I think I’m one of those people who’ve tried every natural deodorant recipe they could find only to be utterly disappointed when they all fail to work… at least the way you expect.
When I first became interested in natural living, trading in my old, toxic skincare products for natural ones was the first step I took. Come to think of it, deodorant was probably the first thing I owned that made its way into the trash can and was replaced by a better option. However, when the store-bought natural deodorants failed one by one, I switched to the cheaper option… making them myself. Then after failed recipe after failed recipe, I gave up and started digging through the trash, looking for that toxic deodorant again.
You hear the terms “crunchy” and “granola,” and that’s supposed to describe those of us that are into natural, healthy living. Well, I don’t know how “crunchy” or “granola” I am, but I think I’d probably be stripped of my “crunchy mama” title by some for admitting I used store-bought, chemical-laden deodorant while promoting a natural lifestyle for so long.
I just couldn’t help it. It seemed like no matter how many natural deodorants I tried, I would always end up smelling like sweat 2 hours later which led to me needing to put on more deodorant over and over during the day. That was too time consuming and did not work for me. Ultimately my choice to go back to the toxic deodorant basically boiled down to this… I don’t like to stink, and all the natural options I’d tried weren’t cutting it.
It was such a struggle for me. Every time I put that toxic stuff on, which was only when I needed to, my mind would battle between health and hygiene. Thankfully, that battle has finally come to an end for me and health and hygiene are now walking side-by-side thanks to a recipe I found.
Today, I’m sharing that recipe with you over at the Herbal Academy of New England. If you too have been struggling with finding the perfect natural deodorant that keeps you from stinking, here it is. Hopefully, this will do for you what it has for me!
CLICK HERE to get access to the herbal deodorant recipe + 3 essential oil blends to go with it!
Can you use anything other than illipe, kokum, and mango butters, none of which I have ever heard? How about more shea or even cocoa butter?
I’m sure you can, but that will cause problems with the consistency of the deodorant in the end since this recipe was created around the butters used. For one, kokum butter is the hardest of all the butters and if you want your deodorant to set up and be firm, softer butters alone won’t cut it. I once made a deodorant with coconut oil and either shea or cocoa butter along with baking soda and bentonite clay. It turned out soft and I had to apply it with my fingers (not worth it) and it didn’t work well. I know Mountain Rose Herbs sells all of these butters except the illipe which you can also get on Amazon. To me, since this deodorant recipes actually works for me, it’s worth having them!
Hey Megan,
This is great and I’d be the first in line to try it.. however, I don’t want to make it. Are you making it and adding it your shop? I think it’s the ingredients that scare me the most. I wouldn’t know where to find them! Have you tried it on kids? I have an 8 year old boy who is stinky.. and I don’t want him to be exposed to the deo we can buy, if I have a choice.
Hey Lisa… actually no I’m not making it or selling anything in my shop. The blog is keeping me very busy, and I don’t have time for both. As far as where to get the ingredients, you can get everything at Mountain Rose Herbs or on Amazon. It’s pretty simple and works great!
I didn’t see that you took out your products.. but hey, I get it! Life is busy especially with 4 kids!
Yes… I’ve not had anything in my shop (except my ebooks) for almost a year now. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Hi, thank you for sharing this. I am going natural now. I like the look of this recipe and I’m sure my mum and I will both use it.
You’re very welcome Amelia. I hope it works for you and your mum! Thanks for your comment!
Hi! I’m looking forward to making this deoderant! Hopefully it will work as well for me as it has for you!
I have a question about the recipe regarding the calendula flowers: are the flowers ground into powder or do you use the actually flower?
Thanks!
You use the actual flower to infuse into the oil. Hope it works for you too!!
Hi, Meagan! Thanks so much for replying to my first question! I just made this deodorant and am really excited to try it – however! The consistency is very gel-like and not anywhere close to the consistency of store-bought deodorant. I’m sure I did something wrong, I’m new to all this. Will it still work as well? Do you know what I may have done wrong? Can I melt it back down and add something to it? (More beeswax or kokum butter perhaps?)
