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Effective vegan deodorant recipe without baking soda

New Recipe for Creamy, Soft Deodorant with a Luxurious Feel

This post is an update of my 2017 post - Three recipes for homemade deodorants.

Because I've since learned much more about deodorant ingredients and found ones for my DIY deodorant that provide provide better feel, absorbs sweat and control odor, and is completely baking soda-free.

Why I Make My Own Deodorant

Armpits - especially when freshly shaven - are open channels for harmful substances to reach the lymphatic system and bloodstream, that’s my reason to use as natural and clean ingredients as possible.

DIY Deodorant Ingredients - a New and Better Recipe

I've been developing a better deodorant recipe for a long time because I wanted a more light, luxurious, and velvety feel. This effect is hard to achieve using typical ingredients like coconut oil, beeswax, and shea butter. So I knew that my ingredient choices had to be different.

The deodorant still had to be natural and aluminum and baking soda free. It had to be effective, smell good, and feel like silk.

This new recipe is close to the mark - in all modesty.

What Makes a Good Deodorant

For a homemade natural deodorant to be effective, it needs to do three things:

Absorb moisture
Control odor
Use scents to cover any residual odor

Those are the basics, but beyond that, I also wanted it to feel luxurious when I applied it.So here's a rundown of the ingredients I've chosen, plus a few alternatives. This information should equip you to make your homemade deodorant.

Consistency is Key

I'm not fond of sticky pastes, powders, or armpit sprays. I want a stable, creamy consistency thick enough to apply at any temperature and thin enough to leave no residue. Plus, I wanted it to feel luxurious.

I achieved the velvety feel with cetyl alcohol, tapioca starch, and candelilla wax (vegan!), which combine to thicken the other ingredients while providing maximum moisture and minimum residue.

Cetyl Alcohol, Tapioca Starch, and Candelilla Wax.

Cetyl Alcohol is a mixture of fatty alcohols based on saturated fatty acids from coconut and palm kernel oil.

It works like a traditional wax to provide a thickening effect to the other ingredients but is far less "sticky" and provides a smoother, lighter product with the added bonus of a moisturizing effect.

Candelilla Wax. I've added a small amount of candelilla wax to make the deodorant thicker and more stable at different temperatures.

Unlike a very soft wax like beeswax, which melts at a low temperature and goes on thick, candelilla wax has a higher melting point, allowing thinner application.

A deodorant with a fair amount of beeswax can feel heavy, thick, and balm-like, which is not good news when trying to keep the pits dry.

Candelilla wax is derived from the candelilla bush leaves that grow in Mexico.

What Does Tapioca Starch Do in Natural Deodorant?

In most conventional deodorants, aluminum is the sweat-inhibiting ingredient, but with the side effect that it also blocks the pores. It is not unproblematic to have too high an aluminum content in the body; that's why I try to avoid it whenever possible.

For more - read my blog: 10 Steps To Balance Your Hormones Naturally

In this recipe, I use clays and powders to absorb any excess moisture from naturally sweating, which is why this formulation includes tapioca starch. Even though it's a raw ingredient, it feels silky and smooth, which helps to provide the deodorant that luxurious feel I'm looking for. In addition, tapioca absorbs some moisture.

The other dry ingredients

As mentioned, a deodorant's job is to do something serious about the sweat in the shirt's corners. That's why I chose these two specific types of dry ingredients to suck up the excess moisture in the pits:

Kaolin or bentonite clay

Kaolin clay

Kaolin is a very gentle clay that won't pull too much oil from your skin.

Bentoninte

Bentonite can absorb at least its own weight in moisture, making it a harsh but effective choice for a moisture-control deodorant.

Arrowroot

Arrowroot is a readily available alternative to clay, a powder made from the arrowroot plant, an organic starch commonly used in cooking as a thickener. Arrowroot is also an excellent natural remedy for treating various skin problems. It may benefit the skin in the following ways:

It helps make the skin smoother and softer.
Absorbs moisture.
Help soothe dry blemishes, rashes or other sores, or wounds.

Silica

Food-grade diatomaceous earth (silica) is an excellent ingredient to keep in stock at home for DIY recipes. It's a crucial trace element the body needs. It helps strengthen skin, hair, bones, joints, connective tissue, etc.; silica also supports the body in eliminating waste products, toxins, and heavy metals. Silicon in the homemade deodorant has a soothing effect on sensitive skin.

