Every year or so I make a new batch of deodorant because the homemade stuff eventually stops working. The baking soda (USA / Canada) does its thing inside the tube instead of under your arms, and then all you really have left is a little tube of body butter.
This year I decided to add some comfrey root and calendula infused olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada). A few months ago Dove sent me a tube of sample deodorant. It was accompanied by a piece of paper that told me that my armpits are ugly and spotty because I shave, which makes my skin dry and unhappy. And splotchy and weird coloured. Oh dear. I had no idea my armpits were so ugly. Great, another thing to be insecure about. Thanks, Dove. So much for your “real beauty” campaign.
Anyhow, this magical, complex-creating deodorant is “made with calendula and sunflower seed extracts”. OK. I can do that. Also, my armpits look great. But still, I was intrigued by the idea of using calendula in deodorant as I have had a jar of calendula olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) steeping for almost a year, so that stuff has to be potent by now.
I also recently ordered some comfrey root powder. I’ve noticed comfrey root popping up in a lot of healing balms for climbers and what not, so I thought it would be an appropriate addition. It also has a nice nutty, earthy smell. I finished off with essential oils of lavender, tea tree, and rosemary; all antibacterial and what not.
The resulting deodorant is nice and creamy, with a slight brown tint and some nice little brown flecks that make it look delightfully organic. It goes on smoothly (in summer weather, at least…it’s a bit stickier in the winter), and works like a charm. With no weird, sketchy ingredients like aluminum and silicone by-products.
I no longer recommend putting baking soda on your skin; read this for more information.
Comfrey Root & Calendula Deodorant
8g | 0.28oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
10g | 0.35oz unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada)
6g | 0.21oz cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
16g | 0.56oz calendula infused olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) (learn how to make your own here)
12g | 0.42oz baking soda (USA / Canada)
8g | 0.28oz cornstarch or arrowroot starch
0.5g | 0.02oz comfrey root powder
20 drops Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
~30 drops essential oils of choice (I recommend a blend of lavender, tea tree, & rosemary)Weigh the beeswax, unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada), cocoa butter (USA / Canada), and olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) 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, blend in the baking soda (USA / Canada), cornstarch, and comfrey root powder with a flexible silicone spatula.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, and remove the measuring cup from the water bath and dry it off. Stir the mixture as it cools. Once it has thickened to something approximately as thick as toothpaste, pour it into your deodorant containers, tapping the bottom of the tube on the counter to knock out air bubbles. I really like deodorant push tubes, but I filled mine up and put the remainder in a small, flat tin.
Apply to the underarms like you would with any deodorant. Voila. Deodorant!
so i was reading about comfrey root….see its a great wound-healer…but ive seen everywhere that it is not recommended for long-term use. apparently, it has been linked to liver damage/cancer. but from what i can see, i dont know if that is the case for all applications of it. obviously, taking it internally (which i see isnt generally recommended) could lead to such ills, but i wonder if you have found anything about it being a problem when applied topically, lets say, to ones armpit. 😀 i really want to try this recipe, seems like comfrey roots properties of reducing inflammation and whatnot will help with the decrease in production of stinky sweat. lemme know whatcha think as i bet you did much more research than i.
Michelle—Thanks for reading! From my research, damage from comfrey root has only been associated with seriously committed long-term internal use. The sites I found said something like 4 cups of comfrey root tea a day for 140 years! So, I guess I’m not too concerned about it for topical use, especially considering it’s a fairly small area, and it’s at a fairly low concentration. Hope that helps!
totally helps! thanks for the info (i knew youd have an answer!)
I’ve been making my own deodorant for almost 2 years now–I love it! Even though I was kind of worried I’d sweat profusely since I had always used antiperspirant, I actually found that wasn’t the case (unless I’m exercising, in which case even antiperspirant is pretty useless).
I did notice with my first batch that something was kind of irritating my armpits. I thought maybe it was the baking soda, which does sting if you use it immediately following shaving and a shower, but my second batch confirmed that it was probably the cornstarch. Now I use arrowroot powder, which looks and acts in the same way, but is somehow less irritating? Just thought I’d let you know there’s a good alternative should you ever need it!