Sorry for all the questions! Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ll keep trying til I get it right! 😉
Mine starts out very gel-like until it’s cooled for at least 8-10 hours. Could that be it? If not, you can definitely melt it down again and add in small amounts of kokum butter or beeswax, but be careful because it will throw off the recipe if you get too much. Too much kokum butter will make it hard, but then it take a while to warm up and spread when you go to put it on. Too much wax will make it stick to your clothes. I’ve never had it turn out wrong, but it definitely is gel-like at first. I’m sure it will still work as is, it just won’t be as easy to put on. I love this recipe so to me it’s definitely worth making again to see if you can get it right. Did you follow the recipe exactly? Did you use a scale to measure everything? I’m just trying to think of things that could throw it off. Let me know how it goes!
Okay, I’ve been using it for the past week and I love knowing that I don’t have any gross store-bought deodorant on my body! It helps with odor almost all day but it does seem to wear off in the evening and that worries me because what if I’m out of the house or somewhere where I’m not able to reapply or take care of the issue? That bothers me a little. Is that how it’s working for everyone else or is it maybe the fact that I didn’t get my measurements absolutely perfect? (I don’t have a scale that measures partial ounces. I think that’s why the consistency is off.) It still throws me off though because it’s definitely not solid or powdery like store-bought but maybe it’s not supposed to be. It goes on wet and pretty much stays that way all day which is fine for the fall and winter when I usually layer stuff and wear thicker clothing. But in the summer months when I wear maybe only thinner things in one layer, I feel like the wetness will create marks on my clothing. Also, my underarms are a little red and irritated-looking. I’m wondering if this has to do with the wetness factor.
Clearly I’m super excited about using natural, herbal deodorant and I’m really wanting to get to the bottom of why it’s not working absolutely perfectly for me! lol Sorry for the millions of questions.
I’m sorry it’s not working so great for you Erin. When I make mine, it hardens into a firm, powdery stick. If you rub your finger across it, a thin layer comes off and it’s not wet or goopy. When I put it on, I put it on thick, making sure it gets rubbed in well, then wait just a bit (a minute maybe) before putting my shirt on. It never feels like it’s making my clothes wet or sticking to them. I’ve not noticed it leaving marks on clothes, but I don’t wear it with light colors because it does leave light brown stains on them… depending upon which herbs and essential oils you used. And, the stains wash out in the wash since this recipe isn’t heavy on beeswax.
I really think that it would have come out better if you had a scale that measured partial ounces. I wouldn’t give up on it… definitely try again. Like I said, I tried natural deodorant recipes for years that were wet, sticky, or didn’t work until I found this one. It just works so great for me that I think it could really work for others too. Good luck!
If you’re having that much trouble with odor then you need to treat your internal state. Your bacterial balance is off and you have too much “bad” bacteria. You need to fix your gut. You shouldn’t be having that much of an issue.
Well I wouldn’t say that I’m having “that much trouble” seeing as how I don’t smell HORRIBLE. I just don’t like smelling like sweat is all. But yes, you are right. If you smell awful… more than just sweat… perhaps the gut needs some addressing. I have noticed that them more “gut friendly” I eat, the less I need to wear deodorant though so there’s definitely a link.
Hi!!!
Do you know where can I buy this deodorant jar?
I got mine, here, off Amazon. Hope that helps!
Hi Meagan,
What are the active ingredients in this recipe? I don’t have all the ingredients (some of the butters, mainly), and I want to try recreating a version of this recipe.
Thank you,
Grace
Hi !
i just made my own herbal deodorant but for some reason it’s still so soft. I’ve added so much beeswax already to harden it. Do you think it my be because I put too much oils ?
I remelted it the first time because it didnt harden and it hardened better when i added more beeswax but still now its not as hard as I’ve like. Could the kind of moald also play a part in it ? please help !!
Did you follow the directions and ingredient amounts in this post, Andrea? I’ve always found that the kokum and illipe butters along with the beeswax worked extremely well and harden just fine for me. Another thought would be the temperature in your home. If you’re in a warm location, it can keep the deodorant from firming up. You may want to try refrigerating the deodorant tubes to see if that helps. If that doesn’t work, or if it’s really warm where you live, you may not be able to use it in a deodorant tube or mold. You may need to apply it by hand (a bummer, I know!) or try a different recipe that will firm up in a tube. I hope this was helpful and that you find a solution that works for you!
hey I’m not able to view the recipe, has the link changed?
I created this recipe for a guest post I wrote for the Herbal Academy. You can find the link to it at the bottom of this post!
it looks like the original post doesn’t exist anymore. would you be willing to share the ingredient and amounts here? I flagged this as something I wanted to make. I’m back to make it and it’s gone. 🙁
Oops, sorry about that. I just updated the link so it should be working now.