Natural Essential Oil Deodorant

Essential Oil Deodorants with Logo

 

I am a child of the 70’s.  My parents were a little bit hippy.  Add to that sensitivities to the ingredients in many commercially produced products and you get someone ready to start making her own beauty products!  I’ve made my own deodorant for several years using health food store grade essential oils.  It worked ok, but I was still reaching for the “chemical stick” come hot July.  I’ve also tried most every natural deodorant produced and sold.  Sadly, a lot of them ended up in the garbage.  I had even less success with those.  I really wanted to ditch the chemical laden deodorant for good, but just couldn’t seem to find what worked for me.  I know I’m not alone!  Almost everyone these days has heard about how toxic the ingredients in deodorant are, especially in regards to breast health, and many are searching for a non-toxic alternative that really works.  Well, I’ve found one!

This past spring, I started using Young Living Essential Oils.  Young Living Essential Oils are amazing!  I was really curious how these oils would work in my deodorant.  One day I read that someone likes to pop a roller top on her Purification essential oil blend and use it neat for deodorant.  I decided to test it out and proceeded to rub a few drops on.  Whooooo-wee!  I was Purification fresh for days!  It was a little too potent for me in direct application, but I was certainly sold on it doing the job well!  I decided this oil blend was definitely going into my next batch of deodorant.

Now, there are two ways that I make this.  The first is what we’re all most familiar with, a deodorant stick.  Personally, I find my results to be a little hit and miss with this one.  Not because it doesn’t work as well, but the texture of it can turn out a little odd.  If you don’t cool it rapidly enough, the solids will start to settle which makes the top of your stick too soft, and the bottom painful to apply!  The second way is to make it into a paste, keep it in a jar, scoop a little out and apply it with your fingers.  At first I wasn’t ready to try this.  It seemed so strange to rub deodorant on with my fingers.  However, this is my preferred method now.  Give it a try!  If you don’t like it you can always warm it to a liquid and add the ingredients to make it into a stick.

 

Basic Deodorant Recipe:

2 Tablespoons Arrowroot Powder (or GMO free cornstarch)

2 Tablespoons Baking Soda (aluminum free)

2-1/2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

24 drops of Essential Oils   (see below for suggested blends)

 

Additional Ingredients for deodorant STICK only:

**2 drops of castor oil (optional – will help the stick glide a bit better)

**1 to 1-1/2 Tablespoons of Beeswax pellets (depending on the consistency you like)

 

For Deodorant Paste, measure out your coconut oil and put it into a glass (preferred) bowl.  Add baking soda and arrowroot, using the backside of a spoon, or a small spatula (reserved for making your essential oil beauty products), mash the dry ingredients into the oil.  When it’s almost blended, add your essential oils and continue blending until everything is incorporated.  Another option is to melt your oil, but if you do that, you’ll need to put this into the freezer for an hour to solidify before any settling can occur.  I like the softer texture of doing it without melting the oil as it’s easier to scoop out of the jar.

For Deodorant Stick, measure out your coconut oil and beeswax pellets into a double boiler.  Stir often.  When the beeswax is melted, remove from heat.  Add in the baking soda and arrowroot and stir.  Add in the castor oil, stir.  Add in your essential oils and stir until incorporated.  Pour into a recycled, clean, deodorant stick container and place into your freezer for about an hour.  I like to place it next to a bag of frozen veggies or a soft ice pack to help it to cool off very quickly before any settling can occur.

Some notes: Always use non-reactive, non-porous materials to make your essential oil blends in.  Plastics can absorb some of the essential oils and no matter how much you wash it, it’s going to smell like the oils and thus also flavor what you put in it next.  While many of Young Living’s essential oils are safe to ingest, I don’t necessarily want my food to taste like my deodorant!  So I make sure to use a glass (pyrex) bowl, and I have a rubber spatula that I use just for this purpose.

So now the fun part, the essential oil blends!  There are many oils that people use in their deodorant blends.  I prefer a fresh scent over a floral or spicy for myself.  However, some women prefer a more floral or citrus scent, and many men prefer something spicy or “outdoor fresh” like Idaho Blue Spruce.  Also, every body is different, so different oils and blends not only smell differently, but work differently for different people.  Feel free to experiment!

 

My go to basic deodorant blend:

8 drops Melaleuca Alternifolia essential oil

8 drops Purification essential oil blend

8 drops Lavender essential oil

*All these oils are in the Premium Starter Kit, so you can get started right away!

 

A Spicy Woodsy blend:

6 drops Melaleuca Alternifolia essential oil

12 drops Melrose essential oil blend

6 drops Idaho Blue Spruce essential oil -OR- Christmas Spirit essential oil blend

 

Other popular oils for deodorant blends include; Joy, Ylang Ylang, Orange, Bergamot, Geranium, Clary Sage, Thieves, Lemongrass, Cypress, Lemon, Lime, Frankincense, Cedarwood, Patchouli and more.  Experiment and find the perfect blend for yourself!

One last note.  Some people are sensitive to baking soda, and therefore, this won’t work for them.  But stay tuned, I’ve got more ideas for you in a future post!

 

 


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