Why would anyone make homemade deodorant when you can buy at the store? Even more.. why would you make your own deodorant when you can potentially get it FREE at the store?
I know that’s a question many of you are asking at this point ~ and let me be honest:
If you can’t eat it, you probably shouldn’t put it on your skin. That frame of thinking goes from everything from perfume to lotions, deodorant, and toothpaste. Your skin is your largest organ of your body.
There are over 80,000 chemicals out there on the market today – a good majority of which aren’t tested for their safety. From beauty and health products to cleaners, and electronics, many of these chemicals affect your body in the form of skin toxicity – they are carcinogenic, they are hormone disruptors, and they can greatly affect your health.
- Over 80,000 chemicals are on the market today. (source)
- Only 200 have been tested for safety. (source)
- Only 5 are regulated by the EPA. (source)
Yikes!
About that brand loyalty... well, that’s the result of some pretty sweet marketing campaigns that tempt you into buying them after seeing fancy ad campaigns, graphics and marketing slogans. You might even be persuaded to get things if they are free with a coupon too – right?
Unfortunately… the focus of most of these companies is their bottom line – not your health. None of these companies are going to put out a PSA with a loudspeaker and tell the world that their products are full of chemicals – they are just going to allow you to be blinded by the fact that these items can indeed make a relatively large impact on your health.
About a year ago I had a chance to see The Human Experiment on Netflix – while I already knew about what was going on, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people are blinded. This movie goes behind the scenes to protect people from these toxic items that can honestly be quite harmful to your health.
Why Not Use Antiperspirants?
Gosh – I’ll be honest and tell you that a few years ago, I couldn’t have ever imagined a world of personal care without antiperspirant and aluminum laden deodorant for fear that I would stink so badly.
In all honesty, we are supposed to sweat – because that is our own bodies way of regulating our body temperature and eliminating toxins – so with that in mind, why not allow our body to do that?
Why even Use Deodorant?
If you are eating clean, you may find yourself not needing deodorant – but when it starts getting warmer, and you are working out regularly, or perhaps not eating all too clean, you might need that extra dab on your arms.
When I first came across deodorant paste, I flew right by it – and the discussion that ensued in my head went something like this: Why would anyone use a paste when they can use a stick? Is the paste messy? It’s probably sloppy… Will I be able to travel with paste?
I spent a considerable amount of time wondering if paste was really an option that I might want to consider.
I kept going back and thinking about it…
But as time went on, I felt compelled to try it – and believe it or not, it’s one of my favorite DIY’s yet. Something I initially thought would be a complete “NO” is now one of my favorite items. It works unbelievably well.
Homemade Deodorant Paste
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil (where to buy)
- 1 Tbsp Baking Soda
- 3 Tbsp Arrowroot Powder
- 10 drops Essential Oil of Choice (Tea Tree or Lavender are perfect)
Directions:
- Melt the coconut oil and combine the remainder of the ingredients.
- Add 15-20 drops of your essential oil of choice (Tea Tree or Lavender would be wonderful)
- Mix well – then let cool in a small jar (like these here)
- Apply as needed (I apply once each morning under each arm)
I find myself only needing to apply this in the morning – it’s extremely effective! It doesn’t drip, and you can customize to your own scent.
I didn’t have Arrowroot so I used Tapioca – How it works!