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Journey to Green has a tutorial up teaching you how to make homemade deodorant.
Have any of you made homemade deodorant before? Did it work? I’d love to know!
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
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Yes, and I LOVE it! I originally made it to avoid the aluminum in regular deodorant/anti-perspirants. I was pleastenly surprised that it works so much better than Secret, Degree or any other name brand. I go to bed at night still smelling clean. Which is amazing, since I used to be self-conscience about smelling by mid-afternoon. I have used regular vegetable oil and coconut oil. Both worked great, but I like the smell of the coconut and how it actually moisturizes too. Wonderful!
I have a friend who has extremely sensitive skin and cannot wear any deodorant. I had read an article in the paper about a person who rubbed half of a lemon under their arms every couple of days and it worked as deodorant and eliminated the smell. My friend tried this and it works for her!
I have a missionary friend in Nicaragua and he just told a story about using lemons/limes to eliminate body odor.
@Jana Biel,
We use lemon:) We buy the bags of organic lemons for $3.99 at Whole Foods. No odor and it’s healthier because your body is supposed to sweat! It helps rid your body of toxins.
I made a loved homemade deodorant for about 6 months and then ended up with a yeast infection under my arms…I think it was the baking soda. Now I use bumble and bee spray….expensive but worth it.
I am not a delicate person, if you know what I mean and I do sometimes have slight odor when I use my homemade DO (Coconut oil, arrow root powder (version of cornstarch but w/o aluminum), tea tree oil). It’s often toward the very end of the day but only on days when I’ve been doing something very physical and it isn’t bad–just not quite so fresh smelling anymore. It is also NOT an antipersperant, so I also sometimes have wetness.
Apple cider vinegar works great, too, for the same reason a lemon does (the bacteria can’t thrive in that acidic environment). And as soon as it’s dry, you do not smell it anymore. The cool thing about it, though, is that if you notice you do smell and you don’t have time to wash, just a bit of acv will make the smell go away!
You can use a lot of things for deodorants- but you will not have the antiperspirant qualities of aluminum.
I made—and loved—homemade deodorant (arrowroot powder, baking soda, coconut oil) and it worked VERY well. I really, really loved it.
But—-I also ended up with a yeast infection under my arms, and it was horrible. It was extremely painful and took a few weeks to clear up (and during that time, I wasn’t able to wear any deodorant at all, which was also bad news).
My advice would be to try it; but if you have ANY signs of redness, bumps, itchiness, or anything out of the ordinary, to stop using it IMMEDIATELY. It’s just not worth the pain if you end up having a reaction to it.
Now I’m back to my old stand-by, Dove. It doesn’t work as well, and I don’t like the “stickiness” when I try to wash it off the next morning in the shower. I don’t like the aluminum issue, either. But, oh well. I haven’t gotten the courage yet to try a different homemade version.
Elizabeth
@Elizabeth, There are other deodorants that are aluminum free. I’ve had good results with Tom’s of Maine.
@Dana, I’ve read that cornstarch is a breeding ground for yeast, promoting its growth. If your deoderant contained cornstarch, maybe that’s the culprit. (I read this after I had used cornstarch to powder my baby girl’s bum during the summer months; she didn’t have any infections, but, boy, did I stop using it immediately!)
@Dana, Thank you, Dana, for the Tom’s suggestion. I have tried two others that were aluminum free, but have not cared for them. I haven’t yet tried Tom’s, though, so perhaps I will give it a shot when I run out. Thanks!
I saw that Cheryl Burke on Dancing w/ the Stars uses the alcohol hand sanitizer as an alternative deodorant. I would think it would sting after shaving, though.
@Jenny, Yeah, I have used it as a backup deo on the busy mornings when I get to work and realize I forgot to put some on…. it stings worse than sanitizer in your paper cuts!
My new back up plan is very wiffy hand lotion from Bath and Body Works. It doesn’t sting and the fragrance covers up any stink.
That being said, keeping a travel sized deo in my desk would probably solve the issue of forgetting to put some on…..
I just use a little baking soda rubbed under my arms. Works great. It’s cheap. Doesn’t contain undesireable chemicals.
I have and liked it very much- but as others said it’s not great at controlling wetness.
Haven’t tried home-made, but I do have an issue with the aluminum in deodorants and have been happily using Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Deodorant…it’s Aluminum and Paraben Free. Tom’s of Maine also has a natural deodorant but it a bit more expensive. Both have pleasant smells but are not antiperspirant.
My husband and I both use homemade deodorant – just coconut oil, baking soda and corn starch and it works great.