The benefits of oils in a deodorant

Carrier oils carry the other ingredients to your skin. However, the carrier oils popularly found in DIY deodorants (including my recipes) are either too heavy or too greasy, or they stain your clothes.

Instead of filling my deodorant with fatty oils like coconut, cocoa, and shea butter, I now use a much lighter alternative - squalane. Squalane is extracted from olives and is a natural component of the skin's fat. Squalane has a protective and softening effect on the skin.

Tip: Broccoli seed oil is also an excellent oil for homemade deodorant; it's silky smooth and makes the skin delicious.

What controls the armpit odor in the deodorant

Most of our armpit smell comes from sweat.

We have two types of sweat.

The skin on the entire body produces a clear and odorless sweat that regulates body temperature.
The glands in the armpits and groins produce a little thicker type of sweat. The latter has no real purpose in modern times.

Sweat is usually odorless, but when mixed with the bacteria on the skin's surface, it produces odorous substances. Those who suffer from strong body odor are often born with larger and more active sweat glands in the armpits and groins.

If you want to control armpit odor, it's the bacteria you need to combat.

Previously I used baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) as my smell weapon.

However, baking soda is not without problems. The skin is a naturally acidic organ with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5. This keeps the skin protected and moisturized with healthy. Baking soda has a pH level of 9. Applying a strong alkaline base to the skin can strip it of all its natural oils and cause irritations such as itching, dry skin, redness, and sensitivity to natural elements like the sun.

Magnesium and Castor oil as odor-fighters

The ingredients I chose for odor control are castor oil and magnesium hydroxide powder.

Magnesium

You may have noticed magnesium hydroxide on the ingredients list in some natural deodorants on the market and in some DIY recipes.

Magnesium hydroxide does not absorb into the skin. Instead, its primary purpose in a natural deodorant is to counteract any odor-causing bacteria on the skin's surface without impacting the dermis. Sweat glands, pores, and hair follicles are in the dermis.

Castor oil

Castor oil is a brilliant oil in many ways, but in this context, I treasure its antibacterial properties. It acts as odor control and has great antibacterial properties.

Shelf life

Although natural deodorants contain no water and you can safely formulate without a preservative, an antioxidant is important to extend the shelf life.

Oil derivatives and essential oils can oxidize and go rancid without the presence of an antioxidant like Vitamin E, so include tocopherol in your homemade deodorants if you want to prevent oxidation.

Recipe

Natural deodorant with a luxurious feel

Yields about 200 ml (4 jars of 50 ml each)

EQUIPMENT:

Stick blender
A small bowl or heat-resistant jug with a pouring spout
Small saucepan
4 x 50 ml aluminum or glass jars

INGREDIENTS:

(See more alternative ingredients below)

45 g. Tapioca flour
45 g. Magnesium hydroxide (or clay)
14 g. Kaolin clay or bentonite clay
10 g. Diatomaceous earth (or arrowroot powder)
65 g. Squalane (or another light oil like MCT oil and broccoli seed oil)
8 g. Shea butter
1 drop of vitamin E oil (optional)
6 g. Castor oil
4 g. Cetyl alcohol
3 g. Candelilla wax (vegan) or beeswax
60-75 drops of essential oils (optional). My favorite blend is 19 drops of peppermint oil, 31 drops of sweet orange oil, and 25 drops of grapefruit oil

How to Make It

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl or heat-resistant jug with a pouring spout.
Melt shea butter and waxes in a small saucepan over low heat.
Once shea butter and waxes have liquefied, add castor oil, squalane, and vitamin E oil (if using).
Remove from heat and add essential oils.
Add the oil mixture to the powders and mix with a stick blender. Blend until the dry and wet ingredients are fully incorporated, and the texture is smooth.
Pour the deodorant into 50 ml aluminum or glass jars.
Allow the deodorants to set and cool overnight before you cap the containers.
Put the lids on and pop them in the fridge for a few hours if they need to solidify further.
You can store the finished product at room temperature.

USE:

Take a small dollop of deodorant on your fingertip and apply it down the center of your armpit, rubbing gently into your skin until it is no longer visible.

TIP:

You can add wax and shea butter if you want to make a firm stick deodorant.

Alternative Ingredients

I'm aware the ingredients in this recipe are a bit different than in most common DIY deodorant formulations. So here is a list of more accessible ingredients you can swap with and still make a fine deodorant product.