granola, crunchy, earth mama

yes, i'm granola.

i enjoy the more natural things on and in my body.

i'm not totally crunchy, just a little bit

i don't have all organic foods, nor do i have all organic body products.

heck i slather Ivy in highly processed petrolum products every day.

but i use cloth diapers and mama cloth

i have home births without medication

i think nature has provided us with some great herbs for medicines and i love a wholistic approach to wellness.

so home-made deoderant wasn't a huge leap for me.

(although i didn't tell Christian about it until after about a month of use, just so i could make sure it worked before letting him in on my super-crunchy side)

after Jet was born my whole body chemistry changed and no longer did my antipersperant/deoderant keep the underarm area fresh and odor free.  in fact it made everything worse.

now admittedly i am a fairly smelly person, (i blame my dad and his smelly feet), but the new body odor was getting to me.

so i did what any 21st century girl would do: i sought out google.

and i found some great recipes for deoderant. 

i thought i would share what works for me in the way of homemade deoderant.

here's what you need and how to do it:

baking soda

corn starch

coconut oil  (or arrowroot powder, but i have yet to find it)

a mixing bowl

1/4 cup measuring cup

1 tbs measuring spoon

essential oils--not pictured

measure out 1/4 cup soda and 1/4 cup corn starch

 cut in 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.  i

 always use somewhere between 1 and 2, but i'm not sure on the exact measurement. 

cut it in like you would if you were making pie dough. 

(i usually use a fork, but all mine were dirty or in the dishwasher, so i had to use a whisk.)

I usually end up using my fingers to make it into a doughy like substance.

 you'll end up with a fairly small deoderant ball

choose your essential oils

for me it's usually tea tree oil and lavender,

but i have no idea what happened to my lavender so i thought i would go all crunchy out and use sandalwood (it's supposed to help with anxiety and stress so...)

mix in about 5 drops of each to your dough ball

find an old deoderant stick and empty it out. be sure to dial the knob all the way to the bottom so you'll have somewhere to put your new deoderant.

 slowly shove your deo-ball into the container.  i suggest a little at a time so the air can escape and you don't end up with a blob on the end of your deoderant stick like i have here.



and viola, you have deoderant.
i always have a little left over that won't fit into the stick so i put it in a glass bowl and use it for a few days before i break out the stick.

i haven't figured out how long it takes me to use it all, but i use about the same amount as i did with the regular, store-bought deoderant, and it works twice as well!

notes:

*don't leave your new deoderant someplace warm, as cocnut oil has a low melting point. 

your new deoderant will turn to liquid if left in a hot bathroom.

i haven't had any problems in our bathroom, but there's no heat in that room so it hasn't been a problem (and it wasn't a problem this summer either).

the only time i've had my deoderant melt was when visiting friends in NY and their thermostat was on the fritz. 

i just stuck my melted deoderant in the freezer for a few hours before we packed up to leave and it was as good as new. (although they probably wondered why i was storing my deoderant in the freezer)

*one friend of mine who tried it didn't like how crumbly it was.  i think if you add enough coconut oil and apply slowly it should melt on your skin.  sometimes i melt it in my hands before applying, especially if it's a cold day. (again, no heat in the bathroom)

* i haven't had any skin irritation from the products in the deoderant, but if i use it right after i shave my underarms i do get some irritation from the gritty-ness of the baking soda.