
Use and enjoy!
Since it is winter and we keep our house temperature on the cooler side (in the 60’s), my deodorant has been in a mostly solid state.
It’s thick enough that it could even be put in a recycled deodorant container. Â I have a Tom’s of Maine deodorant container that I’ve been saving for this purpose, but just having it in the jar is working fine for me.
Knowing coconut oil as I do, I imagine that this will get very soft in the heat of summer. Â If that happens, I may need to keep it in the refrigerator. Â I’ll have to wait and see what happens when it warms up.
I’ve been using this deodorant for over a month now, and I’m very happy with it, and it’s very effective.
If you try it, keep in mind that some people do have sensitivity with baking soda, and you may need to reduce the amount of baking soda in the recipe.
Apparently my skin adjusted to it, since I’ve been using baking soda as deodorant for over six months now, and I have no issues with it.
I’m so glad my husband suggested I try making my own natural deodorant!
You may also like:
This is one of those things on my list of things to try – so much for sharing the how-to with Party in Your PJs!
Thanks for stopping by, Lynda!
I used to apply standard deodorants and anti-perspirants multiple times a day. I sweat a lot so I was always trying to mask the perspiration and the odor. It was suggested to me by a friend to go the all-natural route. She makes her own deodorant, but I don't trust myself, so I buy mine on Amazon. The brand is called Lavilin and it's really fantastic. Highly recommended to everyone!
I have made my own deodorant as well, with just the same ingredients as your and I love it to! It works so much better than any other I've tried and my girls love it to!
Jennifer, thank you so much for sharing your positive experience with using homemade deodorant! It's nice to know that others are using and enjoying it, too! 🙂
I've heard of making your own deodorant. I have a couple friends who have done it and liked it, but I imagined it would be more challenging for some reason. That looks easy and I have all ingredients on hand so I think I might try some this weekend! Thanks!
Jen
It's super-easy, Jen! Hope you like it!
Hi Joy! How fun! I've been making us homemade deodorant for awhile now (2 years probably) and it's sooo much nicer! All the natural deodorants we tried left Dan raw and hurting! I used to use a recipe almost identical to yours but used cornstarch instead of arrowroot. It melted too much for my liking so I started adding in just a bit of shea butter and beeswax to make it a hard stick year round. We tend to like it much better in a hard form and it's easier to travel with as we don't have to worry about it melting and making a mess in our bags – even in a plastic bag Coconut Oil seems to like to make a mess everywhere. 🙂 Thanks for sharing this! 🙂 Blessings to you and yours!~
I'm so glad you shared this, Tabitha! The shea butter and beeswax sounds like a great idea. I'll have to try that next time I make it. It would be fun to have it in stick form, too. Thanks again, and many blessings to you and your precious family, too! 🙂
A Restful Place: Could you please send your recipe as I'm interested in the harder deodorant with the beeswax and shea butter added in. I have very sensitive skin too. My email addy is [email protected]. Thank you Joy for your recipe for homemade deodorant 😀
We made our own from a similar recipe for a long while. My husband is in the camp of people who find the baking soda irritating, though, so the last time we ran out, I never did make more. Now, for more than a year, I've been wanting to make myself some (even with a girly fragrance since he won't be using it!), but alas! AND I've been using his deodorant ever since. Thus my strong desire to use a girly fragrance! I do keep it in the fridge in the summer. But in the winter it stays pretty solid (our house is in the 60s in the day and low fifties at night.) I've been using coconut oil for diaper rash this past week and find that it's sometimes hard to get it out of the jar because it's so hard. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experience, Babychaser! I know what you mean about the coconut oil being harder with the cooler weather!
I'm wondering if it leaves an oily residue on your clothing? Seems like that would ruin your clothes.
Mrs. J.
Hi Mrs. J.~
I haven't noticed any oily residue on my clothing (and I'm pretty particular about keeping my clothes nice!). The consistency of the deodorant right now is more like a paste rather than an oily substance. However, that could change when it warms up in the summer months, since coconut oil softens with warmer temperatures. (And the consistency of the deodorant may also be determined by the type of coconut oil you use in the recipe–I used Tropical Traditions–and the amount of baking soda and arrowroot powder that is added. There are lots of variables that come into play.)
I think it could also depend on the clothes a person wears. Tops with very tight sleeves that are snug up against your underarms may tend to get more residue on them than a top with looser sleeves. I'm not sure, just a thought.
If I do start to notice an oily residue, then I might continue to use this for everyday wear (most of my everyday tops are darker in color anyway) and then use something else when I'm wearing my nicer clothes. I'll just have to wait and see what happens when it warms up outside!
I'm just wondering how you apply it? It seems messy to have to wash after every application.
I just dip my clean fingers in the jar and apply to clean skin. 🙂 Coconut oil, arrowroot powder, and lavender. It's kind of like a delicious coconut/lavender lotion, and I find it pleasant to use. I love the smell. I do wash my hands after applying it, but that only takes about 5 seconds.
At this point, my deodorant is firm enough that I could put it in a recycled deodorant container (like the Tom's of Maine one I've been saving for that purpose), but I've had no problem with just using it straight from the jar. In warmer weather, it will possibly soften up a bit, and then it would need to be stored in a cooler location to remain firm.
So, that's what I do, but if you'd rather not do it this way, you could try the recycled deodorant container. Hope that's helpful!
I'm just wondering how you apply it? It seems messy to have to wash my hands after every application.
Hello! I'm gege at The heart of a housewife, nice to meet you!
Thank you for sharing this! i was looking for an homemade deodorant.
May I ask you if the arrowroot powder can be replaced with an other similar thing like potato starch as an example?
Thank you
Have a nice day! Ciao!
Thank you for visiting, Gege, it's nice to meet you, too!
You can replace the arrowroot powder with cornstarch, in the same proportions, and it should work just fine. I don't know about potato starch, but that might work, too. Let me know if you try it!
Thank you so much! You are very kind!
Your recipe looks great! I've been thinking about giving homemade a try in this area…and I'm pretty certain all those ingredients are already in my cupboard. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
If you try it, I hope you like it, Collette!
I made some over a year ago and we love it! I got to realizing the importance of our body perspiring and how it does it to release toxins. By putting on an anti-perspirent deodorant you are clogging your pores and trapping the toxins in. With this recipe the baking soda works to naturally absorb your sweat and toxins. The essential oil and coconut oil is absorbed through your pores and is really good for you! So those are some of the reasons why we love it so much. Now we do live in Louisiana so if we have somewhere nice to go in the dead of summer we do opt for our old deodorant ;). Just wanted to share our experience!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Holly! It gets very hot and humid where we live, too, so it will be interesting to see how well this works in the summer months. I have found that baking soda seems to work better for me than even store-bought deodorant. I used it last summer (over a different natural deodorant) and it worked great. Thanks again!
I think this is such an economical way to be green 🙂 I make my own deodorant too, and I find that most people need to adjust the general recipe to work for them.
Yes, I think you're right, Heather! It does seem like the recipe is best tried out and then adjusted for personal preferences. 🙂