I love making homemade deodorant, and this clay, cocoa, and shea natural vegan deodorant is no exception. Maybe it’s because it’s one of those products that gets most tied up in notions of body insecurities and general marketing induced ridiculousness. Maybe it’s because the store bought stuff is generally loaded with stuff you don’t want anywhere near your body, and then sold at a shocking markup. Maybe it’s an unconscious bid at becoming the female equivalent of the Old Spice man? Or maybe I just like to make stuff.
I generally end up making deodorant once every 10–12 months as the natural stuff tends to lose its kick after a while. That ends up being a good time span between batches as I learn quite a lot in 10 or 12 months, meaning each subsequent batch of my homemade pit paste benefits from new knowledge. This batch incorporates two new things.
Want to watch this project instead of read it?
First off, clay. I luuuurve clay. Way back in 2013 Sarah suggested I try it in deodorant, and now I finally have, and it is good. Clay is great for managing moisture, which explains why you see it in so many natural deodorant recipes. I went with zeolite ultrafine clay, which is exactly my skin tone. Now, I know you must be looking at those pictures and thinking “Marie, I have seen pictures of you, and you are only that dark in your worst Jersey Shore nightmares”. True. The clay matches my skin when it is spread out and dried. Feel free to use something else skin toned (keeping in mind that it will darken quite a lot when mixed with the oils), or just go with white kaolin if you are as pale (or paler) than I am. Or if you simply can’t be bothered to add another tub of clay to your collection for the tablespoon or so you’ll need for this recipe.
Next up, this recipe is beeswax free. Wax free, even. So it’s vegan, which is always a bonus (for the vegans, obviously), but without the wax it absorbs into your skin faster. It’s still plenty hard thanks to the cocoa butter (USA / Canada) (though it takes about 12 hours to fully solidify, so don’t judge it until then). I chose a tin for mine, but if you have a push-tube, that would work really well, too—in fact, I’d recommend it as the tin becomes annoying after a few days of dirty fingers in the morning. I’m not sure about a typical twisty deodorant tube, but it should work.
In this round I swapped out the cornstarch for arrowroot starch, but you’re welcome to use whichever starch you have on hand. The essential oils I’ve used are lavender, bergamot, peppermint, and dark patchouli. As always, I used raw/virgin cocoa, shea, and coconut oil. Without the essential oils it smells like slightly smokey chocolate, so if you’re into that, this recipe can easily be left unscented. Now, I should warn you that once you add the essential oils and the mixture is still warm, it will smell alarmingly awful. But then it cools, and it smells wonderful. So relax, and resist the temptation to dump all your essential oils into the pot, or to dump the entire thing into the trash.
The resulting deodorant will keep you smelling fresh all day long. If you’re sensitive to baking soda (USA / Canada) (or become sensitive to baking soda (USA / Canada) powered deodorants over time), Crunchy Betty has written up a nice little guide on re-balancing the pH of your pits so you can keep on riding the natural deodorant train.
I no longer recommend putting baking soda on your skin; read this for more information.
Clay, Cocoa, & Shea Natural Vegan Deodorant
15g | 0.52oz cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
8g | 0.28oz unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada)
10g | 0.35oz virgin coconut oil8g | 0.28oz clay—kaolin, zeolite ultrafine clay, Australian beige, or Australian ivory (use white clay if you like wearing light colours)
9g | 0.32oz baking soda (USA / Canada)
6g | 0.21oz arrowroot starch12 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops bergamot essential oil
1 drop peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada)
5 drops dark patchouli essential oilWeigh the cocoa butter (USA / Canada), unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada), and coconut oil into a small heat resistant glass measuring cup. Place that measuring cup in a small saucepan that contains about 2.5cm/1″ of water that’s hot and steaming, but not bubbling (medium-low heat is usually a good heat level to achieve this). Leave the measuring cup over the heat for about twenty minutes to melt everything through.
Once everything has melted, remove the measuring cup from the heat and let cool until it has thickened a bit to a liquid with the consistency of unwhipped heavy cream. This will take a while, so feel free to leave it alone for twenty minutes or so at a time and go off to do other things.
Optional (good if you have extra sensitive skin): While the oils are solidifying, blend the clay, baking soda (USA / Canada), and starch together in a coffee grinder to get the finest powder possible. Be sure to leave the grinder shut for at least 5 minutes after grinding to let the powder settle so you don’t inhale a bunch of it (or wear a good dust mask).
