Natural Homemade Deodorant

One thing I am so passionate about is natural deodorant, and have converted a fair few people to using alternative natural deodorants as opposed to main stream ones. Embracing natural beauty and all it has to offer, is so exciting and quite liberating when you begin to realize how much less your exposing your cells to. 

This post is all about the Natural Homemade Deodorant I make and have been making for the last 4-5 years. Tried and tested over and over again, it really is my go to deodorant choice – one that I know works so well, only has a handful of ingredients and is so incredibly affordable. 

Most people shy away when discussing the taboo subject of body odor, and armpits have such a bad rap in the past, but it’s one of my missions to bust this way of thinking!  

Why do we Sweat?

There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine. The body has thousands of eccrine glands, which effectively regulate the body’s temperature. As the body’s temperature rises, the nervous system goes to work to stimulate the eccrine glands to release sweat. Sweat is made up of water, sodium and other substances that help cool the body down by being evaporated off the skin. It’s also a vital role in ridding excess toxins from our systems, so is an extremely important process.

Apocrine glands are found mainly in the underarm and groin areas. Although the body’s temperature can stimulate these glands, they are also triggered by stress, anxiety or fluctuating hormones. The apocrine glands produce bacteria that help break down the sweat, which causes body odor. That’s why we just put deodorant under the arms rather than all over the body. Source

So you see ‘pit’ health is, a lot of the time, all about bacteria and if you are suffering from smelly pits, it could be an excess of Staphylococcaceae bacteria. If you have been using natural deodorant and still are finding that nothing is working, it may be a case of getting scientific and assessing the pH balance of your pits. Google can really come in handy here. 

Armpits are not gross! They’re just another body part that plays a very important role in maintaining equilibrium in the body. Try give your pits a little bit of love, because, really, they’re doing the best they can at the job they do. Your body needs to sweat, and it blows my mind that there are products out there that force the sweat ducts to close – SURELY this cannot be good for your body???

Why Aluminium Free

Aluminum is the active ingredient antiperspirants rely on to keep our underarms fresh. This is how it works: Aluminum salts—in the form of aluminum chloride, aluminum zirconium, aluminum chlorohydrate and aluminum hydroxybromide—prevent us from sweating when aluminum ions are drawn into the cells that line the sweat ducts, causing the cells to swell and squeezing the ducts closed so sweat cannot get out.

Unfortunately, aluminum is also a known neurotoxin that has been linked to breast cancer and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Let’s briefly break down these risks. Most breast cancers develop in the upper outer part of the breast—the area closest to the armpit—and some research has suggested that aluminum compounds absorbed by the skin may cause changes in the estrogen receptors of breast cells. In addition, high levels of aluminum have been found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and a recent study from Saint Louis University found that aluminum may cause liver toxicity, a contributing factor to degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Source 

Natural Homemade Deodorant

The sodium bicarbonate in this deodorant recipe helps to absorb any odors in your arm pits, along with keeping them super dry! The coconut oil is used as a base, as well as naturally being antibacterial and super moisturizing. The arrowroot powder helps to thicken the consistency of the paste. The jojoba oil helps to add a little more nourishment to the skin, and can also be replaced with shea butter. The spearmint essential oil helps to give a minty aroma, leaving you feeling fresh and ready for the day.

Everyone has their preference when it comes to the texture and smell of deodorants. Find an essential oil that resonates with you. Tea tree oil can be great as an extra anti-bacterial ingredient. Bees wax can be added for a waxy consistency. You see, there are so many possibilities, just play and have fun and once you find a perfect recipe that works for you, you’ll be sorted for life!

What You’ll Need

• BASE: For the base of the deodorant I use Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil – it’s lovely and moisturizing on the skin as well as having antibacterial components. 
• ODOR: To combat odor I use Sodium Bicarbonate and ensure it’s a good quality ALUMINIUM-FREE one. Bicarb helps to absorb odors, as well as keeping the pits lovely and dry.
• CONSISTENCY: In order to reach the perfect consistency, I add Arrowroot Powder which is a nutritionally dense starch extracted from several rhizomes of the Marantaceae family of plants. It is naturally gluten-free, and is an excellent thickening agent. It helps the deodorant paste reach that perfect ‘spreading’ consistency. 
• SCENT: I used Organic Spearmint Essential Oil for a minty fresh smell, but there are so many beautiful essential oils you can use to suit your preference as well as adding antibacterial properties to your deodorant. 
• MOISTURIZER: I used jojoba oil to add extra moisturizing properties to the deodorant, as bicarb can be drying to the skin if too much is used. This blend helps my pits remain dry, odor free and perfectly smooth and nourished. 

As I said before, I’ve been using this deodorant recipe for nearly 5 years, and can swear by it’s effectiveness. If it is your first time transitioning to a natural deodorant, remember to be patient with your body as it may take some time for it to adjust. A transition period is to be expected, and if all else fails, think back to maybe see if the pH of your armpit bacteria is out of balance.

If your armpits are changing color or are becoming increasingly dry, ensure you’re using aluminium free bicarb, and maybe try adding more moisture qualities to your recipe. Custom create a recipe that suits you perfectly, even if this does take a couple of attempts for you to achieve. 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, and remember to subscribe if not yet already. Do you use natural deodorants? What are your opinions on them? I’d love to chat, so leave a comment below.