Making Natural Homemade Deodorant

This week, I decided to revert to making my own homemade deodorant. My decision was partly out of necessity, as I ran out, and partly economy, as I'm looking for ways to save money and also wanted to use up some ingredients I already had in the cupboard. I used to make my own deodorant in the past, before I went out to work.  When I was busy going out to work, it was so much easier to just buy a deodorant and not think about the plastic waste I was producing, what was in it or the cost.

Now that I've got a bit more time, I can use it to be a little more resourceful, mindful and put the reusable containers that I have into use again. I started by cleaning out and re-using my current roll on container to make a roll-on vegan deodorant. I haven't actually made this before, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I had all the ingredients already and here's the recipe and the finished result: 

1 teaspoon of baking soda

3 tablespoons of distilled water (I used pre-boiled, but cooled water from the kettle)

3/4 teaspoon of glycerin

1/2 teaspoon of Aloe vera gel

1/2 teaspoon of Almond oil

30 drops of essential oil

1/4 teaspoon Vitamin E oil

It turned out okay, for a first attempt, slightly watery, but it smells nice and it's better than having nothing to put on, which was my current situation. 

The next day the beeswax I'd ordered on eBay arrived, so I proceeded to make some stick deodorants that I've made in the past.  The recipe that I prefer to follow is this one:

4 tablespoons Coconut oil (or half coconut oil, half shea butter)

1 teaspoon of Bicarbonate of Soda

1 teaspoon of White Beeswax pellets (or you could grate some from a bar)

2 tablespoons of Cornstarch

1 tablespoon of Bentonite Clay or Kaolin Clay (if you don't have this, you can substitute another tablespoon of cornstarch)

15 drops of Essential oil of your choice

1/4 teaspoon Vitamin E oil (optional, but does help preserve it)

I found this recipe worked better for me, possibly because is was slightly less oily/greasy than the one below.

An alternative and slightly simpler recipe that I have used in the past is this one:

1 cup of cornstarch

1 tablespoon of Bicarbonate of Soda

8 tablespoons of Coconut oil

10 drops of essential oil

1/4 teaspoon of Vitamin E oil

To make the deodorant, you melt the coconut oil/shea butter and wax pellets over a bain marie and then add the dry ingredients, essential oil and Vitamin E oil.

Then pour it into your containers and leave in the fridge for 24 hours until set. Then use. Very simple.

I would just warn that it can leave slight greasy marks on clothing, so just beware of this if you are wearing anything expensive or special. In addition, the Bentonite clay turns the deodorant a bit of a murky brown colour, but don't be put off by this, unless, of course, you wear white a lot, as it may discolour your clothing. I have used kaolin or china clay instead of Bentonite clay in the past, as it's white, but I'm trying to use up the last bit of Bentonite clay that I have.

Here's a picture of the finished deodorants:

I'm not sure why they ended up different colours. I think the clay may have sunk to the bottom on the lighter one, but no matter. I'm going to leave these in the fridge whilst the weather is so hot and keep using the roll on, as I think they may melt in the heat.

They should last me a few months though and probably haven't cost as much as shop bought natural ones.  I did have to outlay some money for some of the ingredients that I no longer had, but these should pay for themselves over time and some will also be used to make our dog's paw balm and possibly other things.