Once the oils are the consistency of unwhipped heavy cream, blend in the powders and the essential oils thoroughly using a flexible silicone spatula. Decant to a tin or tube (this will take lots of stuffing and tapping to get it to fall down the tube) and let set up.
To use, rub a small amount of the deodorant under your arms.
Dang. I just made deodorant 2 weeks ago. I ran out of sandalwood, so I used frankincense. I used shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, arrow root, baking soda, tea tree oil and frankincense. Pretty close to this recipe, but I didn’t use any clay. Think I can reheat and add some?
You definitely can re-heat and add clay, just be ready to potentially add more EOs, as they are so volatile that exposing them to heat can destroy them. You wouldn’t have to totally melt the deodorant though, just soften it, so the EOs might survive 🙂
Hi!
Do you have to use ivory?
Besides that, I could totally make it 🙂
I think the ivory has come down from the line above about the clays. Australian ivory clay is one of the options of clays to use.
You’re completely correct, it’s just a line wrap 🙂
Was searching for a non bentonite deo recipe and landed here….. Am a huge fan for your recipes and your Lots of Clay Soap is my fav. My friends and family to loved it! Made this deo last night using all the Clays and butters to the T but minus the essential oils. Used 12 drops of neem oil instead. It turned out quite runny. My guess is the coconut oil is the culprit since it’s never in solid state here….. Am from Mumbai, India a warm place. So added in half a tsp of arrowroot powder more and it’s set like a charm by morning. Looks Serene and pure sitting in the glass jar, lol! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Fingers crossed it passes the “gym test” 😉
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it so far, and great troubleshooting! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
Passed the gym test with flying colors .
Great news!
That’s just a line wrap, the full ingredient name is “Australian Ivory”, which is a type of clay 🙂 Please don’t add any Australians or bits of elephant tusk to your deodorant 😉
I want to repeat the wisdom from Crunchy Betty re pH of pits. For me it wasn’t a matter of getting sensitive to the baking soda over time, that stuff just HURT from the get go. Until I read that I thought I just had to suck it up and use commercial stuff when I needed it. I actually just used vinegar alone as my deodorant for a while and it worked great for everyday use. Then summer rolled around and I needed more oomph so I tried a homemade version again and I haven’t had any issues since. I’m actually just about out of my last batch so I’ll give this version a try.
Thanks!
A similar thing happened to me where the baking soda would get tingly under my arms. I also had darkened pits. So. Not. Cool. Anyway, CB mentioned using a apple cider vinegar spray and after. Trying that, I have had no problems. I think the vinegar neutralizes your skin’s pH so baking soda doesn’t cause the same problems.
Three cheers for the vinegar working! Fantastic 🙂
I have been scouring the comment sections looking for a solution to this problem. Your deodorant recipe worked perfectly for a few months and then bam, major pit irritation + discoloration. Can you think of any substitute to baking soda so I don’t have to use the spray? Or something I can add to the ACV to give some extra oomf to the stink-kicking powers (or to help with discoloration, scent, etc. etc.?) if I must continue with that? I’m not totally opposed to the ACV spray, it just seems like an extra step that I’m not super keen on. Not needing a recipe from you or anything but your insight is always appreciated!
Hey! I haven’t tried this myself, but a few friends and readers are swearing by it—try diatomaceous earth instead of baking soda. I still need to work that into my list of experiments to try, but early reports indicate it works!
Kristen, do you just mix equal parts water and ACV? And they use in place of deodorant for a period of time? Thanks bunches.
Thank you so much for this, ErinElizabeth! I don’t have any first hand experience with sensitivity like this, so I really appreciate you adding to the discussion around it 🙂
I just ever-so-helpfully offered this information to you in a comment on another of your deodorant recipes. Sorry about that. You already knew it. Count me in as a +1 helped by the ACV and water spray.
No worries, it hadn’t been mentioned on that page and it’s such a great tip that it should be shared far and wide 😀
Have you used this yet? How did you like it? I’ve tried that kind of deodorants (but I only had bees wax in them) two times, and I think they worked quite well. There was only one problem with them – the clay in them made my clothes like a big dirty mess, because I sweat like a race horse. After that I used that baking soda mix for a long time, until it started to irritate my arm pits – even if I added vinegar to my deodo for balancing ph. Now I use sometimes commercial stuff, and sometimes soda mix (which is working the best way for me).
