Besides the fact that this sort of alternative is trending, you hear about making your own deodorant everywhere and the reasons have more to do with health than just being trendy.
A bit of history
I don’t know about most women but in my case, one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve had to deal with since I was a teenager is armpit sweat. I used to hate that about my body specially when my friends bragged about being able to spend the day without putting on deodorant and didn’t have to worry about smelling horrible and sweating endlessly.
I now understand that this was an amazing quality about my body because if you sweat, it means your are detoxing your body
Apocrine sweat glands are found in the hair follicles located in and around the scalp, armpits, anus, and genitals. Apocrine sweat glands produce a thick, plasma-like substance that also contains fatty acids and protein byproducts, including urea and ammonia. Emotional stress triggers apocrine glands to expel fatty sweat into the skin, where bacteria break it down. This turns into an odorous fatty acid substance, which makes certain types of sweat smell and causes unsightly underarm stains . These glands remain inactive until puberty, which explains why I started having this “problem” in my teen years.
I decided to make my own deodorant when I started reading articles about women suing health and cosmetic companies for cancer supposedly being caused by recurring use of their products, specially because these products contained aluminum. I thought “Hey, its great that this is being brought forward but how about taking full responsibility for what I put inside and outside my body and what better way to do it than to make my own products?”
So let’s jump right into my super easy recipe!
Homemade Deodorant with Shea Butter & Coconut Oil
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (the best you can get, you know, all natural organic, etc)
- 2 tablespoons of Shea butter
- 2 tablespoons of baking soda (modify the quantity to reduce irritation if needed) .
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (same deal, if its organic, its better 😉 )
- 5 to 10 drops of your favorite essential oil (optional)
Instructions:
- Place the Coconut oil and Shea butter into a mason jar or any other resistant glass container like the ones used for baby food.
- Place the glass container inside a pot filled with heating water at medium temperature and stir until melted.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda and the cornstarch
- Add the essential oil drops of your preference and stir again
- You can let it cool on its own or place it in the fridge to accelerate its hardening process.
Notes:
- This can also be heated in a microwave, I prefer to heat everything over stove heat so that is why it is the primary choice in my recipe.
- It may take a few hours for the mixture to harden depending on where you live and the overall temperature of the environment so if you live in hot weather, place it in the fridge.
Pros
You know exactly what you are applying to your armpits and you are providing a healthier alternative to the sweat and smell problem.
Cons
If your container has a weak cap, it can be a headache to take your deodorant on the go or pack it up for a trip as it melts and pours all over your things. Keep this in mind when packing it up and maybe pack it inside a plastic bag or something similar.
Additional tip:
If you are not ready to let go of regular manufactured deodorant, take breaks. Use your regular deodorant for a few months and then take a detox break using this deodorant. I think that discovering all these new ways of causing less harm to the body are not make you freak out about it, take it easy and transition to it slowly, at your own speed or don’t transition at all! Its up to you.
Please share your experiences using natural deodorants in the comments section and if you have a great recipe, please share. I’d like to try it out!
Deesdeeds 