I’ve been using homemade deodorant for a few months and so far, so good! I made some when my “regular” deodorant ran out, and put the homemade stuff in the old dispenser. This is the recipe I use – http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/03/update-homemade-deoderant.html
My skin is too sensitive so I simply stopped using deodorant. Instead, in the summer I use cornstarch. This works for me and I don’t sweat much anyhow.
my husband broke out in a rash w/ homemade deo. I would be careful.
Personally, I have to draw the line somewhere.
I mix equal parts of corn starch and baking soda. It works well for me. I tried Tom’s, but I could smell myself by 10AM – Yuck!
Thank you so much for sharing my recipe! I’ll be submitting some more today! I’ve moved off Wordpress and onto blogger where readers can get this recipe and several other Money Saving recipes. Thank you again!
We all use homemade deodorant. We truly wanted to get away from the chemicals. My daughter is 12 and wears it now too – she loves it – we all feel good about not putting any more chemicals into our body. Some of our lymph nodes are right there under our arms and it is so important to protect them as much as we can from chemicals as this is a major place the cancer begins. It does take some getting use to. I have to say also that we have changed to an all organic, raw milk, good meat diet, etc and because of that I rarely have to wear deodorant. I know that sounds awful. There will be a day here and there where I have not eaten well and my body will smell because of those toxins trying to get out. But overall, a good diet does help with the smell of your body. My husband uses it as well and likes using it too. It does take some getting used to, it may burn the skin some. We use baking soda, cornstarch, coconut oil and tea tree oil.
Such a wonderful thing and so so inexpensive – I even carry a little jar in my purse for emergency situations. I love hearing how others are using it too
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I haven’t tried homemade deo, but I use the crystal that you can get at health food stores or online. It lasts for years, there is no smell, and I love it! I was breaking out in a rash from my other deo when I decided to try the crystal. I think it costs about $5, but the big one lasts me more than 2 years, so that isn’t too bad. It also isn’t antiperspirant, but in my opinion, I don’t think it’s healthy to wear AP, since God made your body perspire for a reason! Let’s just eliminate the odor!
@Merry Jo, I’ve been using the crystal deoderant for about 15 years and I wouldn’t use anything else.
I’ve been using homemade deodorant since about May with no problems — I made using some of the free jar of coconut oil that Tropical Traditions offered a while back. I’ve been very happy with it. It’s not an antiperspirant, but it does a good job as far as smell goes and I like being able to pronounce all of the ingredients.
I’ve been using Moody Sister’s deodorant for the last few weeks and really like it! Yeah, I’m just a bit stinky by the end of the day, but nothing a reapplication before bed time won’t stop! I’m so glad it’s not an antiperspirant! Although I think if I had some major important thing to go to that I didn’t want to worry about I would probably use my old antiperspirant once in awhile.
That is interesting to hear about the yeast infection. I have made this, and I get sore lymph glands all around my underarms. (I have sensitive lymph glands with chronic fatigue/immune dysfunction.) I wish it worked for me – because it is natural and cheap! I know it works for many and is worth a try.
Bluntly, if you are not allergic to soap and water, there shouldn’t be a real reason to wear deo OR a.p’s . I take a military shower (3 minutes on the egg timer!) every other day or so and end it with a cold rinse under my arms. Even in the Nebraska summer after digging in the garden for a few hours, a shower has always taken care of anything…
@Mary, I’m so glad you wrote! I’ve been feeling a bit like a mutant, because I don’t use any deodorant at all and the vast majority of the time, don’t have any smell problems. (honest, cos on a rare stressful day I do) But… get this, I’m a dance teacher! I sweat for a living! So… if you have sensitive skin, maybe try just soap and water. (And most of the time I use a glycerin soap, only using soap on pits and personals, since I have very dry skin. I do use a neutrogena facial wash/scrub for the exfoliation part.)
I also use the salt crystal. I’ve had mine for over two years and it isn’t even half way gone. I LOVE it!
Ugh. Tried Homemade Deo- (coconut oil, tea tree oil and baking soda/cornstarch) It’s uncomfortable to wear and getting the consistency correct is nigh unto impossible. It either weeps or is all grainy and definitely stains clothes!! I don’t really know if it works well b/c I’m not really a ‘stinky’ sweaty person, and I only used it a few days to a week. It seems to me that you shouldn’t have to worry about a yeast infection if you were using Virgin Coconut and tea tree oils-both would inhibit the growth of that kind of thing.
@Sarah Jean, I found that coconut oil recipes stained my clothes, too. I switched to just equal parts baking soda and cornstarch, mixed together and applied with a makeup brush. I think it works just as well as with the coconut oil, and no stains. And MUCH less expensive.