I have, and I love it! I especially love getting a wee whiff of the scent blend in the middle of yoga (no B.O. whatsoever either, phew). There is fairly little clay in this deodorant, and I don’t find it’s really noticeable on the skin at all (visually, that is), but if you’re worried about your clothes you can definitely leave it out. Hopefully it works for you!
Must try these again with different kind of clay. Unfortunately I can’t get any Australian Beige or something like that here, but I haven’t try white kaolin clay yet, only grey kaolin and pink arqiletz clay.
Let me know what you settle on & how it goes 🙂
Can you use something else other than bakingsoda??
I have yet to discover anything that works as a simple swap with baking soda for deodorants, sorry.
I use a Himalayan salt rock dipped in coconut oil works good for me 🙂
Oooh, interesting. Do you know what’s going on there, chemistry-wise?
All-natural Pink Himalayan salt deodorant bar for a chemical free alternative to commercial deodorants! Wet it and use it as a regular deodorant bar. Odor is caused by bacteria and salt kills bacteria. Therefore no bacteria = no odor! about $5.00
http://www.organicslant.com/0000060-all-natural-pink-himalayan-salt-deodorant-bar-kills-bacteria.html
I add coconut oil to it sometimes to make it glide better The lauric acid in coconut oil kills odor-causing bacteria. The scent of coconut oil is very light, love this
Hmm, this definitely sounds like something worth trying 🙂 Do you wet the salt in water before applying, and then follow up with the coconut oil?
I dip the sat bar in coconut oil then roll it on.
If you just shaved it may burn a little lol
Hmm, interesting. I wonder how this works, since salt isn’t oil soluble.
Must try that too, I have that kind of “salt soap”, but I can’t use it right. How do you dip it, wet or dry or…? And please, tell more about using that!
I add coconut oil to it sometimes to make it glide better The lauric acid in coconut oil kills odor-causing bacteria.
How strong do you find this deodorant? Everyday strong, yoga class strong, marathon strong? 😛
I don’t know I work in my garden and I’m OK
everyone is different ..I don’t really sweat that much anymore.
Sounds like I need to get myself some pink salt and give it a go myself, then 🙂
You rock! I have spent probably a total of several hours combing your site for natural healthy & beauty products. This one sounds great. I’ve only made homemade deodorant once (with coconut oil, corn starch, and baking soda). Unfortunately, it didn’t do much deodorizing. I’m going to give this a try, and try to figure out how to measure in grams (any tips?)
Didn’t soda mix really work on you? Interesting, I’ve been thinking it’s the best working deodo ever, only problem is that it can irritate arm pits in the long term use.
Hi Haley! Thanks so much for reading 😀 To measure in grams you’ll need a scale as grams are a weight measurement like pounds or kilograms. I’d recommend getting a digital kitchen scale that measures in both Imperial and Metric, in increments of 1g. They’re generally $15–$20 and easily available on Amazon. They’re super awesome for DIY and baking—mucho more accurate than measuring cups, and you don’t have to clean nearly as much 🙂
This is inspiring- I’m going to try it and also looked for Old Spice to dupe. I found the ingredients – surprisingly simple and the fragrances – surprisingly gross (Ambergris) Ugh! Mr. Man said if my deoderant works well, he’ll let me dupe his 😀 Hooray!
My boyfriend has been requesting an Old Spice dupe as well (he’s mostly interested in the scent), but from what I can tell the scent blend isn’t just ambergris, there’s definitely some artificial fragrance blend in there as well. The good news on the ambergris is that labdanum essential oil is a popular alternative. I’m totally addicted to the stuff 🙂 It smells divine, is quite inexpensive, and doesn’t come from rotting whale bits!
Dear Marie, you made me smile again. “Alarmingly awful smell” …I really can’t wait to try it 🙂 altough I only have green clay here, and a bit troubled about my clothes getting stained, I’m going to give it a try! Thank you for your posts. With kind regards, Mariska.
Glad I made you laugh 😉 I was definitely concerned when I first made it, but I’m glad I waited instead of throwing it out straight away 😛 Let me know if you give it a go!
Perfect timing! I just ran out of my deo! I’ve been using one with beeswax, but I’m going to try this one instead.