My next batch will be a bit of an experiment as I’m going to try swapping out the baking soda for some clay. I’ve read that it does help increase dryness, so we’ll see! As usual, I’ll probably combine many, many recipes and see what happens! I’m loving your use of shea and cocoa butters, so I may include those as well 🙂
My first attempt at homemade deodorant was actually just straight baking soda and cornstarch mixed together, and that was not the greatest idea I’ve ever had. It got white powder all over (one glance at my bathroom and you’d be sure I had a cocaine problem) and it didn’t really work at all (I was living in Australia at the time, so I definitely gave it a thorough testing!).
I love me some arrowroot powder! I originally bought it to try and replicate those super delicious arrowroot biscuits you can buy, but that never worked out. I also like wheat starch, which I generally use to make bookbinding paste with, but it’s also useful for all starch-type applications.
Loving the idea of clay in deodorant! I wonder how that would work in oil-based applications, though—we both know what happens when you add too much oil to a clay mask! Since clay absorbs oil, I wonder if it would throw things off, or just thicken things? Hmm… experimentation is needed! I suspect it wouldn’t work in an emulsion environment, though, as I once added cornstarch to a lotion and that did not end well at all 😛
Hahahaha, I can relate to the powder explosions that resemble a cocaine lab for sure. No amount of caution can prevent the inevitable cloud. Whenever I use any starch my black stove looks like I must live in the middle of a desert. Ah, who am I kidding? My house is always dusty anyway now that we have a woodstove… and it was probably always dusty before that 😛
I always wondered if I could reproduce arrowroot cookies! They were always a childhood favourite. At least not I know that it’s probably not worth attempting on my own, so thanks for helping me avert that disaster!
I definitely thought of the possible clay-with-oil dilemma, but a recipe I found from Crunchy Betty shows that it can obviously be done since it has both coconut oil and shea butter in it (*I have no idea if that’s how you embed. Internet says yes, but I don’t know how to test it. Sorry if you have to copy/paste the link due to my ineptitude)! Thumbs up for that! I’m assuming the exact type of clay used is probably not too important, as long as it’s light enough that it wouldn’t stain clothes. I’m thinking the kaolin, which is in my NDA cart, would be best?
Also, YAY internet! It worked!
I’m sold! There will be clay in my next batch of deodorant. I suppose kaolin would probably be your best bet for not staining clothes, though another light clay, like zeolite, might also do the trick. As the concentration is fairly low, though, I guess I’m not convinced that staining would be a problem unless you used one of the super pigmented Australian clays. Hmm. We shall see.
Well since you’re always filling my head with ideas, I suppose it’s only fair I provide a few for you on occasion 😛 Here’s hoping the clay-infused deodorant is a success! Not sure which clay I’ll wind up using, but both zeolite and kaolin are on my list so probably one of them will make the cut.
Methinks I should start making smaller batches of deodorant… at the rate I’m going through my last batch I’m not going to need to make more until 2015 😛
I know what you mean–it really does last longer than you’d expect. I used to need new commercial stuff every couple of months, but my almost-gone batch of deodorant is almost a year old and still looks like it has a month or 2 left. Plenty of time to plan my next batch! I’m going to attempt to make it one tube at a time if I can get the ratio right… at least if it flops, I’ll have less waste. How many containers does this recipe fill so I have an idea?
Yet another reason commercial stuff is a total rip-off! Every time I empty out a deodorant tube I’m amazed at how much air there is in there! I’d swear about 60% of the height of the tube is just room for air. Anyhow, for me this recipe filled one big tube, one mini sample tube, and a 30g tin. That’s hardly scientific, sorry 😛
Hmm, so probably if I halve the recipe it’d fill about one normal tube… I’ll go with that!
Sounds about right!
Ugh, having an issue with my deodorant again! The past… month maybe (?), my left armpit especially had been red in the crease. It started peeling a bit this week, so there’s definitely some kind of irritation going on. I had cut back on the baking soda with this batch and added the clay instead, so I don’t see why irritation would suddenly occur. I also find this batch to be a bit sticky feeling, and it definitely leave my clothes with greasy smears even when used sparingly. I wonder if it’s the shea butter? This is the recipe I used:
4 Tbs beeswax beads
40g coconut oil
20g cocoa butter
20g shea butter
10g/3 Tbs kaolin clay
25g/2 Tbs baking soda
20g/2.5 Tbs arrowroot starch
40-50 drops essential oil (rosemary, lemon eucalyptus, thyme, tea tree, lavender, grapefruit)
a few drops of vitamin E oil
Looks like I’m back to the experimenting/drawing board!
