Natural Deodorants

Forgive my blatant pun, but all too often deodorants get the short end of the stick when it comes to our personal beauty routines.  For something that most people apply to their body every single day, it is surprising that many of us are willing to settle for a mass produced stick of deodorant, when making your own customized, all natural deodorant is quick, easy, and affordable.  Simply create a base for your Deodorant using Oils, Waxes, Butters and Additives, then scent it with a customized blend of Essential Oils.

Deodorant Base
A Deodorant Base can be created similarly to a Balm Base. Combine 1 part Vegetable Butter, 2 parts Vegetable Oil, and 1 part Wax to create a base. Next, add 1 part Baking Soda, and 1 part Cornstarch or Dry-Flo to lend absorbency and deodorizing ability to the base. Depending on the Butters, Oils, and Waxes you choose, you may need to adjust the proportions to acheive an ideal consistency.  You may want to package your first batch of Deodorant in a wide mouth jar to make it easy to use regardless of its texture.  If the recipe you create yields a very hard Deodorant, you can package in Stick Tube or Deodorant Containers.

Essential Oil Blend
The majority of your Essential Oil Blend should be composed of Essential Oils that you will enjoy smelling throughout the day.  Some personal favorites of mine include: Jasmine Absolute, Rose Essential Oil, Vanilla Absolute, Ylang Ylang Essential Oil, Lavender Essential Oil, and Bergamot Essential Oil. Creating your own, personal blend will make your Deodorant a pleasure to use every day.

Many Essential Oils contain deodorizing properties that can help to enhance your Deodorant Base. Cypress, Myrrh, Lemongrass, Spruce, and Pine Essential Oils contain components that can help to add extra deodorizing power to your blend.  Tea Tree, Niaouli, Nerolina, Juniper, and Ravensara Essential Oils are known for their antiseptic properties.  Adding an antiseptic Essential Oil to your deodorant is another way to enhance its deodorizing abilities.

Check out our recent post on creating Essential Oil Blends for Natural Deodorants for sample blend recipes. 

Remember to reasearch your chosen Essential Oils well before adding them to your recipe.  Make sure that the Essential Oils you are using won't conflict with any medical conditions that you may have.  While the exact percentage of Essential Oil can be adjusted to suit your personal taste and tolerance, I would recommend using a total of around 2% Essential Oil in your Deodorant Formula.

More Deodorant Recipes
There are many more recipes available for creating handmade, Natural Deodorants.  One of my favorite bloggers, Amy Karol, recently posted this recipe of her own.  Recipes for Herbal Stick Deodorant and Herbal Deodorant Spray are available at FromNatureWithLove.com's Recipe Database.  You can also find a great recipe for Solid Deodorant in the Database.

Comments

[Erin]

I can't thank you enough for this article! A good friend of mine gets treated to many of my products, including bath salts. To my dismay, she's been using my "Dragon's Blood" bath salts as deodorant! I promised that I'd find recipe to make her a natural deodorant, so she wouldn't have to use the bath salts!!

I do have one question...
Can I use a fragrance oil in place of the essential oil??

Thanks, again, for the very timely article!!

Erin

[Emmy]

It's great to hear that this article will be so helpful to you. You can certainly replace the Essential Oils with Fragrance Oils. However, the advantage to using Essential Oils is that they contain properties that can help the deodorant do its job. Fragrance Oil will yield a scent, but it will not add to the formula's ability to deodorize. I would suggest, unless there is an allergy or another reason not to use Essential Oil, that you combine a small portion of Tea Tree Essential Oil along with your chosen Fragrance Oil to make sure it packs some extra punch.

[Armi]

Thanks for this recipe, Emmy! I'm intrigued by the idea of a natural deodorant and plan on trying this recipe as soon as I can get together some more ingredients.

Can you suggest some oils and butters that are less likely to cause irritation if used for the base? And what do you think of adding potassium alum (commonly called rock crystal deodorant) or himalayan salt to the mixture, as there are some sites that suggest using these salts as a natural deodorant too?

[Emmy]

I'm pleased to hear that you are going to try out a handmade deodorant. While any emollient oils and butters would work well in a deodorant base, I think it would be best to use an oil that is light and penetrating, such as Peach Kernel Oil or Fractionated Coconut Oil. An even better choice would be a Carrier Oil that exhibits antiseptic or antibacterial properties. Some good choices are Perilla Seed Oil, Acai Oil, or Organic Coconut Cream Oil. However, if inflammation is your biggest concern, try using an Oil with anti-inflammatory properties such as Argan Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Pomegranate Oil, or Red Raspberry Seed Oil. You can also divide the Oil portion between two or more Oils with valuable properties. As for the Butter, I would choose one with a medium to high hardness, such as Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Illipe Butter, or Kokoum Butter.

From what I understand, Potassium Alum is used in deodorants for its antiseptic abilities. There are several Essential Oils and CO2 Extracts that you can use in your deodorant for the same purpose. Some good choices are: Redberry Select CO2 Extract, Myrhh Select CO2 Extract, Niaouli Essential Oil, and Nerolina Essential Oil. If you have sensitive skin, be sure to avoid any spice Essential Oils such as Clove or Cinnamon. These also have antiseptic properties, but they can cause major irritation to sensitive skin. Both Potassium Alum and Himilayan Salts are water soluble and may not dissolve properly in this kind of deodorant recipe. I would probably not recommend adding them. Instead, try to create an Essential Oil Blend to serve the same purpose.

[aidan0105]

coool.. :)

[Emmy]

Thanks for visiting The Natural Beauty Workshop, Aidan. I'm glad you liked the article.

[Lynda 5151]

I have tried making my own deodorant with beeswax and oils and essential oils. Worked great except for the oil stains on some clothes. Has anyone found a way around this? I would really appreciate some tips if so.
Thanks so much...
Lynda

[Emmy]

Hi Lynda, To create a less greasy deodorant, you may want to try using a recipe with a higher content of powders, and a lower content of oil. The recipe on Angry Chicken, Amy Karol's blog, only contains 1/5 Cocoa Butter so it might be closer to the texture you are looking for. I would suggest giving that recipe, or a similar recipe a try. You can find her recipe through the following link:
http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2008/07/homemade-deodor.html