I saw a product the other day that intrigued me. To help fix the baking soda pH issue, they added cream of tartar, which is acidic (tartaric acid). I have had issues with sensitivity, but I’m not sure if it was the pH of baking soda or the fact that it’s still a bit gritty, even after a trip through the coffee grinder. But I might try adding a pinch to see what happens.
Awesome! Let me know how it goes 🙂
A few people have brought up the idea of adding something acidic to the deodorant to lower the pH. My main concern with that is how it would impact the effectiveness of the baking soda and the overall deodorant. pH changes are chemical reactions, so there’s a good chance the active ingredient (the baking soda) would be consumed or partially consumed by the reaction. Also… it could fizz in your pits when you start to sweat… perhaps… lol. Anyhow, all that is to say I haven’t tried it, but I’m not convinced it’ll work. Let me know if you try it!
I’ve used apple cider vinegar to balance ph-levels, and that didn’t do any harm to affect of deodo. But mix still started to irritate my skin, when using it long term periods. I just read LisaLise’s thought about these soda mixes, and she recommends to try using only 1% of baking soda. I’ve been using about 20-25%, so I thought I will try with lower rate of it, maybe 5-10%.
Hmm, interesting. Do let me know how it goes with the lower concentration—that would be a nice, easy fix 🙂
I’ve had trouble with stained clothes too, using a deo with similar ingredients, including clay and beeswax. I live in a hot climate so the beeswax is good but I wonder if that’s what’s causing the staining. Any thoughts?
Hmm. What type of stain was it? A dye type stain, or a grease stain?
It’s yellow,I think like a Grease stain.
Hmm. It could just be the oil base, period, or perhaps your sweat reacting with the deodorant a bit? I find I am generally ok if I apply a thin layer and let it soak in before going out and about… though, mind you, it’s hardly hot here :/
Hi Marie
Thank you for the blog, it is very inspirational.
I have been making deodorant a few times now. My recipe is very similar to this one in its proportions minus the clay, plus double the amount of starch. I use half coconut oil 1/4 shea and 1/4 jojoba and a little beeswax.
The first time I made it, it was absolutely perfect. But since then, every batch has been more or less gritty. I have tried to put in the starch when the oil was just melted and still quite hot because I thought that was the problem, but it did not solve it.
So I came across your recipe and I see, that you
1. grind the powders in a coffee grinder
2. let the oils cool before combining with the powders
Do you think that would solve my problem? What is your experience with grittiness?
Love,
Johanne (Denmark)
I have never managed to make a deodorant that’s not at least a little gritty because baking soda is water soluble, so it will always feel gritty in a base of oils. Is it possible that your first recipe had some water (or something water soluble) in it (glycerin, perhaps?) that could have dissolved the baking soda? A deodorant lotion would probably be mucho smoother.
Ah Marie ……. Just love this recipe…its a keeper….going to replace arrowroot with tapioca flour. Love that you use more cocoa butter than shea. I find too much shea can make it a bit gritty. As always LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog and recipes. Monday is my ‘fix’ day when I open my email at work I get all three recipe that were posted over the week end. Bliss!
Fantastic! I’m so thrilled this deodorant is working so well for you 🙂 Thanks so much for reading, and happy almost Monday 😉 It’s good to know somebody loves Monday… I generally dislike Monday because then I have to wait another 5 full days before I can camp out in my kitchen and make things.
Marie, I love your blog!
I am totally going to try this for my husband, who has killed every single one of my homemade coconut oil-based deos to date! Maybe the clay will be the magic ingredient?
Question for you – now that NDA has discontinued zeolite, where do you get your stock?
Thank you so much!
Thanks, Jess! I haven’t found another source for zeolite (sad, I know—I just bought about 3kg when they said they were discontinuing it!), so that’s why I recommended a few alternatives. Let me know how it goes 🙂
I use a Himalayan salt rock bar in a heart shape looks like a crystal
Thank you! I’m gonna try this. And thank you for the link to the guide, too, because I started using home-made deodorant with baking soda and got red skin. My skin is really sensitive…
Also, it’s interesting for me with a recipe without wax. I tried wax in the one I made, and living in Sweden means colder climate. Even though I reduced the amount of wax from the recipe, it made the bar way too hard to be able to use for me. It just scrapes my skin, which probably makes it more easily irritated by the baking soda…
Let me know how it goes, Amanda! I certainly understand the cold weather conundrum when it comes to how the temperature effects my projects—since I’m in Canada you should find that my recipes work well in your chilly climate as well 🙂 Have fun & thanks for reading!
