Yes that’s right, homemade deodorant. I can only imagine the look on my mother and sisters’ faces right now. I did, I set out to find how I can make my own deodorant, if it would be effective and if it would be worth my time. It was actually so much easier than I had ever anticipated and I’m excited to share my findings with you.
I started by using this recipe. It had four simple ingredients, three in my case:
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 5 tablespoons coconut oil
- essential oils (optional, I didn’t use any)
After I had completed my currently in use deodorant I saved the container. I carefully took the entire thing apart and soaked it in soap and water. I then scrubbed it really well and let it air dry completely.
It’s a simple process of mixing the baking soda and cornstarch in a bowl. Add the coconut oil and continue to mix. If you chose, you can add essential oils. I didn’t because I didn’t have any on hand except tea tree oil and I didn’t want my pits smelling like that. Coconut oil’s melting point is 76 degrees so I had to warm ours on the stove before adding to the mixture; more effective than the microwave.
Don’t be confused, our house is hot as hell but for some reason I accidentally put the oil in the fridge so it was solid. I allowed the mixture to cool so not to melt the container. Once cooled I carefully poured it into the deodorant container.
Here’s where my experiment takes a sad turn. First, it was the best product I’ve ever used as a deodorant. On really hot days I would still sweat a tad but nothing major. People weren’t running from me due to bad smells. It’s hot, your body is going to sweat. Here’s the thing. As mentioned above, our apartment is SO hot. As in I put a thermometer in the living room last week and it said 88 degrees. We have crank windows so a simple window unit won’t cut it.
Because of this the deodorant was melting due to the 76 degree melting point of the oil. However, if I put it in the fridge it was too cold and I couldn’t twist it up and it really wouldn’t stick to my skin. If I woke up, took it out of the fridge, let it warm and then put it on it was still too liquidy and not effective.
So in the end I had to come to terms with the fact that in my personal living environment it wasn’t going to work. And we really couldn’t justify a $400 stand alone air conditioner just so I could have my homemade deodorant. Defeats the whole purpose of being frugal, ya know?
However, I know that I won’t live in this 88 degree apartment forever and I fully plan on making another batch come fall/winter. Though, the sad party about the oven of a home that we live in is that even in the winter it was probably 70-75 degrees in the place. No exaggeration. We can’t control the heat and apparently we live in a building full of newborns or 90 year olds. It’s insane.
So in the end, I will most definitely be making this again and I foresee it being my go to forever as soon as I can get the temperature in control. Also, it cost me $0 to make because I had everything on hand. Even if I didn’t have everything on hand it would have cost me about $10-12 for ingredients that would probably make 10 or so deodorants. Not half bad at all.
How about you guys, would you try this? Would you do it for the money savings or the lack of conventional ingredients or both?!
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