Simple Life: Homemade Deodorant

Editor’s Note: The Simple Life column runs the second Monday of the month

By Lisa Jones

The ingredients on most beauty products would hardly qualify for “simple” status.

To exactly what degree various chemicals get absorbed into the skin is fodder for much feverish Internet debate but I don’t like the idea that anything as ugly sounding as “isodecyl neopentanoate” gets into my bloodstream.

Of particular concern to me is the aluminum found in traditional deodorants/antiperspirants. I tried going without deodorant at all and while most of the time that was fine, sometimes a girl wants a little stench fighter. When my husband mentioned I smelled “earthy” I realized it was time to look for an alternative.

If you are not familiar with coconut oil, you are in for a treat; is it fantastic for everything from dry hair to stir-fry. It is edible, silky smooth and smells like vacation.

Add baking soda (it absorbs odor in the fridge, why not in your armpits?) and corn starch (for some wetness protection) to the glorious coconut oil and you’ve got a deodorant you could eat if you had no textural aversion to something that is both gritty and creamy.

Here are the concoction ratios:
1/4 cup of corn starch
1/4 cup of baking soda
5-6 tablespoons of coconut oil

I prefer extra virgin unrefined coconut oil because it retains a bunch of the goodies—including the yummy coconut smell—that are processed out otherwise. Refined coconut oil is practically scent-free, if you’re not going for that eau de Honolulu.

Mix all ingredients together, warming the oil in the microwave for a few seconds if it has solidified. If you want a specific scent, add a couple drops of your favorite essential oil and store the mixture in a small mason jar. Apply a pea sized amount to your pits.

The one difference from traditional products is that although this does contain corn starch, there will still be some wetness. This is not an antiperspirant so you are still going to sweat but the smell is completely managed. For me, is a fine trade off for something that is chemical free. I am a-OK with my body cooling itself in the manner intended, I would just rather not stink the place out in the process.

It also holds up like a trooper through my Bikram yoga class (that’s the one in a 105-degree room) so you can go ahead and consider me an expert in this one, very specific and very random area.

Lisa Jones is a freelance writer and a yoga fanatic with a serious travel addiction. You can find more from Lisa at her blog Just here. Just now.