Easy Homemade Deodorant Recipe with just 3-Ingredients
Learn how to make this quick and easy homemade deodorant recipe for sensitive skin from a natural baking soda free deodorant base and two simple ingredients you can locally in most grocery, co-op and health food stores!
First, some backstory.
Sometimes you just need a hack to make things in your life better. Something quick and easy to improve whatever. Health is one of those things that is hard for me to skimp on especially as someone with fibromyalgia, so there aren’t a lot of health hacks, I guess you could say, that really work like I’d like them to. Here’s some backstory. (Plus why this deodorant hack, you could say, is worth mentioning.)
I’ve been making a lot of changes since first being diagnosed with fibro in 2012. I’ve learned a lot about my body and the condition by being really proactive. As it turns out, despite fibro being increasingly common, a lot of doctors still don’t know how to handle it. My doctor threw drugs at it. Followed by more drugs. Hydrocodone, Tramadol, Lyrica… drugs that actually caused the pain to increase over time leading to the need for more drugs in higher doses.
So, I quit the drugs. And on my on and cold turkey which in retrospect was probably a really bad idea. At the time, tramadol had recently been reclassified as a Class C drug.
I was told by my doctor that taking tramadol was safe. I was also told that it was non-addictive. Tramadol is a synthetic opiate. That it’s not addictive is simply not true. As my need for the drug increased I realized that my pain wasn’t getting worse – I was experiencing side effects as the drug was wearing off. Also Lyrica, which they tout as the new drug for treating fibro, actually causing a sharp increase in pain when it wears off or if you try to stop taking it.
Realizing these things and wanting to take back control of my life, I quit both tramadol and Lyrica cold turkey over a weekend. I don’t recommend this. I ate a lot of benadryl. It was not fun. At two weeks I started to feel normal again. At three weeks I finally leveled back out.
Then I started making changes to my diet. And moving more so that I was at least walking every single day.
I also changed my diet and gave up fast food entirely. I also started eating fewer processed foods and kept track of which foods – typically the over processed ones – that made me feel worse. I switched to organic foods, increase my intake of fresh foods and I started drinking probiotics every single day. Whether kombucha tea or more recently, Kevita’s Turmeric Ginger Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic, these drinks created a major shift in my health.
I also drink two to three cups of Traditional Medicinals EveryDay Detox Tea five days a week and, more recently, started treating the fibro like it was leaky gut syndrome as much as possible.
Finally I changed my deodorant. The difference was notable.
I have been on the fence with natural deodorants for a while. My first experience was not great as I fell victim to the burning fiery rash you get after using deodorant with baking soda. Eventually I discovered that I could swap the baking soda with magnesium hydroxide – basically the same thing as Milk of Magnesia – and it worked just as well. I created a few deodorant recipes with arrowroot powder, magnesium hydroxide, butters, oils and essential oils that I really liked. I even made one with bentonite clay.
I noticed another shift how I felt physically after sticking to using a natural deodorant with magnesium hydroxide at about two months. I have not looked back.
But then I ran out of my deodorant. And I ran out of ingredients. As I was waiting for sales to place a large supply order for all the soap and skin care recipes I post on my blog, I thought I’d try a store bought natural deodorant that I could buy locally. I mean, not only are there days your supply cabinet runs dry, but sometimes you just feel terrible and making deodorant from scratch is an exhausting task. Plus, starting out buying all of those ingredients can be costly.
So I bought two natural deodorants to try – Tom’s of Maine Long Lasting Deodorant Stick (in Wild Lavender) and Jason Purifying Tea Tree Pure Natural Deodorant Stick. Both are free of aluminum. Both fell extremely short in performance.
So basically I melted them down and added arrowroot powder and magnesium hydroxide to them. Huge difference.
Anyway, you can make this easy homemade deodorant recipe from basically any natural, aluminum free deodorant like the ones I used or with a melt and pour deodorant base from a soapmaking supplier. (I was able to find a good baking soda free melt and pour deodorant base with shea and cocoa butter at Essential Wholesale here if you are wanting to make your own deodorant in bulk. Brambleberry also sells a baking soda free melt and pour deodorant base but with aloe and not butters.)
Following is my easy homemade deodorant recipe. Feel free to adjust the amounts of the additional ingredients to suit your preference. You can also add essential oils if you are using an unscented base.
Easy Homemade Deodorant Recipe
Ingredients:
2.15 oz. natural aluminium free deodorant (base) of choice
1 oz. arrowroot powder
.5 oz. magnesium hydroxide
Instructions:
To make this easy homemade deodorant recipe, you’ll begin by using a digital scale weigh out the deodorant or melt and pour deodorant base. (The amount needed is slightly less than a stick.)
Place in a glass Pyrex measuring cup and heat in the microwave at 50% power until melted. Mine took around 30 seconds to melt.
Weigh out the arrowroot powder and the magnesium hydroxide then stir them into the melted deodorant until full incorporated.
Add essential oils if desired if using an unscented melt and pour deodorant base.
Pour the melted deodorant into your now empty deodorant container or into one you’ve purchased. (Pictured above is a silver deodorant tube with a domed cap from SKS Bottle & Packaging.)
Allow the deodorant to resolidify then place the cap on your container.
You can then decorate your new and improved deodorant if desired with a sticker or label. (I used this crystals, diamonds & minerals clipart I purchased from Kenna Sato Designs and printed onto white sticker paper from WorldLabel.)
Keep in mind if you are making your natural deodorant to sell, you’ll need to label it properly in order to meet state and federal laws. (If you’re unsure about the rules and regulations regarding labeling cosmetics, I highly recommend the book, Soap and Cosmetic Labeling: How to Follow the Rules and Regs Explained in Plain English, by Marie Gale.) Also, if you’re purchasing clipart for labels, be sure to purchase a commercial license.
If this still too much work, Mountain Rose Herbs sells a natural brand of deodorant called All Good Deodorant. These deodorants contain Saccharomyces/Ferment – a type of fungi – that contains naturally-occurring, live enzymes that breakdown sweat molecules and effectively fight both odor and wetness. They also contain arrowroot powder.
If you like my easy homemade deodorant recipe and have the means, you may also want to try my Natural Lavender Cream Deodorant Recipe with Bentonite Clay and my Natural Neem Oil Deodorant Recipe. These are both all natural and free of aluminum and baking soda. You may also want to try my Natural Lavender and Patchouli Deodorant Recipe. While this recipe does contain baking soda, the baking soda can easily be swapped for magnesium hydroxide. You can also shop for baking soda free deodorants on Etsy here.
While it’s not commonplace for me to share more personal parts of my life, I thought this was important enough to pass on. It’s also my hope that it may help improve your own quality of life or the quality of life of someone you know who copes daily with their own private pain or illness. As always, you should not make any significant changes in regards to any health issues without consulting your doctor.
Also keep in mind that there is no one size fits all solution to health. Pay attention to your body and take care of yourself and always seek help if you think something is wrong. While changing your deodorant obviously isn’t a cure for anything, you may just find it helps in ways you didn’t realize.
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