Homemade Stick Deodorant

homemade deodorant, scroll down for the recipe

I just had to try it!  Have I gone completely hippy?  Well not quite but who defines "hippy" anyway?  Homemade deodorant, it's good for you.  The bought stuff not so much.  Here's a quote from the National Cancer Institute. 
What do scientists know about the ingredients in antiperspirants and deodorants?
Aluminum-based compounds are used as the active ingredient in antiperspirants. These compounds form a temporary plug within the sweat duct that stops the flow of sweat to the skin's surface. Some research suggests that aluminum-based compounds, which are applied frequently and left on the skin near the breast, may be absorbed by the skin and cause estrogen-like (hormonal) effects (3). Because estrogen has the ability to promote the growth of breast cancer cells, some scientists have suggested that the aluminum-based compounds in antiperspirants may contribute to the development of breast cancer (3).

If you read the whole article you can clearly see they aren't positive but why take the chance?  I pretty much had all the stuff to make deodorant except for the most common ingredient arrowroot powder, but that's the town I live in!  So while waiting for our health food store to get the arrowroot powder, I tried using just baking soda for a week.  Surprisingly it worked, just dip your wet fingers into a jar of baking soda and spread it under your arms after a shower.  But I like the "stick" stuff so I made some and it's now cooling in the freezer.  The recipe I used was taken from here but I modified it a bit.

Homemade Deodorant Stick Recipe
1-2 tablespoons beeswax (I really guess at this because I just break off a chunk or two)
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon shea butter
4 teaspoons arrowroot powder (You can substitute cornstarch or the original recipe called for clay)
20ish drops essential oil (I used lavender but you can use whatever you like)
An old deodorant container, mine was a 75g Dove container, well washed.

Melt the beeswax and coconut oil over low heat.  Beeswax sticks to everything so if you don't have dedicated equipment you can melt everything in a glass jar.  I set the jar into a pot of hot water on the stove, I have a picture of that here.  Save the jar for making your next batch.  I use a bamboo skewer for mixing.  Once the wax and oil have melted add the shea butter and stir.  Remove from heat and continue melting.  Sprinkle in arrowroot powder and stir.  Add essential oil.  Let it set up a bit by placing the jar into a cool water bath, it doesn't take long to cool down.  Use a plastic spoon and fill up a clean deodorant container.  I just let it cool a bit, not much, and pour it into the containers, seems to work.  Place in your freezer for 20-30 minutes until hard.  If it ever softens up in your bathroom toss it back into the freezer.

After going through the cupboards in the bathroom I found lots of containers, some were trial deodorants I had never used.  Dump the deodorant and wash well before using.

Lots of different containers I washed out including two trial ones.