Do your armpits aspire to be like waterfalls? Do regular deodorants not do the trick? Read on!
I think this must be one of the most enticing titles and intros I have used so far.
Alright, time to get real, folks! Sweating is a normal, bodily function to cool off. Quite welcome on hot days with a nice little breeze, or during a workout. Not so welcome when you're not doing a darn thing and aren't even hot.
Ever since I hit puberty, my armpits have been conspiring against me. Showering, washing, with or without soap helped for a couple of minutes, before my armpits decided it was time to start producing large amounts of sweat again. Mum mentioned once in a while I should wash more, but I did! It just didn't help. It was quite frustrating and for a long time, I've had to live with this while trying to mask scents with regular deodorants. They did not work at all and eventually, I moved onto a heavier one, called Syneo 5. You only have to use that one once in a couple of days and the sweating stops. Not just the bad smells, but also the waterfalls coming from your armpits. No more sweaty tops, great!
The deodorant that actually worked was a miracle for me and I was so happy to be able to wear colored tops again and not smell horrible, each time I lifted an arm. After a while though, I started wondering how unhealthy this deodorant might be and any deodorant for that matter. Well, seek and you shall find, ofcourse. 'They', meaning the internet, said the metals used in all sorts of deodorants could potentially be harmful. I haven't done much research on this lately, because back then, I decided I should stop using this stuff and search for something else.
In my search for a new, working, deodorant, I decided to look in a different direction: DIY. I figured there must be some way to make your own deodorant with only the necessary, working components and who knows, it might work even better than the store-bought ones! So after some research, I gathered together a basic recipe with just a couple of ingredients that should do the trick. And it did!
For the last couple of years, I have been using my own, homemade deodorant and it works almost as good as the Syneo 5 deodorant. You have to reapply after each wash/shower (like a regular deodorant), but with this homemade one, smells are actually gone and the amount of sweat is decreased immensely.
This base deodorant only requires three ingredients: Coconut oil, arrowroot and baking soda (or as often seen on ingredient lists: Sodium bicarbonate). I use raw coconut oil which still contains the coconut smell and I add a little vanilla and mint extract for a nice scent to my deodorant. To me, it actually smells like minty chocolate, the best scent ever! Basically, use whatever kind of extract you can add to your food for a nice and safe scent. Also, some people's skin is a little sensitive to baking soda, so if this recipe makes your armpits itchy, you could try to cut back on the baking soda a tbsp or two. Experiment with it a little.
Now, this deodorant is a little more tricky than regular ones, but it is well worth the extra trouble. It's easy to make, but keeping and applying it can be a bit of a hassle, depending on the temperature. Due to the base ingredient being coconut oil, you're stuck with its melting point, which sits at around 24C (76F). Lower temperatures mean a solid deodorant, higher temperatures mean a creamy up to a fully liquid deodorant. In high temperature countries, maybe you could experiment with adding a bit of beeswax, but I haven't felt the need.
For me in our Dutch climate, this means that during longer heatwaves, my deodorant sometimes liquifies, but mostly it just means it's a little less solid in summer than it is in winter, but more the creamy kind. During winter, it's pretty solid, so I use the back of my nails to scrape and collect a good portion on my nail to then warm up and spread out under my armpit. Easy enough once you get the hang of it, trust me!
Alright, let's get to the recipe, so you can make your own!
Ingredients:
- 6 Tbsp Coconut oil
- 4 Tbsp Baking soda
- 4 Tbsp Arrowroot
Directions
- Heat up the coconut oil until it is liquid. You can put it in a small pan and heat it up on a fire for a short while, put it in the microwave, or put it in a bowl and let the bowl sit in hot water for a while.
- Once your oil is liquid, add the baking soda and arrowroot.
- (Optional) Add a couple of drops of an edible extract with your favorite scent.
- Mix everything together well.
- Get your jar(s) ready and transfer the mixture into them. Depending on how hot and liquid your mixture still is, you might want to wait a while with this step until it starts to get a bit more creamy-like, so you're sure you can mix it up and the ingredients all stay put. My experience tells me that fully liquid means the baking soda and arrowroot might sink to the bottom a little, which you don't want.
That's it!
If you look at the pictures in this post, you'll see the amount of deodorant you can expect to be making. To apply, I usually add about the amount to cover a fingernail, but this is something you need to experiment with yourself. I hope this will help some people who are looking to make a good working deodorant!
How about you?
- Are you blessed with regular working sweat glands, or do you have the same problem I have?
- What kind of deodorant do you use?
- Will you try this homemade one?
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