Hmmm. Weirddddd. Shea butter is definitely a super sticky carrier oil, but it’s strange that it’s only been a problem recently (how long have you been using this particular batch?), especially since our weather is (theoretically) getting colder, not warmer. It there a chance any of the oils have gone rancid? I still don’t see that being overly irritating, though… odd.
Have you ever tried the crystal deodorants? That’s what I’ve been using lately and I just lurve it. Apply after shower and you’re pretty much good until your next shower 😀
I’ve been using it all summer, so it is strange that it’s only irritating suddenly. I don’t THINK anything is rancid since everything I used is less than a year old. I’ve found it sticky from the get-go though, so that part is not a new thing. It’s just more noticeable now that I’m retiring sleeveless shirts for the season. I think I’d just skip the shea butter next time.
I’ve never tried the crystal deodorant, but I’ve heard about them! Is a particular brand superior, or are they all sort of the same? What made you switch from homemade?
Hmmmm. Maybe you are just becoming more sensitive to the baking soda after extended exposure? That would be a bit of a bummer. As for the crystal deodorant, it’s something I bought before going all DIY on my deodorant, and it just lasts forever—both in terms of the stick/rock itself, and how long it keeps you smelling pretty! So that’s pretty much why I’ve switched back (for now, at least). I can just apply right out of the shower (you need a bit of water to apply) and then I’m good until my next shower, which suits my lazy sensibilities very nicely 😉
I will definitely hunt down the crystal and give that a try. I know I’ve seen them around before my DIY days. As you said, it may be the baking soda since my first DIY deodorant attempts were with cornstarch, and the next time I switched to arrowroot powder and cut back on the baking soda. Maybe it just took longer to notice the irritation due to that reduction. In the meantime, I’m just using a natural stick deodorant I found a while back. It smells pretty, but I find the smell fades within an hour. Reapplying every hour is far too much work and not really possible anyway if I’m surrounded by people 😛
I’ll admit I got a good chuckle at the idea of you applying deodorant in the middle of teaching a class, lol. And giving it a good sniff as you put it back in your desk, haha. I should really source out some other natural deodorizers that aren’t vinegar and play with them. Hmmmm. Any suggestions?
Haha, well I usually do the deodorant reapplication between class or at lunch. I don’t think pausing mid-lesson to reapply would make me very popular… though maybe the alternative of smelling bad would be worse? 😛
I bought a deodorant crystal! The first time I used it, I applied it VERY sparingly like I do with normal deodorant (3-5 swipes), then read the instructions on another brand that said you need 20-30 strokes… I was wondering why it wasn’t overly effective the first day, but it seems good the last 2!
Natural non-vinegar/baking soda deodorizers, eh? I wonder if something alcohol-based but not so… potent, like pure vanilla extract, could work?
Well, that’s kind of a bummer, there goes my humorous mental image lol. I’m glad the crystal is working for you, though! I need to get better about the mucho strokes, though 😛 I’ve been lazy as of late. Oh well. I imagine pure vanilla extract under the arms would probably ruin the all vanilla scented desserts for me for all time… there’s nothing like a scent I like combined with BO to kill it lol.
First of all, I want to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog! It is so diverse and the more I read it, the more I see that living green, healthy, and chemical free is ACTUALLY possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
With that said, I’ve very recently gotten into making my own personal care products (started with DIY make-up remover wipes- I’d love to see your version of this!) and one of the most recent thinks I’ve tried out was making my own deodorant. My husband has sensitive skin and I made him a cedarwood EO deodorant where I substituted the Baking Soda for Aztec (Benonite) Clay. I also substituted the Corn Starch with Arrowroot Powder which is GMO free. I just wanted to comment this in here for any readers who have sensitive skin like him.
Now I just looked up at some of the recent comments and it looks like you already heard about all this. Oh well, I look forward to reading your newest recipes!!!!
Lastly, I wanted to say in response to Dove’s phobia-inducing words, that Rose Hip Seed Oil is fabulous for healing dark cracked skin (aka overshaved armpits!). You can add this to the deodorant with the essential oils or just apply it straight at night and within weeks, you’re likely to see results.
Much love!
Awesome! Thanks for reading, Naz 🙂 I love the sounds of your DIY deodorant—I have been planning on making a deodorant with clay for a while now, but I still have tons of this one left 😛 And three cheers for Rose Hip Seed oil—it’s amazing stuff! I’ve got some recipes using it coming up in the next few months 🙂 And I do have…3 (1, 2, 3)?… eye make-up remover recipes up here so far, but no wipes yet (though I do have instructions for making wipes, haha).
