Do you stink?

This stuff is great.  As part of my family’s desire to eliminate as much consumption of (single-use) plastic as we can, we searched for a recipe for home-made deodorant.  We looked at a few and now use this. 

Recipe

• 2 Tablespoons Baking Soda

• 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch

• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil*

• About 5-10 drops of essential oil of what you would like to smell like (lavender, tea tree, basil, ylang-ylang, clove etc) - optional.  This can mask the smell of the coconut oil if you do not like coconut!

• 1 recycled empty, washed and dried deodorant container

Steps
1. Mix 2 tablespoons of baking soda with 6 tablespoons of cornstarch in a bowl.
2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil to the bowl and mix well. The coconut oil we use is firm, so we heat it up a little to reduce it to liquid form.  Microwave it for just a few seconds.
3. Add about 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil, and mix well.  If you find that the smell of the essential oil is not strong enough, add more. 
4. Make sure your recycled deodorant container is clean, dry, and unwound (the ‘tray’ is at the bottom). Pour/pack the mixture into the container, pushing it down with your fingers if need to get remove air bubbles or gaps. Wipe off the edges and sides, place on the cap. 
5. Put the deodorant container in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes so that it sets/solidifies.

A few words about this deodorant:
*This is an all natural product. Because it is made of coconut oil it can and will liquefy if it gets too warm. We live in New Hampshire in a house with no A/C and it is fine, however on a trip to Costa Rica, we found in places where there was no A/C our deodorant turned to a more liquid state.  Fortunately we had packed a few zip lock bags (reused tortilla bags) and still used the deodorant by dipping our fingers in it and wiping it on!  It does leak from the container in hot climates, but very slowly.

**UPDATE**
 21st June - When the weather reached the upper 80's in our house (the nineties outside) the deodorant began to liquify!  I did not have my glasses on, so ended up wearing a lot down my torso!

It can mark your clothes if you put on too much and it is freshly applied and your clothes rub against it.  It contains oil, so apply lightly.

We were very active in Costa Rica where it was hot and humid. I found it works for me better and longer than any other commercial deodorant I have ever used, including the healthy options, and is a lot cheaper too.

The cost of buying a (recyclable) glass jar of coconut oil, (card box of) baking soda, cornstarch and essential oil comes to about $18.00, depending on brand, size, and which essential oil you buy.  You should get over 6 batches from a 12oz jar of coconut oil and many more batches from the baking soda, cornstarch and essential oils.  A six pack of Old Spice deodorant costs around $14.00, a six pack of Arm and Hammer costs about $18.00, the good healthy varieties cost about $25.00 - $30.00 for a six pack.  And then you have six plastic containers to dispose of!