An effective and natural deodorant can be hard to find, and expensive. But knowing what we know about the chemicals found commonly in deodorant, it’s worth finding something natural that you love using. Why not make your own instead? Our in-house herbalist, Aubrey, has a natural deodorant recipe that is super easy to make and will actually keep you smelling amazing.
Aubrey’s DIY Herbal Deodorant Recipe
Main Ingredients:
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 3 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tsp finely ground himalayan pink salt
- 1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder
Optional Ingredients:
- ½ cup of dry herbs of your choice
- 5-10 drops of essential oils of your choice
- Coconut flour
Tip: Try re-purposing one of your empty Annmarie Skin Care jars as your container. See this post for inspiration!
Directions:
Note: Steps one and two are only for those who are infusing their oil with herbs. But even if you skip these steps, this recipe still works wonderfully!
- Infuse your coconut oil with dry herbs of your choice. You can use a double boiler OR you can put the oil in a glass jar and set it in the crockpot for about 3-4 hours. You’ll want to use up to a half ounce of total herb to infuse here.
- Press or strain out your herbs from your oil.***If you’re not infusing your oils, start below.**
- Mix together your baking soda, salt, and arrowroot powder in a small bowl.
- Slowly pour the dry ingredients into your oil while stirring your mixture. You want to do this step while the oil is pour-able but starting to set up (around room temperature) so that it can help dissolve the dry ingredients.
A few tips for this step:Stir until it’s cool: You’ll want to stir every couple of minutes, at least, until the deodorant cools and thickens so that the dry ingredients that don’t dissolve stay suspended in the hardened coconut oil. Using a shallow bowl allows this process to happen more quickly.Changing your consistency: This is where you might want to pay close attention to the consistency you’re looking for. Add extra coconut oil if you’d like to smooth it out, or if you’re looking for a thicker, more powdery deodorant (that’s how I like mine), add very small amounts of coconut flour or more arrowroot powder until you reach your desired texture. - (Optional): Add your essential oils and mix them in too — you can do this at any point in the recipe. I like to add it when I mix all the ingredients together.
That’s it! You can change this recipe up according to your preferences for scent and consistency. It will seriously keep you smelling great all day. To use it, put a small amount on your finger and give yourself a little lymph massage in your armpits every morning. 🙂
Like with all natural products, you’ll want to keep this in a cool, dry place. I use small pots (like the ones we use for our masks and scrubs) for my current deodorant and keep my backup supply in the fridge.
Herbs for Your Natural Deodorant Recipe
Lavender is an ancient herb used for cleansing. Its bragging points are many. You’ll love it in your deodorant because it smells good and soothes the skin.
Eucalyptus smells fresh — it’s a wonderful herb for people that need a little bit of extra armpit love.
Mint is refreshing and has been used for cleansing the whole body. It grows easily and makes a wonderful addition to this recipe.
Essential Oils for Your Natural Deodorant Recipe
Add 5-10 drops of whatever smell you like! The above herbs also work great as essential oils.
I like frankincense and patchouli in my deodorant for a deep woodsy smell but something more floral would work nice here too: lavender and rose would be refreshing and feminine!
This looks great! I cannot use baking soda in deodorants as I break out in a rash–can it be left out completely or is there a substitute? Thank you!
Use Diatomaceous Earth instead of baking soda….it’s a great substitute and works well.
I have started making my own deodorant because the other natural crystal was not holding up any longer and I was one smelly gal!! I was soaking my clothing in vinegar and washing extra and line drying to get rid of armpit smell. I found a recipe similar to your posted sans the salt and made the batch up. I found that I like mine softer so I did add extra coconut oil to allow me to smooth it on daily. I find that I need to stir the container often as I live in FL and so far the temperature is not cold enough to make the solution solid. But, I wanted softer formula so I worked with more coconut oil. !! I am very proud of myself and I am not smelly any longer. Good post, I hope more people attempt this product.
I actually just use baking soda and corn starch mixed together, but I may switch to the arrowroot because I am worried about GMO’s in corn starch.
Can anyone help me translate this recipe to the UK?! It’s confusing as I think when people in the US say ‘baking powder’ that would be the UK ‘bicarbonate of soda’, is that right? We have baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) here and I’m not sure which one is the right one! Thanks!!
Hi, Charlotte!
I’m fairly certain you would use bicarbonate of soda in the UK. Baking soda is different than baking powder. Good luck!
Shannon
Yes baking soda is bicarbonate!
I have used a similar recipe for a couple years,but just recently found a couple ingredients online that make it even better. Try adding a couple probiotic capsules opened up and mixed in and just a little clay. I use rhassoul but others will work as well.
I’m confused, am I still doing the double boil as step 1 to soften my coconut oil which isn’t liquid. it’s paste form in a jar, (can I use that?) then then stir in the dry items or leave it in its original form and mix in?
Hi Amanda,
The coconut oil, whether you infused it or not, shouldn’t be a paste when you’re starting out with the recipe because you want the dry ingredients to dissolve into the coconut oil.
You could mix in the dry ingredients into its original form but they won’t dissolve as easily and the finished product will be a different consistency.
I hope that helps!
I’ve been using just coconut oil for a couple of years and it works fine. What is the purpose for the arrowroot, salt and baking soda?
Hi Judi,
I’m glad that plain coconut oil works for you! It doesn’t work for everyone though (myself included).
The baking soda and arrowroot powder are nice and absorbent for sweat and the salt is to help aide the natural processes that fight body odor.
I hope that helps!
aubrey