Could I use bentonite clay?
You could, but with a few reservations. You’d want your bentonite to be very finely ground or the final product will be gritty. You also would want to be fairly close to the colour of bentonite clay in terms on skin tone, and lastly, you’ll want to avoid metal coming into contact with the deodorant as it deactivates betonite.
Clary Sage is another good EO for BO (lol)
I just wanted to say that I love all your recipes (especially the soap ones!), but all of the deo recipes kill my pits, even with Crunchy Betty’s pH balancing advice 🙁 This morning, though, I saw zinc oxide mentioned as a viable alternative to the baking soda for sensitive skin (I think it might have been in a lotion form). Any thoughts?
Hmmm. I’ve been looking for non baking soda ingredients for DIY deodorants for a while, but I must admit I’ve never heard of trying zinc oxide. It does absorb oil and clean pores nicely, though, so perhaps moisture management is part of its supposed effectiveness? In any case, it should be good for sensitive skin as it is the active ingredient in diaper creme. You could try my bum balm as a deodorant and see what you think 🙂 It will be very white, though. If you do, please report back!
I tried the zinc oxide and thought I would share my results. As a college student, I didn’t really have the time or money to make the bum balm or create a special deodorant recipe, but I had some zinc oxide lying by to use. First, I tried just applying a bit of the powder dry. This seemed to be enough for if I wasn’t sweating and stayed very cool inside all day, so it wasn’t a very plausible alternative. Not to be deterred, however, I tried again. I mixed some if the powder with water and applied it with my fingers until my armpit was entirely white. This seems to work well enough for generally use outside at the college. I’ve since taken up mixing it with witch hazel for convenience (the bathroom is far away from the dorm room) and applying it with a cotton swab so my fingers don’t get dirty. I usually only apply zinc oxide every other day or as needed. It isn’t perfect (running to class in very hit weather and then being stuck outside for a few hours for mandatory activities did make me smell a bit, although it wasn’t so bad that keeping my arms down couldn’t hide it), but it works well enough for general use. If I know it’s going to be a really hot, miserably sweaty day, I use a swipe or two of the baking soda based recipe and wash it off as soon as I can. As long as I don’t use the baking soda one often (maybe once every two weeks), I don’t seem to have any trouble. Hopefully, there’s will try it and come out with good results too and your friend with the sensitive skin can use it too.
Thanks for sharing your experiments, Mickayla—this is really promising!
Would you say this deodorant cools solid enough to be put into a traditional deodorant push up tube? I have a recipe with coconut oil, cornstarch, baking soda, and essential oils; but I’m looking for something that won’t become a liquidly mess when my bathroom gets too warm!
Hi Jennifer! It definitely does. I took it to Costa Rica, and even there in the nearly 40°C heat it was still really quite solid. I think you’ll find it’s mucho more solid than your coconut oil based one 🙂
I made this (my first real DIY recipe attempt!) and so far I love, love, love it! Keeps BO at bay even when unpacking a grandmother’s many baubles in an A/C-less apartment! Thanks so much for simplifying a wanna-be crunchy girl’s life!
Fantastic! I’m so thrilled you love it 🙂
Could i add Zinc Oxide to this recipe? I did some research online and found this to be a very useful ingredient in deodorants.
I love your blog… Happy 3rd Birthday to Humblebee & Me.
Sorry, no need to reply… I’ve just noticed a previous question about Zinc Oxide.
🙂
Definitely worth a try! I look forward to hearing how it turns out 🙂
Hi Marie!
I am sensitive to baking soda and was looking for an alternative recipe. I made my version of you deodorant, with green clay (I didn’t have anything else), corn starch and no essential oils, since tea tree EO especially makes my bad odor worse.
I’ve been using it for a while now and it works!
No red rash, no bad odor and I love the cocoa scent!
If you consider that I live in the very humid tropical weather of Hong Kong, it’s a win!!
Thanks for sharing your recipe with us!
Hi Cristina! I’m so thrilled you’ve managed to devise something that works for you 😀 YAY!
Hi Marie, Love your blog! My question is also regarding BS. I’ve noticed that some people just leave it out. So, without the 9 g of BS, can the other powders be increased to make up the 9 g or just the arrowroot starch? I was pretty excited to get started with this as my very first DIY, but now I’m not sure what to do. Thanks, Juliana
Hi Juliana!
