You make your own WHAT?

A few years ago I set out determined to find a deodorant that was more natural and without all of those alarming chemicals you see article after article about. Ok, first up, dump the kind I was using. Yeah, cancer in a roll up tube. Look through all the shelves at the local store to find 2 brands of "natural deodorant" on the bottom shelf all the way at the end. I bought the cheapest one. 

The next morning I hop out of the shower and happily apply my new- good for me- natural deodorant. Smells ok. Go throughout my morning cleaning the house, carrying around children and all of that other housewife stuff. A couple hours later I did the sniff test. Wow! Could've knocked me over! Go back to bathroom to freshen up and reapply new deodorant. Couple hours later- yuck-o! Hmm... maybe I'm doing something wrong. Read label. Says it may take a few days to start working effectively. Ok. I can deal with stick for a few days. I guess. Well, a week later it is not any better and I'm quickly losing friends. Throw new deodorant away and buy the other natural one. Same thing again. Sigh. Of course this can't be easy. 

Ok, should I just go back to my cancer deo? What do they expect me to do if the only alternative is to stink? I can do that without any deo at all :)

Around the same time that this experiment was going on I saw a coop for Relax Naturals http://hyenacart.com/stores/relax/ (changing owners, so hang tight if there's nothing instock) and heard rave after rave about the deodorant. Hmm... it's expensive and wiping it on my pits with my fingers is kinda gross, but I'll give it a go. Got my first tub and smeared it on. So far, so good. A few hours later I do a quick sniff test and it's still going strong. All day long I would test if it was still working and to my amazement it was! Yay! My solution!

Well, after a few months my underarms started to itch. Kinda weird, but that's me anyway. I tried itchy creams, changing soaps, etc and unfortunately nothing helped :( After a bit of research I began to assume that I was having a reaction to the baking soda in the deodorant. It doesn't happen to most people, but I'm one of the lucky few. awesome. Back to square one.

As I researched about other natural deo's out there I realized that most of them use baking soda in their recipes. It works and that's why they use it. That wasn't going to work for me though. I set out to find a deodorant recipe that it could make for myself that didn't have baking soda, but still worked. After many attempts and several recipes I think I've finally got it. Yay! I'm on my second month using this recipe and still have fresh pits and no itch. Success! So, without further ado here it is.

2 TB coconut oil (found in most grocery stores by the cooking oils)

1 TB cornstarch (try to get GMO free) *note: you can use aluminum free baking soda instead. Same amount.

3 TB arrowroot powder (found in the baking aisle)

2 drops of tea tree EO

2 drops of peppermint EO

1 drop of rosemary EO

1 small tub to put it in (I found mine in the travel section of Meijer)

In a double boiler melt coconut oil. You can use the microwave too,but I prefer the db.

Take off heat and mix in cornstarch, arrowroot powder and EO's.

Mix it all together.

Spoon it into the tub.

Let it cool. It will become hard as it does. After it's cool scrape off dime sized amount with your finger and smear on clean, shaved armpit.. Voila! You will notice that you still sweat. There's no antiperspirant as there shouldn't be for health reasons. God made your body to sweat to cool you off and rid the toxins. Your body will adapt to this though as you continue use. Not to the point of not sweating, but to the point of not embarrassing you. Other essential oils can be used too. Try to get ones that fight odor and bacteria.

This tub lasts me around a month and only took 5-10 mins to make. 5 if it's nap time, 10 if I'm asked to get water for one child, hold another child so that they can watch me stir, all while helping third child spell valentines for the 80th time. Fast, easy and after the initial investment super cheap!

~Enjoy your chemical free, lovely smelling armpits!