DIY Natural Deodorant

Hello dear reader! I'm glad you're here today because I'm sharing my of my favorite things: DIY! When I first saw Leia's recipe I was very excited and couldn't wait to make my own natural deodorant.

Why was I so excited?? Well, first off this recipe is much more natural than store-sold deodorants and has no strange chemicals I can't pronounce. It's also really cheap to make - most of the ingredients you probably have already, except maybe coconut oil, like me. And finally, because I love the feeling of making a homemade product. So let's jump into how to make it, shall we?

Preparation
I decided to buy coconut oil online (www.iherb.com). It was about $4 for 7oz., plus a few dollars for shipping. Also, I had 2 old deodorant containers I'd been saving for this homemade concoction (I wasn't sure how much it'd make). So I cleaned out old residue and took off the labels. 

Recipe
1/4 C. baking soda
1/4 C. cornstarch (or arrowroot)
5 - 6 Tbsp. coconut oil
Tea Tree Oil (optional)

Make it
Scoop out your coconut oil and mix with other ingredients. It took a few minutes to really mash everything well together. I added about 5-6 drops of tea tree oil (also called Australian oil ;) ) because I love the smell and it gives a slight tingly feeling. Then, I filled the mix into one and a half deodorant sticks. The texture was a little soft after handling the coconut oil, so I popped them in the fridge to solidify a bit. 

Other tips
- Coconut oil is solid under 76*F, meaning it will melt to the touch. This may effect how you store your deodorant, depending on the weather where you live.
- I only followed this recipe very vaguely because I don't have measuring tools. I probably used only 4 Tbsp. coconut oil, but it seems to be enough.
- You can use any fragrance (or not) you like...lemon grass, jasmine, lavender, ylang ylang, mint, etc. 
- It's for men and women. I used tea tree oil because it's a nice neutral scent and my husband likes it too. Whereas he might not go for lavender as much.
- Try arrowhead instead of cornstarch if you have any skin reactions.

What we think:

We've been using this homemade deodorant for about a week and love it!

I say: It's very effective and lasts longer than other deodorants. I was surprised by this because other natural deodorants I've tried unfortunately haven't been as effective - sorry Toms! It will last a long time - it made 1 1/2 sticks and you don't need much at all to work. Another big plus is that I know that its healthy for us to be using. And finally, it's got a nice fresh smell and feel!

Hubby says: It's very effective, cheap, and it doesn't hurt the environment. Oh, it is smells nice too.

So what do you think? Will you be trying this sometime? If you already have, why do YOU love it?