Marie has posted this, “I no longer recommend putting baking soda on your skin; read this for more information.” above the recipe, and it takes you to this link. In fact, all her recipes for deodorant she doesn’t recommend them. You can try playing around with various starches and see what you come up with. I know she is experimenting with some other DIY deodorants; just nothing baking soda based. If you are looking for a simple, yet totally one of my favourite DIY projects, take a look see here!
Hi Marie
I made this deodorant yesterday – 1st time for DIY deodorant and I was super impressed. I made it with white kaolin clay, and it turned out a perfect skin colour! The scent is also awesome, and it seems to work well (I’ve applied it twice). The only problem is that it is quite hard in my tin – I have to scrape it our with my nails! Can I melt it down gently and add maybe almond oil to soften it permanently?
Also, you mention somewhere that the bicarb loses its efficacy after a while. After how long, and do you then throw the rest out? Can’t you just make less in the 1st place?
Sorry, so many questions again!
Happy 3rd Birthday!!
Hi Birgit! I’m so thrilled you’re loving the deodorant 🙂 Yes, you can melt it down and add some softer oils to soften it up—just go easy, it’s easier to add more than take them away! You’ll also need to re-do the stirring bit as it cools to keep things in suspension 🙂
Your nose will tell you when the bicarb stops working 😉 And yes, you’ll just want to toss the rest. Every year my deodorant recipe makes less and less at once for this exact reason 😛
Hello Marie!
First of all, thank you so much for publishing these recipes. Your blog is a delight to comb through, and I really appreciate your informational, witty and funny articles! 🙂
I’m still pretty new to the whole DIY thing and I was wondering if I could only use lavender and tea tree EOs for this recipe. I would be willing to buy peppermint oil but I don’t want to have a whole arsenal of EOs in my drawer. 😉
I’m not a big fan of smelling like chocolate, although I don’t mind the scent for a lip balm (by the way, I’ve tried your naked lip balm recipe and it’s great!).
Thank you again for your great work! 🙂
Hi Géraldine! You can definitely use lavender and tea tree here instead, they are a lovely combo and great for deodorant 🙂 You will likely find the chocolate scent dissipates very quickly and you shouldn’t be super cocoa-scented, but you could also use deodorized cocoa butter instead. Thanks for reading!
This recipe looks great! Where do you get your tins? Thanks! Xxx
Hi Sophia! These tins are from Saffire Blue (link in the big box above the comments).
Thanks! 🙂
🙂
I’ve found that (even with multiple tweaks of the CB recipe), I always get stains on bras from the deodorant that look a lot like armpit stains except they’re permanent. And I buy pretty expensive bras (busty girl problems anyone? There is one store within kms of me that actually carries my size!). But yes, that can be very annoying! Does anyone know of a solution?
Hi S! I feel your pain, especially when it comes to having to travel for bras and them being super pricey 🙁 I haven’t had any staining issues with my deodorant since swapping to white kaolin clay. What type of clay are you using?
Hi Marie, I’ve been following your blog for a few years now and keep wondering if there is any chance you would open an Etsy shop? I would love to buy all of this wonderful stuff… I just don’t have the time to make it– I’m sure a lot of people can relate. I was reading articles at Mommypotamus (Tallow for your face!); she shows the how-to and then gives you the option to buy it. And then I thought of you!
Hi Priscila! I’m glad you love my recipes, but I really have no interest in dealing with the pain-in-the-butt of manufacturing and selling 🙂 I’d rather spend my time devising and sharing new recipes than making the same things over and over again, dealing with Health Canada, and going to the post office all the time!
Totally understandable, I hadn’t thought about it that way. This is one of my favorite blogs. Keep experimenting! I’ll let you know of my results when I make something 🙂
🙂
I did something like this a while ago. About two or three days it worked great, but after that my pits started smelling horrible. (I have used a pink salt stone deodorant before, an it did the same thing and the smell just went on and on, finally i couldn’t take it anymore and stopped using my stone and went back to regular aluminium-filled deodorants. )
So, I was a smelly person again and was wondering what to do, as I really wanted to ged rid of those nasty aluminium deodorants. Even though I felt I was smelling even worse than with the stone before, I decided to go on with it. After few days, I wasn’t smelling anymore. Now I can go for two days with one application if I’m not exercising (i.e. wont be washing the deodorant off) and i just love this thing!
