Homemade Stick Deodourant

This morning, I ran out of the natural stick deodorant that I bought in the US last year.  It's useful for wearing when I do a class at the gym, as it seems to work well when I get all hot and sweaty.

As I'm on a no spend month with regard to toiletries, buying a natural deodorant stick was out of the question, so it seemed as good a time as any to try and make one myself.  Besides, it could also act as my natural beauty make for January.

I had kept one of OH's empty deodorant stick containers to reuse and I washed mine out ready to use again, so I decided to make two, which meant I wouldn't need to make any more for a while.

I checked out a couple of recipes from YouTube.  One was by Ela Gale, who suggested the following recipe;

2 tbsp coconut oil 

2 tbsp shea butter 

1 tsp sodium bicarbonate/baking soda

3 tbsp cornstarch/bentonite clay (I used 2tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp bentonite clay)

1tsp white beeswax

15 drops essential oil of your choice

I melted the coconut oil. shea butter and beeswax in a bain marie. I added 1/4 tsp of vitamin E oil, as this acts as a preservative and helps it keep for longer.  I used peppermint oil in this batch and it made just about enough to make one full stick, plus a bit left over.  

Once melted and the dry ingredients gradually added, I poured it into the stick container and left it in the fridge to set.  I should have made sure to tap it down, as it did sink a little after a while and I could have topped it up with the extra little bit left over, It didn't really matter, however, as it still made a good long stick.

As I had another container, I decided to use up a cornstarch/grapefruit essential oil natural dry shampoo mixture I had made a while back, as I very rarely use it and didn't want to waste it. I used another recipe to make this batch, which will allow me to compare results.

1 cup cornstarch

1 tbsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda

8 tbsp coconut oil

1/4 tsp vitamin E oil

10 drops Grapefruit essential oil

I actually halved this recipe, as it seemed a lot, but then found I hadn't made enough, so it only half filled the container once I'd tamped it down by tapping it on the worktop to get any air bubbles out. I then left it in the fridge for a couple of hours to set. When it was set, I just twisted it up to the top to use it. It just means it won't last quite as long.  I will double it back up to the above recipe if I make it again.

I was pretty pleased at how easy it was to make.  It can cost anywhere from £5 to £10 to buy a natural deodorant and this didn't cost me anything, as I had all of the ingredients already.  I won't hesitate to make it again, providing it works well.  I just need to test it and make sure it works effectively.

Here's a photo of the sticks once poured

and here's another of them once set and twisted up ready to use. The small tub I will probably use with a lolly stick or small spatula for travelling or if I run out. There was a problem with the blue stick as much of the mixture just dropped to the bottom and won't push up, so the actual stick is only a couple of inches deep, which is a bit of a waste, but I will still use it.  I just might not reuse the container.  I now just need to label them with a sticker or some washi tape and I'm all set.

I'll let you know how I get on with them.  I have read quite a few reports of people having a reaction to baking soda.  I haven't as yet, but it could still happen.  If you do, I wouldn't recommend either of these recipes, but you could try to make the first one without the baking soda, as there is much less in this recipe.