#6 on my list is done! Dinner has yet to be made, but this lady has deodorant for tomorrow!
What better way to try it out than in a nursery full if babies & toddlers later accompanied by rushed, hungry adults. Ahhh, the ultimate pit test 😀
Nice! Let me know how it goes 😀 Do remember that after 6–8 months you’ll notice a decrease in performance (it seems the baking soda loses its effectiveness), so you’ll have an excuse to make another batch come summer 😉
So it works! I might have overdone the eo’s a bit. I was trying to mix and match smells but kept adding drops till I found what I liked… I kinda smell like a walking lemon-lavender patch 🙂 I guess it could be worse. BO just wasn’t an option 😛 The deodorant is still kind of soft, but it might have been because the vitamin e jar slipped and I didn’t want to waste product. I figure by summer I’ll have all my kinks worked out, and just in time too ^_^ Sweating like a man is one thing… smelling like them is quite another.
Ha! I am so guilty of this 😛 I once ruined an entire batch of lotion by doing this… just a bit more of this… no, a bit more of that, too… yipes. Ha! At least lemon & lavender smell nice, mine didn’t in the end—strong and awful 😛 Enjoy your new never ending supply of BO-busting deodorant!
Never ending is right. I should have split this batch with a friend 🙂 One thing I did notice in mine. Was the comfrey root powder suppose to dissolve? I might not have let it mix in well enough. I have brown flecks, but more so than that shows in your photo. Nothing like making it look like I haven’t shaved for a few days 😛 haha
Mine is at the point where I just need to chuck it since it doesn’t have any kick left… but I haven’t finished either tube. Oops.
Comfrey root powder won’t dissolve in oils, so no. I suppose an infusion likely would have been the better way to go here, but I didn’t have one on the go at the time. Oh well. I wonder if you’re reaching the bottom of your tube and are finding a more concentrated layer of the comfrey root powder down there?
I made this on what happened to be the hottest, stickiest, most hazy and humid week of the year, and it totally kept me odor-free all day long every day. Very impressed with it and never going back to store-bought stuff.
For future reference to self, I’m going to leave out the cocoa butter and instead put in more shea butter (or maybe coconut oil and increase the beeswax?). My nose doesn’t like the smell of cocoa butter mixed with herbs and it’s a little off-putting. I think I used tea tree, lavender, and rosemary, plus my calendula-and-plantain infused olive oil for this batch, which just don’t blend well for me with the chocolate smell. I also left out the comfrey, simply because I didn’t have it.
My armpits also feel much nicer already. I wax rather than shave, which irritates the skin in a different way, and this seems to soothe that just as well.
Awesome! I’m so thrilled this deodorant is kicking butt for you 🙂 I would be wary of swapping out the cocoa butter for shea butter, though, they are almost never a good swap as they have totally different textures and melting points. Kokum better would be a better alternative (more on that here). Thanks for reading & DIYing with me!
Oh, thanks for the reminder! I’ll look into kokum butter, or more refined cocoa butter — or maybe I’ll just fuss with the essential oil blend for something that smells more harmonious to me.
The initial recipe made quite a bit, so it’ll be a while before I need more.
🙂
I’m still working on my first batch as well, and meanwhile I’m daydreaming of my next batch 😛
it is dangerous to your liver to use comfrey on a daily basis
From my research, damage from comfrey root has only been associated with seriously committed long-term internal use. The sites I found said something like 4 cups of comfrey root tea a day for 140 years! So, I guess I’m not too concerned about it for topical use, especially considering it’s a fairly small area, and it’s at a fairly low concentration. Hope that helps!
how do u make Calendula infused olive oil?
Here’s an article on it 🙂
How much e.o do you use and also the vitamin e oil.thank you
A few drops of each is fine 🙂
Made a variant of this recipe last week, and as per usual you have come through with another amazing and working recipe!
My changes:
I didn’t add comfrey root as I didn’t have any.
I lowered the amount of bicarb to 18g and add 6g of Bentonite clay.
I also used Arrowroot rather than cornstarch.
For the scent I used the essential oils that another popular natural brand of deodorant uses with a few additions/substitutions. I used Peppermint, Cajaput, Sweet Orange, Clove, Rose Geranium, Lime, Lavender, Rosemary and Cedarwood. The exact amounts…erm, I just mixed until it smelt nice. It’s a very pleasant, quite earthy scent but has light fresh notes.