I think that the clay in the deodorant was pulling all the crap from my sweat glands and pores and because of that I was smelling so bad. With the salt deo, the crap wasn’t getting off as quickly so I kept smelling longer. I don’t know if I’m right at all with this, but it makes sense to me.
The point I want to say to everyone trying these kind of deodorants, is that you may smell REALLY BAD at first, but I suggest just going on with the smell a few days and see if it goes off.
And I would suggest making a version with only white kaolin as a clay, as the skintone version didn’t really work with light coloured shirts. With darker shirts that was fine.
How interesting—a sort of pit detox. I’m glad it’s working for you now, though 🙂 For a kaolin version, check out this recipe.
Thank you for yet another great recipe, Marie!
This is the second homemade deodorant I’ve ever made (the first was very basic, just cocoa butter with corn starch and baking soda and a few drops of EO), and I’m quite excited by the use of clay. I used kaolin and it worked quite okay for me even though I didn’t have a coffee grinder available.
It’s been maybe six or eight weeks since I made it, and I must admit that there are some mornings when for reasons I don’t understand I find the lavender smell really hard to bear. (Other days it’s totally fine — I seem to suffer from intermittent lavender sensitivity. :p)
Anyway, just checking in to say thank you for the receipe and that I’ll be making another batch with a different scent. I thought of something herbal, like rosemary, maybe? Also, I think I’ll trying and reuse an old push tube. I love if something turns out nice, but the experimenting really is the best part! 😀
Hi Basandere! Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me 🙂 I’m so glad you’re liking the deodorant 🙂 You can definitely play with the scents to your heart’s content, it’s one of the best parts of DIYing!
Hey Marie,
I’ve hit rock bottom in the deodorant department and I’m in need of your diy wisdom. I’ve tried many deodorant receipes and simplenone work for me. I’ve created my own Receipes as well with little luck. I refuse to go back to aluminum filled deodorants but at the same time it’s painful to stink all the time. What’s your point of view in using diatomaceous earth instead of baking soda and do you think I should just kick the eos up a knotch (or three notches)? I read in one of your posts that you don’t like the smell of neem oil but I am willing to try strong scents to neutralize my odor. Do you think a combination of neem oil, tamanu oil and maybe patchouli do could do the trick? I am in desperate need of your help.
Hi Debbie! I’ve never tried diatomaceous earth in deodorants, but I have been hearing about it from several readers, and it sounds like it’s worth trying. Another reader directed me to this, which looks like a good option, and then there are probiotic recipes out there that use the contents of probiotic capsules to battle bad bacteria with the good.
I haven’t tried neem or tamanu for neutralizing scents, so I’m afraid I can’t offer any experience there. Sorry!
Love the recipe as it’s ALL natural. Got ready to start and realize I have one ingredient missing – cocoa butter! Can I substitute it with something else?
Thank you! Your site is awesome, btw!
Read this for info on substitutions 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Hi Marie, I have gathered all the ingredients to give this deoderant a go BUT have just realised I bought bentonite clay instead of kaolin clay. Do you think it will still work?
Hmm. Usually this is a big no, but I think it’ll be ok since there’s no water in this recipe. Water + bentonite is super weird in comparison to other clays. Don’t store it in a metal tin, either—metal deactivates the charge in bentonite clay 🙂
I just bought some soap making supplies that includes several different clays. I made deodorant earlier tonight and THEN got to thinking if I could add clay to it! And lo and behold, I can! I’m going to make more and have my sister test it, thanks for sharing your recipe and your wonderful knowledge 🙂
Woohoo! Clay makes pretty much everything better 😉 Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Hi Marie,
Glad that i found your blog.
Just wondering, if i want to substitute cocoa butter with mango butter, how much percentage do i need to maintain the texture of this deodorant?
Can you tell me the ratio of butter, oil, arrowroot powder, and clay in this recipe to come with soft and non-greasy texture? Thanks!
Hey Natalia! Mango butter isn’t a good alternative for cocoa butter—the entire recipe would have to be re-developed to maintain the texture, if it’s possible at all. I’d have to re-develop the entire recipe to answer your second question as well, so I’m afraid you are on your own there 🙂
Hi Marie,
Ups sorry, I mean if want to substitute shea butter with mango butter. Anyway, I’ve tried it and it turns out well!
