That's Impossible!!! A Toxin Free Deodorant that Actually Works!

My husband is a good sport.  I have made difficult situations, like remodeling after a flood, more challenging because I checked all materials for toxins and pressed for healthier options.  This slowed down the process considerably and he loves to cross items off his "to do" list quickly.  He has been, in his own words, a "late adopter" of many of my green ideas. He is now, however, my biggest supporter in our journey to make our house healthy and safe for our family.  But sometimes he still thinks I am a bit crazy...

The following example of one of my weird ideas is shared with his full permission:)

A long time ago a friend told me about the dangers of regular deodorant/antiperspirant.  I shrugged it off and thought it might be true but I wasn't willing to stink.  I felt this way for many years.

As we started to clean up our home for the kids, I became careful about what soaps and shampoos we used for them.  I started thinking about the deodorant thing and thought I'd better figure this out now so we'd be ready when the kids needed deodorant.  I probably bought ten different health food store "natural" deodorants.  I would go on iherb and read all the reviews, pick the most popular ones, and try them out myself.  Nothing worked!!!  The Crystal worked for a while and then stopped.  I gave up and went back to my trusty "Secret". 

My husband is the most consistent exerciser I have ever known.  He goes to the gym numerous times, every week, as long as I've known him.  He runs in the morning before work.  He also regularly goes on very challenging mountain bike rides lasting hours, with friends, for "fun".  He has always showered twice a day because he stinks after workouts.  He sweats A LOT which is great for detoxifying.  But he needed to buy those REALLY toxic, clinical deodorants to keep from stinking--and even those didn't work so well.  His exercise shirts were hard to launder so they'd smell fresh.  I tried adding vinegar and baking soda to the load.  I'd rewash his shirts a few times.  I was bummed because I couldn't get the sweat smell out of his shirts--ever.

So back to my deodorant quest...I found a make your own recipe that people said worked well.  It was coconut oil based so it was liquid most of the year (coconut oil melts as the weather gets warm) but I would apply it to my underarm with my finger and I was surprised to find it WORKED!  My husband delighted in trying to catch me "stinking" but the new deodorant always worked.  He wouldn't try it, however, because he didn't think it would work for him and all the hard core exercising he does.

One day we were on vacation and he realized he had forgotten his deodorant.  He was going to have to use my homemade deodorant and we were at a theme park all day in the heat.  He was worried!  I was excited!!!  I was hoping it would work and we could throw out the toxic, expensive deodorant he was using that wasn't even working well. 

You can probably guess it worked amazingly well for him!!  No odor after a two hour bike ride in the summer!!  No more stains on his white undershirts.  No more odors on any shirts.  No smell at all--ever!  This deodorant is so amazing that he wants us to sell it:)  Because it really doesn't make sense that there are all these companies making deodorant that doesn't work well, is full of chemicals, and costs lots of money.  And this one works perfectly and is super cheap and easy to make!

Since his conversion, I now am using an even better recipe that works just as well but has some beeswax in it so it stays solid in all temperatures.  I just mix it, cook it, and pour it in an old deodorant bottle---I have tons of them from my days of trying out all the natural ones.

This recipe is adapted from Keeper of the Home and found here.  I omitted the Castor oil in her recipe because I like the texture better without.  I don't use lavender or tea tree oil in mine because of this study showing a link between both and the growth of breasts in boys.  Further study showed the two essential oils mimic the actions of estrogen in the body.  I think it is best to leave them out if there may be a problem with the oils, especially when they are placed so close to the breast tissue.

Here is the recipe with a picture of the ingredients:

I added the following to a saucepan, stirred to combine, and "cooked" over low heat:

5 Tablespoons of coconut oil, 1/4 cup of arrowroot powder, 1/4 cup of aluminum free baking soda, 2 heaping Tablespoons of beeswax pellets--(shown below), and 16 drops of an essential oil to scent (if desired)  Check this list for essential oils to avoid due to their ability to exaggerate hormonal issues.

Heat until the beeswax pellets melt, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.  Pour into two empty, clean deodorant containers like the one pictured below.  I twisted it so the base was all the way at the bottom and ready to receive the liquid deodorant.  This starts to harden right away so you have to work quickly.

Cools completely within a few hours and is ready to use.  Makes 2 containers of deodorant.

Some additional tips...

1.  At the beginning, I needed to wipe this off at night with water so my body could take a break from the abrasiveness of the baking soda in the recipe.  I just put coconut oil on the area over night to soothe.

2.  Some people have a week or so "adjustment period" when starting this.  This is supposed to be your body adjusting to being without the chemicals in the deodorant you used before.  My husband and I did not and were "stink free" right away.

3. You don't need to use much at all.  I place the container to my underarm, twisted up to reveal just a bit of the deodorant, and let it soften a second from my body temperature.  Then I lightly cover the area, without tugging or rubbing as baking soda is abrasive.


Let me know if you try this and how it works for you!!  I hope it ends up being a great improvement over your present situation:)
Moneysaver:  I purchased the arrowroot powder inexpensively on Amazon, the beeswax and baking soda from iherb, and the coconut oil from Trader Joe's.  There is a bit of an investment upfront if you don't have the items already, but the deodorant ends up costing just a few cents to make each time.  If you live near me, I'll happily make you some if you give me an empty container.  Then you can try it first, without purchasing the ingredients.

How I Got Here...A Dirty Chair and a Smart Husband

People have been telling me that I should start a blog.  I never thought I should, however, because most of the things they thought I should post about (our green journey and discoveries) were all created or discovered by someone else.  But yesterday, my wonderful husband thrilled me by cleaning our dirty, leather bar stools (which were uncleanable!!) with a creation of vinegar and baking soda paste.  And I thought--I need to start a blog.  Because this kind of thing happens all the time and it may help someone else.  And that would be cool.  So here is my first entry:

Our kids eat at least one meal a day at matching bar stools in our kitchen.  These bar stools are white leather (I know, bad decision) and have gotten filthy.  And I faithfully try to clean them with whatever is in my homemade cleaner arsenal.  Because the kids are going to be sitting on them, touching them with their fingers, and then touching their food and probably their mouths.  So I wouldn't use anything toxic to clean them  (But I did try Windex in a moment of weakness and then wiped it down with water afterwards).  Long story short--nothing has worked.  Probably 7 different cleaners and the bar stools looked yucky and I thought probably the white paint on the leather had worn away and maybe they had to have this look forever.  Unless I used leather polish which wasn't going to happen.

Tim poured baking soda in a canning jar and added vinegar.  Luckily it was in the sink because it did that "volcano" thing and poured out foam a bit.  He mixed it and added baking soda until it was a honey consistency.  Then he poured some of the liquid/paste on the chair and used an old sponge to rub it around.  Very quickly, without much effort, the dirt lifted away.  I wish I would have taken a before picture but I didn't got the blog idea until he started cleaning.

Here is during:

And here is after:

Once they dried they had a bit of a gritty residue but that easily wiped off with a rag.  I am thrilled!

He has also used this cleaner to get dirt stains off the floor in our shower.  These stains were there when we moved into the house and I tried all sorts of things--even scrubbing with bleach, which I don't keep in the house anymore.  Nothing worked until this applied with a scrub brush.  It is crazy to me what you can do with cheap, safe ingredients.  Works on the kitchen sink's stains too!

Moneysaver:  I buy my vinegar and baking soda at Costco in huge containers.

Next time I'll talk about how I became an accidental green mama!