Been using it for a week and its been working extremely well!
Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing—I love the sounds of that EO blend 🙂
Interesting comment about the shelf life of the baking soda deodorant. By “doing it’s think” what does that mean exactly? In another comment you say that it has lost its punch. Just curious about what chemically is happening in there!
I just love your site. I’ve spent waaay too many hours here! Love every minute though! 🙂
I think it reacts with any moisture in the air, and just deactivates. That’s my best guess, at least—it makes sense 🙂 If it reacts with the moisture in the air it can’t do its job battling bacteria in your pits. Thanks for reading!
Hi Marie
I love these homemade deodorant recipes, but i find them quite sticky and hard to apply. I used to really like dove stick deodorant as it glides on really easy. But i stopped using it once i learnt about all the terrible crap thats in it!!
Is there anything i can add to this recipe that will produce the same glide on easy application?
Also how long does the baking soda stay active? And is there an alternative?
Thanks,
Loving your work 🙂
Grace x
Hey Grace! If you want to modify the glide you’d need to re-develop the entire recipe, I’m afraid. There’s no simple change for that sort of thing (beyond adding silicone, but that isn’t natural—though if that doesn’t fuss you then dimethicone should do the trick). The shelf life of the baking soda is impossible to accurately estimate as it depends on a wide variety of factors. At least 3 months? Likely more? Possibly 9? Let your nose be your guide! I have yet to find an alternative that actually works, but when/if I do, there will definitely be a blog on it!
Hmmm, ok, exactly how unnatural are we talking with dimethicone??
Thanks for the baking soda clarification…so basically if your pits start to pong, then the baking soda has worn off! Ha ha.
I have one other little problem that i hope you don’t mind me asking about quickly. My little nephew is about to start teething any minute now and I’ve been trying to make a balm that is infused with whole cloves as obviously clove oil is a no no for bambinos! I’m thinking that it’ll be the same principle as the essential oil hydrosols been safe for babies when the actual oils are too powerful , if that makes sense??
So i infused the cloves into some melted food grade cocoa butter and a little bit of coconut oil, so it doesn’t set like a brick! The problem is that it doesn’t set at all at room temp. Only in the fridge grrr!
So next i tried adding some beeswax, which worked, but was worried about it been food safe, and then the whole babies shouldn’t have honey thing. So thought about carnauba wax as it’s used in food industry etc. But again is it safe for babies?! Aaarrrhggh!
So I’ve just tried it again but with more cocoa butter and less coconut oil this time. So fingers crossed, but I’m not holding my breath!
Any suggestions would be gratefully received!:-)
Sorry for this crazy long message!
Grace x
Well, it’s pretty darn unnatural—dimethicone and other silicones are synthetic polymers that contain silica (which does occur naturally). They are fun to play with though, and do things that natural ingredients don’t. Dimethicone helps coat/protect the skin and gives products a really neat slip. Do some research and see if it’s something you’d like to experiment with 🙂
Cocoa butter melts right around body temperature, so I would recommend doing straight cocoa butter; as soon as it touches skin it will start to soften and melt into a smooth liquid. Cocoa butter is not a great hardener, and coconut oil is so soft that with its inclusion you will likely need a wax. If you just made the cocoa butter nubbins in smaller pieces (like this) and used them as wee nibbly bars, that would probably work well.
Re: beeswax and carnauba wax + babies; I have no idea, and I would recommend asking a physician. But straight up cocoa butter should be fine!
That’s great, thanks for all your help Marie
Grace x
Marie, if you no longer recommend baking soda in products, what do you do for deodorant now?
I don’t have a great recommendation at this point. I’ve heard good things about deodorant made with diatomaceous earth, but have yet to test it myself.
Hi Marie,
I found a deodorant that doesn’t use bicarb. I was thinking of doupeing it but was wondering if you could possibly help in regards to making it firmer without ruining the effects (It’s amazing). Also I was wondering if the scents could be changed without affecting it
The ingredients are:
Coconut oil
Magnesium hydroxide
Diatomaceous earth
Beeswax
Along with essential oils:
Orange sweet
Vanilla
Lemongrass
Cedarwood atlas
Bergamot
Lime
Frankincense
Ylang ylang
Geranium
Making it firmer would be a matter of including beeswax. That said, magnesium hydroxide has a higher pH than baking soda, so I wouldn’t use it as a more skin-friendly alternative to baking soda 🙂