3 Things I Learned About Homemade Deodorant

Imagine a sweaty, chubby kid sitting in a sweltering 7th grade classroom, too afraid to raise his arm for fear of what hideous aromas might be lurking underneath.

Yeah, that was me.

I’ve had a tumultuous journey with deodorant. I can remember plastering my pits with Speed Stick when I was younger to cover up the slightest hint of odor. Any visible moisture leaking through my shirt was simply unacceptable. The answer was always more antiperspirant in more places.

Now that I’m taking a closer look at what goes on my body as well as in it, I’m finding out that many deodorants and antiperspirants contain some pretty questionable stuff, most notably aluminum. While research continues to support the fact that there is no link between aluminum found in antiperspirants and cancer, I personally don’t like the idea of using a heavy metal to clog up my pores to prevent a natural occurrence of the human body–sweating.

I started researching homemade deodorant recipes, and it seemed that most of them were generally aimed at woman. Granted, I know you ladies can stink it up with the best of them, but man-stink can take things to a whole new level. Feeling quite skeptical about the effectiveness of something that I was about to make in my kitchen, I decided to give it a try. Here’s what I learned in the process.

1. It’s Easy To Make

All the recipes that I looked at seemed to have the following ingredients in common:

Aluminum-free Baking soda (1/4 cup)
Arrowroot Powder (1/4 cup)
Coconut Oil (1/3 Cup)

I also added a few drops of tea tree oil just to give it a little something-something.

I dumped everything in a mixing bowl and started blending. To my surprise, a milky white paste formed. It was a bit goopy, so I put in the fridge for a few hours to harden up.

2. The Application Is A Little Strange At First

I admit, applying it the first morning was a little weird. For over twenty years, raising a bar of deodorant had become and integral part of my morning routine. It just didn’t feel right to scrape something out of a jar and rub it into my pits with my fingers. But I went through with it, leaving the confines of my apartment still feeling a bit naked under the arms. I hoped no one would run off the elevator holding their nose in terror upon my entry.

3. It Works!

Around 1Pm that day I gave myself a little sniff test. Things were still surprisingly fresh under there. I sure hope no one in my office noticed me doing this.

I went about my business and gave myself another sniff when I returned home from work, around 7PM. The tea tree oil had worn off by this point, but there was still no noticeable smell.

Seriously, I was dumbfounded.

As my week of “going natural” continued, I gained more and more confidence everyday. That weekend I decided to give it the ultimate test–a power hike in Atlanta on a 90 degree day.

After a sweaty 7.3 miles with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain, I returned to my car, lifted my arm, and took a sniff- success!

The bottom line is this stuff works. Just to be clear it won’t stop you from sweating, but it will stop you from stinking. I’d say it begins to lose effectiveness around the 24 hour mark, but I still consider that pretty remarkable.

Almost a month later I am still going strong using my first batch. Admittedly, I do miss the “man smell” that accompanies some deodorants, so I plan to experiment with some different oils in the future.

I encourage you to try making a batch and see what you think for yourself. Are you up for the homemade deodorant challenge?