But just wondering, if i want to omit kaolin clay, should i double up the arrowroot powder portion? Thanks!
I’m afraid I haven’t tried that swap, and I do know that this is a pretty fussy recipe when it comes to making changes, so I wouldn’t recommend it, and I have no idea if it would work since I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do! Someone on YouTube tried it without the clay and double starch, and reported that didn’t work at all.
Hi,
I’ve been using your recipes for about a year.
I don’t care to have my deodorant in a push up. I prefer just a glass container and dipping my fingers into it. When using this recipe it gets a bit hard to dip into. Can I use something else to soften it up a bit?
Also, Shea butter goes bad to quickly, I can never seem to use it up fast enough. Is there a good substitute?
Thank you for all of the great recipes!
Hey Jeanie! This recipe is a pretty finely tuned balance, so I’m wary of saying “just add this” as it could totally throw it off. I would tend in the direction of using less cocoa butter and more coconut oil, and perhaps a wee bit of liquid oil instead of some of the coconut oil, but since I haven’t tried it I really can’t offer much more advice than that.
If your shea butter is spoiling really quickly that makes me wonder about your supplier… you should be getting at least a year out of it, if not two. You can use mango instead in most situations. Happy making!
Hi Marie,
I tried the recipe but instead of using baking soda, I used zinc oxide and doubled the portion of arrowroot powder, and it works well!
But now I have a problem with greasy stain on my clothes. I didn’t notice it at first, then when I was about to wear the shirts again, I noticed some brown greasy stain around armpit. I think it’s because the cocoa butter but I’m not sure. Any thoughts?
Hmm, interesting. Having not tried the recipe the way you’ve done it I can’t say from experience, but you may be over-applying. It wouldn’t be any specific oil (unless you used dark cocoa butter, then that might be moreso to blame), just too much oil in general.
Day 1 of using this bar and I’m already in love. I added a pinch of allantoin and an extra pinch of corn starch. I’m one of those “extra-strength men’s sport deodorant” people who smells when they wake up and smell even more as the day progresses and this bar saved me. The EOs I used are Rosemary and Tea Tree Oil, but the scents faded over the course of the day. I have yet to test it against exercise, but it help up against a steamy Farmer’s Market trip very well. I also love the way it leaves my pits nice and moisturized instead of making them all dry and flaky! I’m never going back to store-bought deodorant! I’ll be posting a multi-day review next week, so this is only a preliminary result.
Woohoo! I look forward to hearing your continued results 😉
Here’s a link to my review! https://minicoopergirl93.wordpress.com/2016/07/24/review-clay-cocoa-and-shea-vegan-deodorant
Tl;dr, I’m totally sold (though my bf wishes it didn’t make him smell like food). Next thing to try: the powdered deodorant!
Woohoo, thanks so much! I feel so special having my products reviewed on an entirely different blog!
I can’t tolerate the baking soda. It hurts too bad! But it did work! I tried subbing diatomaceous earth for the baking soda using the same weight. But DE is so much lighter it was too much so I halved the weight. The deodorant is much thicker and harder. It doesn’t glide very well and it doesn’t seem to be working. It’s been three days and I’m lucky if my BO holds off till noon. Anybody got any other suggestions?
Hmm, boo. I’m afraid I’ve yet to do any other experiments in this realm :/ Stay tuned?
Since using baking soda is a bad idea is there a substitute?? I love this recipe but it does make my skin feel inflamed. Or do you have a new baking soda free deodorant recipe?? Thanks!!
I’m afraid I don’t have anything at this time, sorry!
Do you know of a deodorant recipe without baking soda that actually works? I have seen some that use only clay but not sure that would work. Thanks
I’m afraid not—at this point, at least.
Hi marie,
i just read that u don’t suggest using baking soda in deodorant anymore
me & my daughter have been using your deodorant recipe for some time no.it seems i can’t find a recipe that has no baking soda in it & we really like yours.have you found one that uses no soda if so can u share.:)
I haven’t shared one because I don’t have one, not because I’m hoarding it LOL. I will share when I do 🙂
I’m so glad you still have this recipe posted, even when you don’t recommend the BS! I rotate natural deodorants and this is one of my favourites. I use my ACV toner under my pits every so often and it all works out for me in the end.
I’m so glad to hear it is working for you 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me!