For the summer we wanted to start a little mini-series, that we will post every Monday. We wanted to focus on items that people usually buy at the grocery store or drug store that you can easily make yourself and in many cases is cheaper and better for you.

So how about we commence our little homemade journey starting with deodorant!

Awhile ago, I posed a question to our readers about the best way to make homemade deodorant for sensitive skin. We got some responses (thanks)! And we decided to go with the most basic recipe we could find.

I’m going to test it out on Tuesdsay (my day off) so I can assess whether this is going to work for my sensitive skin. If not, I’ll make C use it and smell like an orange for awhile .

Homemade Deodorant

Ingredients

1/8 cup baking soda
1/8 cup arrowroot (we used Bob’s Red Mill)*
2 Tablespoons coconut oil*
10-12 drops sweet orange oil (I kept adding more because our coconut oil is very coconut-smelling and was drowning out the orange.)

Directions

Mix together baking soda and arrowroot powder.

Add essential oil and mix with the baking soda and arrowroot until combined (it will look a little more “clumpy” and damp).

Drop in coconut oil.**

Mix together with a fork until you achieve a smooth consistency.

Spoon mixture into jar.

Store in the refrigerator

How it works:

Basically the baking soda helps neutralize odors while the arrowroot helps keep you dry. (Though, keep in mind that this is NOT an antiperspirant, so you will sweat – which is good for you!) The coconut oil is naturally antimicrobial, so it will help lessen the bacteria that causes odor. And of course, the essential oil is just for a fun added scent.

I’m curious to see how this works. On our last post, Mrs. Graham Gardens said that she can’t use any baking soda at all without irritation, so I’m hoping I don’t have an adverse reaction with that. If that does happen, I may switch to all arrowroot powder and no baking soda (but I’m crossing my fingers that it won’t cause any irritation!).

*You can use cornstarch in place of the arrowroot. I chose not to because cornstarch is more likely to cause skin irritation than arrowroot.

**A note about the coconut oil: many online recipes call for melting the coconut oil so it will mix better with the powders. It mixed perfectly well without melting it, and I didn’t want to melt it since heating up oils usually causes oxidation. I didn’t want to ruin any of its antimicrobial properties! Also, since coconut oil melts at 75 degrees, I will keep this in the refrigerator so it is solid instead of a lotion-y consistency. It’s pure preference. Also, some people add shea butter and/or beeswax so that the deodorant will hold up under higher temperatures. I wanted to add as few ingredients as possible (for cost, and for an easier time of eliminating ingredients if I do have a reaction), so I didn’t add either.

How simple is that? And best of all? It’s free of all those nasty, potentially cancer-causing ingredients store bought deodorants have!