Easy DIY Deodorant: Make Your Own Homemade Deodorant That Really Works!
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How do you make natural deodorant? What’s the best homemade deodorant? There’s actually quite a few ways to make your own DIY deodorant. There’s recipes for sprays, sticks or ones in a jar. The best depends on your preferences. I love the ease of a tube and not having to get anything on my hands. You might prefer a spray or applying with a wooden stick!
I started making my own deodorant in 2013. This homemade deodorant recipe is for a stick. It’s a lovely consistency that won’t melt but isn’t so hard you can’t get it on.
The reason I started making my own was because my armpits started to become irritated even when I wasn’t wearing any deodorant. So, I made my own.
But-
It didn’t work! My poor armpits were still red, itchy and bumpy. At first I thought it was the baking soda. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon something that told me I needed to detox my armpits from all the toxins in store bought deodorant! So, if you’ve always put on conventional stuff, you might need a detox before switching to homemade or natural.
You can read all about armpit detoxing HERE.
How To Detox Your Armpits
- Grab some bentonite clay. Try to look for one that’s 100% pure bentonite clay, like this one.
- Mix equal parts bentonite clay to apple cider vinegar to form a paste.
- Smooth the paste onto clean, dry armpits.
- Allow it to sit for 5-20 minutes.
- Wash off with warm water.
Once I detoxed my armpits, I never had another issue with homemade deodorant, even if it had baking soda in it.
How To Make Natural Homemade Deodorant
Gathering the ingredients for your homemade deodorant is super simple- you can find them in the grocery store, health food stores or on Amazon. Once you have them all, it becomes super inexpensive and gets easier the more times you do it!
The ingredients you’ll need:
- Coconut oil– antibacterial and moisturizing.
- Shea butter– moisturizes and reduces skin inflammation.
- Candelilla wax– prevents skin from losing moisture.
- Baking soda– absorbs odors.
- Arrowroot starch– absorbs excess liquid and helps to thicken the deodorant.
- Tea tree oil– antifungal, antibacterial and helps reduce odors.
- Essential oils of your choice for scent
If you have any old empty deodorant containers, you can wash those out and reuse them or you can buy some tubes wholesale like these ones and reuse those!
- Start by melting the coconut oil, shea butter and candelilla wax either in a double boiler or in the microwave. (I’d recommend the microwave- it’s way faster.)
- Once everything is completely melted, whisk in the arrowroot starch, baking soda (if using), tea tree oil and the other essential oil of your choice.
- Pour into the deodorant tubes immediately and place in the fridge to firm them up quickly.
DIY Deodorant (that’s vegan!)
Equipment
- Candelilla Vegan Wax Flakes 8 oz 100% Pure and Natural For Skin, Face, Body and Hair DIY Creams, Lotions, Lip Balm and Soap Making Supplies. Beeswax Substitute
- Holista Tea Tree Oil 100ml
- Anthony’s Arrowroot Flour, 2.5lbs, Batch Tested Gluten Free, Non GMO
- Kirkland Signature Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Cold Pressed Unrefined, 84 Fl Oz
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 1.5 tbsp candelilla wax
- 2 tbsp shea butter
- 2/3 cup arrowroot starch
- 1-2 tbsp baking soda optional
- 5 drops tea tree oil
- 10 drops essential oil of your choice
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil, shea butter and candelilla wax in a double boiler or in the microwave in 1 minute increments.
- Once the wax is completely melted, whisk in the arrowroot starch, baking soda if using and essential oils. Whisk until no lumps remain.
- Pour into 2 deodorant containers!
Deodorant FAQ’S
DO I HAVE TO ADD BAKING SODA?
You don’t! If you’re really sensitive to it, skip it! The one thing I do not recommend skipping is the tea tree oil, simply because it really fights the smelly armpit odor. If you add another essential oil, you won’t even be able to smell the tea tree.
HOW DO YOU MAKE NATURAL DEODORANT WORK?
To have a natural deodorant that really, truly eliminates odors you must use tea tree oil and/or baking soda. Tea tree oil is antifungal and antibacterial and neutralizes odors. Baking soda absorbs bad odors. If you are sensitive to baking soda, just a tablespoon can really help. Mixing both tea tree and baking soda WORKS.
CAN YOU ADD BENTONITE CLAY?
Yes, you definitely can. The reason I stopped adding bentonite clay to my DIY deodorant recipe is because it stains clothes.
DOES THIS HOMEMADE DEODORANT RECIPE MELT?
This recipe will stay firm in a tube unless you live somewhere very hot. In that case, you may want to add a bit more wax.
