Natural deodorants are wonderful to use and easy to make. This specific recipe makes a soft, creamy natural deodorant that is easy to make at home, gentle on your skin and effective.
With the shift away from sweat-gland blocking antiperspirant in recent years, I thought this was a recipe that anyone could appreciate. With a combination of natural ingredients and the option to customize the scent to what you like.
Making the switch to natural deodorants might seem scary, rest assured that your body will adjust. If you’re switching immediately from aluminum-based products, you might find that there’s a detox period of about one month where the skin of the underarm releases all the residue that has built up.
This is completely normal, and in fact you can find products to help your underarms with this process. If you want to use some witch hazel on a cotton ball to cleanse your armpits each night, that is one gentle way to speed up the process. Another way is using a mask of bentonite clay and coconut oil a few times a week.
Stick with it, and you’ll notice that you will sweat less and ultimately create less odor just from this simple process. Even so, over the course of the day sweating is still normal, especially during the hot summer months, and a good, natural deodorant can help give you the protection you need.
If you’re already using natural deodorants, but you don’t like the formulation, price tag, or scents that aren’t quite to your liking, then this is a great way to spend just a little time to get around three times more product and more potent ingredients for less money.
Now for the recipe, I first included a little about each ingredient I used.
Mango Butter is super soft, unscented and delicate. It’s harvested from the kernels of the mango fruit that we know and love. It has little to no scent, which makes it perfect for any personalized essential oil blend you wish to use. Its skin-soothing properties counteracts any irritating effect that baking soda may have on your skin. It stays on your skin with a velvety texture, adding moisture and softness. It can also encourage the skin to renew itself with the amount of nutrients it possesses. This helps even skin tone and unblock pores.
Coconut Oil is a familiar multitasking beauty oil. It is pressed from the copra (meat) of coconut fruits, it protects your skin and hair from head to toe. It’s antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal which is why I chose it as another ingredient in this formula. It helps repair the skin barrier and heals wounds. This is another step in helping your underarm area to function more efficiently.
Baking Soda is such a humble ingredient, an unsung hero in beauty. It’s still one of the best ingredients to whiten your teeth, deep clean your hair, and exfoliate your body. Its odor-busting properties can be seen on the daily in your laundry and around your house.
Arrowroot Powder is such an interesting ingredient, one that I love working with because of its soft, bouncy texture. Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is the powdered root of a tropical plant that is well-tolerated as a food product and a beauty product. It’s very often found in baby products and body powders — it’s completely natural without any concerns that might surround cornstarch or other culinary starches. In making body butter you can add this to make it less greasy. In this recipe, it also helps absorb moisture and enhances the staying power of the other ingredients.
White Beeswax Pastilles creates a protective barrier and has soothing, skin-loving properties. It also has anti-ageing properties for your skin due to its stable structure and vitamin content.
For an optional scent you can add an essential oil or oils of choice. I thought that Tea tree oil was the perfect subtle aroma for this recipe, with the added benefit of being antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal just like coconut oil. Another great choice is Lavender oil which has a calming floral scent and is also antimicrobial. Whatever essential oil you choose, make sure it is one that is good for topical use on your skin.
Natural Homemade Deodorant Recipe:
Ingredients
- 35 g mango butter
- 42 g coconut oil
- 20 g baking soda
- 14 g arrowroot powder
- 14 g beeswax pastilles
- (Optional) 30 drops Lavender or Tea Tree essential oil
- Put the mango butter, beeswax pastilles and coconut oil in a double boiler on low heat until fully liquid
- In a heat-safe bowl, mix your powders: baking soda and arrowroot
- Once your butters, waxes and oils are melted, pour them into the bowl with the powders and mix gently until it is a nice creamy paste
- This is the point when you’ll add your essential oil if you choose to use it
- Pour the mixture into your final container
- Set it aside on the counter for about an hour, then it’s ready to use (no refrigeration is necessary for this recipe)
- Apply to your underarms daily or throughout the day as needed
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature, away from direct heat or sunlight
Recipe Video
I hope you love this recipe and how easy it is to make. As always please comment below with any questions or feedback you may have.