Natural Homemade Deodorant (that actually works!)

I’ve been wanting to make deodorant for quite awhile. Like many people I’ve heard of the harmful ingredients that are put into regular deodorant and I didn’t like the idea of that going on (and eventually into) my body, and especially not on my daughter’s when she gets old enough to need it.

I know there are a lot of natural deodorants that you can buy but honestly, they are more expensive and I didn’t want to have to buy 30 different kinds just to find one that works.

So awhile ago I asked my Facebook friends if anyone had a recommendation and one friend shared a recipe that I’ve been using for the past few weeks and loving so I thought I would share it.

I am definitely a bit of a sweaty person (TMI?), one of my friends said she doesn’t wear deodorant, I know if I did that I would be smelling bad before 10am, so that route was definitely not for me (but power to those that can do it!).

The recipe that I am going to share does have a few essential oils, another one of my friends says she uses the same recipe but without the EO’s, I tried that at first (because I didn’t have the oils) and I found that by 2pm I needed to reapply it. But once I added the essential oils in I could go all day.

Natural Homemade Deodorant

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
couple drops of each tea tree, peppermint and thieves essential oils

I melted the coconut oil in a pot over medium-low heat and then added the baking soda and corn starch so they could dissolve a little and the deodorant wouldn’t feel gritty. Then I removed it from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes before mixing in a few drops of each tea tree, peppermint and thieves essential oils. I then poured it into my mold. I didn’t have a deodorant stick so I just used a container that I had, though I will definitely look into getting a deodorant stick to use in the future. Because it can begin to melt when warm I prefer to store mine in the fridge (in a special area so no one mistakes it for something edible).

And just like that you have a natural homemade deodorant!

Side note, this deodorant has been fun to talk to with a few people, there are some who believe they would stink too bad to attempt this recipe, and let me tell you, I was one of those people! I had used antiperspirants for years and years and in hot days in the summer would often have to put it on twice. That being said, switching to a natural deodorant like mine will probably give you a transition period where you don’t smell that great, it’s just your body getting rid of all the nastiness antiperspirant has been keeping in for all those years. It was about a week of transition for me and then afterwards I noticed I sweat a lot less and didn’t smell. There are still some hot days in summer where I’ll put it on twice but at least I know I’m not putting cancer-causing chemicals into my body any more!

This post was actually written back in the fall, now I’ve been using this deodorant for months and still love it! And bonus: this recipe lasts for quite a long time!

Edit to add: I used these oils specifically because of some of their benefits. Peppermint is antibacterial, tea tree is antibacterial and antifungal and thieves is great for eliminating odors and good for boosting the immune system.

Do you have a recipe for deodorant that you like to use?