Does Homemade Deodorant Work? (+ Recipe)
A review of my experience making and using homemade deodorant – did it work against my seemingly deodorant-proof smell and would it work for you?
This article is going to get a little personal. As in: something I’ve never told anyone.
And since no one (including Brian) has ever mentioned it, I’m assuming (fingers crossed) it was only me who was bothered so much about this thing.
Huh?
OK, here goes. *deep breath*
The Problem
I smelled. Stunk. Couldn’t stand the smell of myself in certain situations. Like after a workout (OK, that’s not that unusual…), or when I was nervous, or just a little warm, or the worst- in the summer when I wore sleeveless shirts. It got so that I didn’t want to wear tank tops, even when it was super hot.
And this is the clincher: I’d even smell myself right after taking a shower. No kidding. And sweat wasn’t really the issue- I’ve never been a person who sweats a lot.
As a matter of fact, I hardly ever wore deodorant in my 20’s and 30’s because I didn’t sweat much and I didn’t smell then. Really. The smell issue started in my early 40’s.
Trying to Solve The Problem
I spent years trying every deodorant on the market, even the “clinical strength” varieties. I mean, most of the time I’d get them for free (the most I paid for deodorant was .50, I think – don’t you love those old days of extreme couponing?), so even though I heard of people making homemade deodorant why would IĀ do that?
Plus, isn’t using homemade deodorant and little “out there?”
But in the back of my mind was something I read a couple years ago on Passionate Homemaking’s popular homemade deodorant post: she said she had issues with smelling and after using the deodorant, she didn’t smell anymore.
After spending a nerve-wracking day in jury duty one July (don’t ask- it was awful), the proverbial straw broke: I didn’t sweat, but I stunk. Again.
Making Homemade Deodorant
I came home that night and whipped up a batch according to Lindsay’s video. It’s just three ingredients:
1/2 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. baking soda
1/4 c. arrowroot powder
Note: you can use cornstarch instead of arrowroot, which I’ve read will keep you drier, but some people can react to cornstarch, so arrowroot is recommended – since I did have it, I used the arrowroot.
It took less than five minutes to whip up in my food processor (much easier than doing it by hand, I found- no powder poofing up).
My coconut oil was half melted (we were having one of our hotter days, surprisingly), but I didn’t worry about it and just poured the deodorant into a mason jar and stuck it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to harden up again.
Even though you’re not supposed to, I did use refined coconut oil because it’s cheaper and I didn’t want the smell of coconut- it’s not my favorite smell and I was afraid people might think I was wearing coconut perfume.
So, Does Homemade Deodorant Work?
I used just a little bit and used my fingers to rub it in (I also found that Kitchen Stewardship has instructions if you want to fill an old deodorant container to apply easier, plus more information on how to travel with it).
So here’s the million dollar question: did it work for me?
Amazingly, yes!
In the months (update: years!) I’ve been using it, I very rarely smell myself. Seriously, I’m a little shocked that the simpler deodorant with the least ingredients works better than all the commercial deodorants I’ve tried. Wow.
On a side note, the deodorant in the jar doesn’t melt totally, but it will get pretty soft in warmer months and will liquify if it’s really hot. That is a definite issue. Fortunately our house stays pretty cool most of the time and it’s actually easier to apply if it’s a little softer.
Now there are other reasons why people want to use natural products, which are all good, but my overriding issue was smell. And it is gone. I’ve worked out, worked in the garden under the hot sun, traveled and laid on a sunny beach and done all the normal things I do that caused me to stink before. I’ve even worn sleeveless shirts.
I can’t believe it. But I am happy to share my secret with you and say (who am I kidding- shout!):
IT WORKS!
Have you tried homemade deodorant? Did it work for you?
If you’re interested in more on health and weight loss, check out AOC’s category here.
Goodness, Sara – so sorry you’re having such a hard time with your underarms! That must be frustrating. I do hope this works for you, too. Maybe the antifungal properties of coconut oil will do something for you.
Anonymous- Hope it works for you- it never sticks on my clothes. š
-Jami
So excited to try this. I’ve always had the smell- just in my genes. I also have the deodorant stick to my shirts and I HATE IT!! (Hence the reason I’m looking for ANYTHING else). I just tried a mixture today for getting stains out of clothing and it was a miracle so I’ll give this a try as well as my cleaning solution (equal parts hydrogen peroxide and Dawn). Thank you!
I’m extremely happy to have stumbled across this site. I’m going to try this recipe ASAP. For this entire past year I’ve really struggled with finding a deoderant that works for me. I’m 25, but all last year I started breaking out terrbly under my underarms. I would get boils so large that if I put my purse on my should and it hit my armpit I would literally SCREAM out with pain, I was going to the doctors constantly to have them lanced, and they were putting me on perscriptions left and right. I decided to stop using regular deoderants and switched to the organic Crystal Stick and that REALLY helped a lot, almost immediately, and I was really impressed the smell was great too, I was clean and fresh. However, another issue has arose since then, and now I’ve been getting yeast infections under my arms now instead because I don’t have a working anti-perspirant to keep me dry. I haven’t discovered what to do yet to cure this problem. I try washing, and reapplying the cyrstal stick to remove bacteria but it doesn’t help, as well as using powder, I’ve also tried using tea-tree oil as that kills the bacteria and although that has helped very little it has helped some, but I can’t stand the way I smell with tea tree on so strongly under my arms. I’m really hoping and praying that this may be my perfect find now!
I struggled with horrible rashes in my armpits for about 4 months- I tried about every deodorant/antiperspirant on the market and nothing helped. I finally resorted to going to the doctor and got a prescription, which only helped a little. I decided to try making my own deodorant after getting fed up that I had to use a prescription steroid cream just to tolerate deodorant! I use a recipe similar to this one, however mine includes two tablespoons vitamin E oil and cornstarch rather than arrowroot powder. I also put about 10 drops each of tea tree essential oil and lavender essential oil in mine, for their anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. I don’t like the smell of tea tree oil by itself, but when combined with the lavender essential oil I like it. Good luck!