You may have heard some of the recent concerns about commercial deodorants and your health. There have been concerns reported over a link between aluminum used in commercially produced deodorants and a link to both breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Then there has been a firestorm debate back and forth between manufacturers of commercial products and the health community. But, since this is a blog post about ways to live more naturally, I am going to suggest that it is just nice to know what you are putting on your skin.
I did not come up with this recipe, it was a dear friend, and it took some cajoling on her part as I was a bit reluctant to try it. This is why...I have always been intrigued by natural deodorants, however, I have not been intrigued by the fact that many of them do not seem to "work". I want to be all natural...but I do not want to SMELL ALL NATURAL if you get my drift. I had never really had someone tell me about a natural one that worked well, (lets face it if you are a true farm girl, you sweat when you work) until recently.
So, again with the why. I recently read a statistic that said the average woman exposes herself to over 100 chemicals before breakfast. We are amassing a vast cocktail of substances on our bodies and in our homes. I don't believe that it is possible to eliminate them all, but I do want to reduce the amount of harmful toxins by as much as possible. Our skin is our largest organ and many substances applied to the skin are absorbed directly into our bloodstream, so, I decided that would be an area worth working on.
My friends who make their own deodorants (thank you Stacy and Mandy) even assured me that their husbands did not stink...okay I decided to try it...I was WAAAY impressed! It works! I mean, I went out in the garden, worked all around the farm, weeded, helped demolish the barn, etc. I DID NOT STINK! The only down side that I have found is that some people do have a sensitivity to baking soda, this can cause redness or irritation under the arm, weird thing is this only happens to me if I apply immediately after shaving.
The other bonus is that the ingredients in this deodorant are also many of the same used for homemade lotions and salves so I have everything I need on hand to keep on making our natural products!
I did not come up with this recipe, it was a dear friend, and it took some cajoling on her part as I was a bit reluctant to try it. This is why...I have always been intrigued by natural deodorants, however, I have not been intrigued by the fact that many of them do not seem to "work". I want to be all natural...but I do not want to SMELL ALL NATURAL if you get my drift. I had never really had someone tell me about a natural one that worked well, (lets face it if you are a true farm girl, you sweat when you work) until recently.
So, again with the why. I recently read a statistic that said the average woman exposes herself to over 100 chemicals before breakfast. We are amassing a vast cocktail of substances on our bodies and in our homes. I don't believe that it is possible to eliminate them all, but I do want to reduce the amount of harmful toxins by as much as possible. Our skin is our largest organ and many substances applied to the skin are absorbed directly into our bloodstream, so, I decided that would be an area worth working on.
My friends who make their own deodorants (thank you Stacy and Mandy) even assured me that their husbands did not stink...okay I decided to try it...I was WAAAY impressed! It works! I mean, I went out in the garden, worked all around the farm, weeded, helped demolish the barn, etc. I DID NOT STINK! The only down side that I have found is that some people do have a sensitivity to baking soda, this can cause redness or irritation under the arm, weird thing is this only happens to me if I apply immediately after shaving.
The other bonus is that the ingredients in this deodorant are also many of the same used for homemade lotions and salves so I have everything I need on hand to keep on making our natural products!
I purchased most of my ingredients from Amazon but since a batch of deodorant can last 2-3 months and I clearly have enough ingredients for about 2 years worth of deodorant, salves, lotions, etc I think I did pretty good. The only thing I would change is that next round of making my deodorant, I would not bother with putting it into a roll up deodorant style tube like pictured above, I will just scoop out a pea sized amount and smooth it on (works better that way).
So, here is how to do it:
· 1 T Beeswax
· 1T Cocoa butter
· 1 T Shea butter
· 1 T Coconut oil
· 2.5 T arrowroot powder
· 1 T clay, (I used bentonite, but Kaolin or french green would be fine also)
· 1/4 t vitamin E oil (2-4 capsules) or 2-3 drops if you have a bottle
· 2 T Baking Soda
· Essential Oils– aprox. 10-25 drops
I use Lavender and Melalueca. The Melalueca is good for its anti-bacterial properties and the Lavender is soothing for sensitive skin.
