I know what your thinking… natural deodorant’s don’t work! Trust me, I totally get where you’re coming from, I myself have experienced the pitfalls of natural deodorant. That’s why I decided to try and make my own natural cream deodorant at home.

This deodorant not only works, but it’s creamy texture (thanks to coconut oil and shea butter) makes it great for conditioning the skin under your arms — one of the places we always remember to soap up in the shower but usually forget to moisturize once we towel off. I like to think of my jar of deodorant as a little self-care treat for my armpits.

I do want to say that this deodorant works amazing… for me. So if you don’t have the same luck, please don’t give up! Feel free to tweak this recipe in order to find a combination of ingredients that works best for you. Some people find baking soda a bit irritating to the skin and others can use a mixture that’s almost all baking soda, so play around. I opted for more arrowroot powder than soda, and find this works great for my sensitive skin. You can also experiment with your choice of essential oils. I love lemongrass, but since bacteria is the source of our smelly pits, an oil with anti-bacterial properties like tea tree and lavender can help eliminate odour.

So why is going natural under your arms so important?

The armpit area is one of the most absorbent areas of our body. This means that any chemicals or harsh ingredients that you roll, spray or glid under your arms is ending up inside your body at an accelerated rate.

That’s right, deodorants and antiperspirants are notorious (and not in a good way) for containing chemicals that can cause cancer and disrupt your hormones (aka. endocrine disruptors). It’s a bit scary to think of what’s being absorbed into our body, and even more scary to think about how our body might react to these toxins.

It’s also worth noting that you should NEVER ever, use antiperspirants. Sweating is a natural way for the body to cool itself down and detoxify. Stopping it from doing so just doesn’t make sense. So embrace that post-workout glow!

I hope everyone has as much luck with this deodorant as I have! Please let me know if you try it out and if you have any questions by writing a reply in the comment section below.

DIY Natural Deodorant

(Inspired by Trass is for Tossers — Zero Waste Deodorant)

2 Tbsp. Arrowroot Powder
1 Tbsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Organic Coconut Oil
1 Tbsp. Shea Butter
A few drops of essential oil (optional). Keep it fresh — lemongrass, tea tree or lavender.

Melt the coconut oil and shea butter in a double boiler on your stove-top. Whisk in the arrowroot powder and baking soda until smooth. Add a few drops of your favourite essential oil and whisk to combine. Pour into a glass jar with a lid.

Set the deodorant in the fridge for at least 5 hours (overnight is even better), to let it set. Remove from the fridge and use daily to keep your pits smelling great! No need to refrigerate.

Cheers, to keeping it green, clean and smelling lovely! 😉