This may sound crazy, time consuming, and not worth the trouble, but I guarantee once you try it you'll never go back!
I found this recipe from girl on bike's blog, and it's really great. But I did add to it...
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=335263.0
Her recipe calls for
*1/4 cup baking soda
*1/3 cup cornstarch
*10 drops or 1/4 tsp tea tree, lavender, &/or your favorite scented oil
(tea tree works best because of it's antibacterial properties)
*1 tbsp+ coconut oil
I also added sea salt, and a little witch hazel. Both of these will control odor because they have antibacterial properties., And the salt will help keep you dryer.
Also, I added a little bit more of every ingredient to get a good consistency, and I ended up with 2 deodorant bars. I melted everything on the stove, whisking. It was so separated and gooey and wet that I added more dry ingredients. At the time I didn't know it would harden so much, but regardless it came out perfect!!
To do the deodorant, I would wait until one of your deodorant sticks run out, (save the empty container) but have a spare, because this homemade deodorant takes about a week to harden and "set." Take your empty deodorant container, screw it all the way down, and tightly pack in the new deodorant mush.(I've also used toilet paper rolls as deodorant containers.
Once it hardens, it works just like any other deodorant. It smells like heavenly tea tree coconut.
This deodorant is all natural, but if you want non-gmo I would recommend using organic or certified non-gmo cornstarch.
*****tip-- if you find your deodorant won't set and harden properly try storing it in the fridge.
Do you have tried any other oils besides coconut? I'm allergic to coconut oil. Was wondering if you thought grape seed would work just as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't think grapeseed oil would work unfortunately, bc its a liquid.. you would have to find something with similar properties to coconut oil..... Possibly palm oil?
DeleteOr adding vegetable glycerin to oil might thicken it... Good luck, and let me know!
Cocoa butter? shea butter? both are liquid when heated but will set up nicely
DeleteI have used shea butter and I prefer the consistency, because it doesnt' melt as quickly and the bars are more firm. On hot days though they get really soft - but more manageable than soft coconut oil. Recently made some with Mango butter, no not body shop mango butter, just pure mango seed oil ;) it is very hard at room temperature and I'm hoping those will be even more manageable at warmer temperatures. Most of the ones I've made tended to be too soft and difficult to apply or too crumbly (I added more powder thinking it would be hard like regular stick of deo). Thinking of trying adding wax... had really wanted to stay away from that but may do it to get the consistency and ease of application I'm looking for.
Deletecool al! thanks for your input! Personally during the summer, I keep my deodorant in the fridge, and take it out a few minutes before I'm going to use it. So far I've only stuck with coconut oil, bc I don't have shea butter anyway lol
DeleteThank you for linking me back to your site!
ReplyDeleteWhen you use TP rolls as your storage container, do you just trip the cardboard away as you go, or do you push the bar up from the bottom?
I tried putting a base and pushing it up as I needed, didn't work very well.. I usually trim around the sides as i need it, with a razor blade or scissor. The best container is definitely a good deodorant container-- like a tom's of maine one. I know suave or something won't push back up. You can also search deodorant containers, they are online for 70 cents.
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