Method: Use a wide mouth pint mason jar set inside of a sauce pan. Fill the sauce pan with about 1-2 inches of water and set the mason jar inside of it. Then on medium heat melt the ingredients in order (beeswax first, then cocoa butter, shea butter and coconut oil) being careful not to get it too hot as shea butter doesn't like to get too hot. I mix the ingredients while I am melting them together by using a wooden popsicle stick. Once melted add in your dry ingredients and your vitamin E oil. When it is all mixed together it is about the consistency of warm peanut butter. Then put into the container of your choice. It can be used immediately but it does take up to a week to reach its final consistency of firmness. It has a green tint to it but it does not stain my clothing at all!
So, here is how to do it:
· 1 T Beeswax
· 1T Cocoa butter
· 1 T Shea butter
· 1 T Coconut oil
· 2.5 T arrowroot powder
· 1 T clay, (I used bentonite, but Kaolin or french green would be fine also)
· 1/4 t vitamin E oil (2-4 capsules) or 2-3 drops if you have a bottle
· 2 T Baking Soda
· Essential Oils– aprox. 10-25 drops
I use Lavender and Melalueca. The Melalueca is good for its anti-bacterial properties and the Lavender is soothing for sensitive skin.
Method: Use a wide mouth pint mason jar set inside of a sauce pan. Fill the sauce pan with about 1-2 inches of water and set the mason jar inside of it. Then on medium heat melt the ingredients in order (beeswax first, then cocoa butter, shea butter and coconut oil) being careful not to get it too hot as shea butter doesn't like to get too hot. I mix the ingredients while I am melting them together by using a wooden popsicle stick. Once melted add in your dry ingredients and your vitamin E oil. When it is all mixed together it is about the consistency of warm peanut butter. Then put into the container of your choice. It can be used immediately but it does take up to a week to reach its final consistency of firmness. It has a green tint to it but it does not stain my clothing at all!
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So, you want to go natural with your deodorant but don't have time to mess with making it?
Don't worry, I still have a solution from you. I have another friend who is too busy to make her own so she turned me on to this company...again I was skeptical. However, she did share a sample of their deodorant with me and I was impressed...again no stinking!
Don't worry, I still have a solution from you. I have another friend who is too busy to make her own so she turned me on to this company...again I was skeptical. However, she did share a sample of their deodorant with me and I was impressed...again no stinking!
I even ordered some of this goodness to give as Christmas presents to some reluctant family members who were curious, but not keen on trying a homemade version.
My favorite scents are the Jacked up Jasmine, Thyme & Lemongrass, and the Lime. Ooooh la la!!! I still find that my homemade stuff will go the length a bit longer, as in it will last ALL day in the heat of the summer through outdoor work. If I use the primal pit paste I do have to reapply during those conditions but for normal day-to-day wear, it works great~
I do have a referral link if you are interested in checking out the primal pit paste, let them know I sent ya! (using the link below gets you 15% off your first purchase)
Primal Pit Paste Link
Want to be sure you don't miss a single post in this series? Be sure to subscribe to my email notifications to get emails about new posts...top right corner of the screen, just add your email and you will also be entered to win a natural freebie at the end of this series!
My favorite scents are the Jacked up Jasmine, Thyme & Lemongrass, and the Lime. Ooooh la la!!! I still find that my homemade stuff will go the length a bit longer, as in it will last ALL day in the heat of the summer through outdoor work. If I use the primal pit paste I do have to reapply during those conditions but for normal day-to-day wear, it works great~
I do have a referral link if you are interested in checking out the primal pit paste, let them know I sent ya! (using the link below gets you 15% off your first purchase)
Primal Pit Paste Link
Want to be sure you don't miss a single post in this series? Be sure to subscribe to my email notifications to get emails about new posts...top right corner of the screen, just add your email and you will also be entered to win a natural freebie at the end of this series!
