What is it about commercially bought deodorants that people are attracted to? Is it the smell or that ‘it works.’ I don’t know about you but I ask our kids friends, especially the boys friends, to not spray their deodorants in the house because we all get immediate headaches… think Links deodorant brand! The chemical assault on ones nerve system by these brands is overwhelming.

For 20 years I have used an organic brand from Australia, they were my favourite organic deodorant company and I would buy for myself and Anais and Randall and the boys but they have since changed their packaging. That might not seem like a big deal but seriously it was like they had left over toothpaste containers and decided to use them! Clearly they had done very little market research on what the customer would like because I don’t think anyone would agree to the new design. Let’s just say it leaked everywhere and you couldn’t apply it quickly with clothes on. Anyway, I gave them my honest feedback and decided to move on and explore making our own.

My focus was to put together a deodorant that was smooth to apply, soft to the skin, smelt nice and actually worked. I knew coconut and shea butter would be a good place to start as well as lemon, lime and orange essential oils. Then I experimented with how to put it all together and to my delight it turned out fantastic and everyone loves it!

Here’s what you need:

• ¼ cup raw organic coconut oil
• 2 tablespoon cocoa butter
• 2 tablespoon shea butter
• ¼ cup aluminium free baking powder
• ½ tablespoon baking soda
• ½ tablespoon tapioca
• 15 drops essential oils*
• 1 empty deodorant container

*Essential oils (EO) that are wonderful in this recipe are any combination of the following: lemon, lavender, tea tree, geranium, lemongrass, lime, thyme, sweet orange, vanilla and peppermint. Be careful with peppermint as it is strong and could irritate the sensitive armpit area. My favourite EO’s are lemon, lime, lavender, lemongrass, geranium and orange! Any combination of the above will work it’s all personal preference.

Here’s how to put it together:

NOTE: I don’t have a double boiler so I just filled a large saucepan with a small amount of water and used a smaller saucepan to sit inside the larger one. If using a gas stove they can get hot quickly so use a low heat. The idea is NOT to get any water into your mix and to heat the ingredients slowly.

1. In your small saucepan combine the coconut oil, shea butter and the cocoa butter.
2. As soon as you are able to stir the mixture, remove the small saucepan from the heat so it’s not too hot for the other ingredients. The mixture needs to be thick enough to stir, but thin enough so that there are no air pockets.
3. Stir in the baking soda and the tapioca. You want a homogenous mixture that is barely melted.
4. Once cooled add the 15 drops of essential oils and stir in.

Quantity: It makes about one small jar as shown in the picture above.

Storage: It will store well in a cool and dark place.

Comments: I found the smell to be wonderful. However, if you do not like the coconut smell you could add another 5 drops of your favourite essential oil.

Application: The deodorant will be solid at room temperature but when you massage the deodorant from the container and apply it to your armpit it will soften as you massage it in. The amount to apply is also personal preference. I massage out of the jar enough to cover the tip of my finger.

Have fun making this organic and healthy deodorant!