Homemade Deodorant: I Swear It Works and I Don’t Smell Like Patchouli

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been buying Suave-brand deodorant, for no other reason than that it’s the cheapest (bottom-shelf shopper!). But over the past year or so I’d been feeling like it wasn’t, ahem, working for me anymore. And since I’ve been slowly switching to all organic/green products in my life over the past few years, I felt it would be a good time to try not starting my day by rubbing cancer-causing aluminum all over my pits!

First, I tried a deodorant made by Tom’s of Maine. I’m easily overwhelmed by smells – I don’t wear perfume and pick very mild scents in the products I buy – so I went with the original unscented version (I did have a little chuckle in the store over the patchouli scented version  – HIPPIES!). While I’m not a huge fan of how Tom’s toothpaste tastes, I thought there was no way they could go wrong with something as straightforward as deodorant, especially because I wouldn’t be eating it. Hmmm, how can I say this? After a week of applying it, twice a day, I felt that not only was it not stopping me from smelling, it was making me smell…weird! It was like the unscented scent was mixing with my body’s chemistry to create a new scent that was just slightly off, like hands after wearing rubber gloves, or the back row of the movie theater. Not ok.

But then I remembered reading a post on a new fave blog of mine, Oh Dear Drea, where she talked about making her own deodorant. Now this is a lady who works in a food truck in swamp-land Florida, so she understands the need for serious odor control! Butchy and I happened to be going into town to buy a new bed, so we made a quick stop at The Mustard Seed so I could pick up some supplies.

This is Drea’s recipe that I followed:

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup Arrowroot Powder, 1 lb. or Bob’s Red Mill makes some too.
6 tablespoons coconut oil
15 drops Eucalyptus Oil (or any essential oil. this is what I had and work’s great)

Mix baking soda and arrowroot powder in a bowl. Add coconut and eucalyptus oil. Mix well. Scoop into jar. Keep in a cool-dry place or in fridge.

I already had the baking soda and the little tins, and I decided to skip the essential oil (scentssss), so I really just needed to buy the coconut oil and arrowroot powder. The process was extremely easy, although a little messy. And the recipe made enough to fill 3 of the little tins, with plenty left over to make many more batches – which makes up for the $8 price tag on the coconut oil!

For those that don’t know, coconut oil doesn’t actually smell like coconuts. So by not adding the essential oil, I had created a completely scentless base from which to try out this homemade anti-stank experiment.

So what’s the verdict? Well, so far (approximately 4.5 days in) I can only say one thing: It’s a MIRACLE! Straight up, “my lawdy, I can WALK again” down the church aisle type of miracle. I simply scoop and rub a little on in the morning and it lasts all day and all night. I cannot say enough good things about this whole blessed sweet sweet smelling (or, non-smelling) situation. It’s incredible that I didn’t try it sooner! Seriously, my advice to anyone looking for a cheaper, healthier, green(ish) deodorant is to trash the store-bought and get on this – stat.

Related articles

• Truly’s Natural Deodorant Review (mymerrymessylife.com)
• DIY Natural Edible Deodorant (taliamarcheggiani.com)
• Deodorant Wars: Where Are They Now? Edition (amalah.com)
• All-Natural Deodorant Candidate: The Guv’ner (youaremycelebrity.com)
• DIY Coconut Oil Deodorant (cadesertvoice.com)