Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Coconut Oil Killed my Stink!

This week's Real Food Wednesday is on natural body care products. This is a topic that I've learned a lot about recently, and feel pretty strongly about. This may be the first in a series of posts, we'll just see how things shake out :)



I have lots of reasons for rejecting commercial body care products. I don't like the chemicals, I don't like the marketing and in general I just don't believe my body needs quite so much "care" as Proctor and Gamble or Walgreens would like me to believe. For years I have been using baking soda and dish soap to do almost all of my household cleaning and this winter redoubled my efforts to remove chemical cleaners from my body cleaning routine as well.

This winter I made the switch to a no-poo method of cleaning my hair. I now use baking soda and apple cider vinegar and my hair looks great! I use only simple soap like Dr. Bronner's or local goats milk soap to clean my body and perfume free dish soap in the kitchen. Since I don't color, style or spray my hair I didn't have to worry about products for those "needs." The last hold out was deodorant.

I've spent a number of years accepting, and even cultivating, my "dirty hippy" persona :) I don't shave, I don't gel my hair, and only recently allowed myself to be held down to have my eyebrows plucked. I'm about as crunchy as you can get this side of dreads, patchwork corduroy or patchouli stank. That doesn't mean I particularly enjoy smelling like B.O. I gave up regular deodorant years ago because of aluminum and other health concerns but never felt my other options were particularly useful. I love all that Tom's of Maine does for this world, but controlling stink is not something they do well. I continued to use their deodorant for years because then at least I smelled like I was trying to control the odor but I certainly wasn't eliminating it.

Over the last few months I have kept running into blogs or flickr posts about homemade deodorant. I figured the universe was trying to tell me something so I did a little more research. Turns out, baking soda and coconut oil, two of my pantry staples that I already knew and loved the benefits of, were the base of most homemade deodorants. Baking soda is an moisture absorber and odor eliminator while coconut oil has some serious anti-microbial properties, as well as being a moisturizer and smelling wonderful. I saw that some folks had trouble with irritation when they used either baking soda alone or in high proportion to coconut oil and one recipe combined the baking soda with cornstarch or arrowroot powder. I took that recipe, added some tea tree and rosewood essential oils for their anti-microbial properties and amazing smell, and ended up with some amazing natural deodorant.

I've been using it for a couple weeks now and not only has it completely eliminated the unpleasant body odor on the days I use it (and leave a faint, pleasant natural odor) but it even has eliminated unpleasant odor on the days I don't use it! Wow!

Homemade Deodorant
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
4 tbs baking soda
2 tbs cornstarch or arrowroot powder, or more baking soda, or none of the above
2 drops tea tree essential oil*
6 drop rosewood essential oil*

  • Melt the coconut oil gently in a jar with about 1 cup volume (I used wide mouth half pint jar and think it's a great size) either under hot tap water or in a gentle water bath. Coconut oil melts at about 75 degrees Fahrenheit so hot tap water is all you need.
  • When the coconut oil is completely liquid stir in the baking soda and corn starch one spoonful at a time. Stir well and make sure to scrape the powders up from the bottom of the jar. Add the essential oils and stir to combine.
  • As the concoction cools to room temperature stir it occasionally to redistribute the powders, which will sink in the liquid oil. There will be a magic moment when the oil is still liquid enough to stir but solid enough to keep the powder in suspension - find that moment and stir like the devil! If you are doing this during the heat of the summer when room temperature is above 75 use the fridge to cool the deodorant.
  • Allow the emulsified oil to cool all the way to room temperature (it will probably want to be kept in the fridge in the summer to keep the powders emulsified). To use scrape a pea sized amount onto your finger and rub into your underarms. Your body heat quickly melts the ball of deodorant and you can smooth it all in there. I used a fork to break up the mass of oil so I could easily scrape out the right amount.

*I actually used 1 drop rosemary and 2 drops sweet orange in addition to the rosewood and tea tree, but don't recommend going out and buying those if you don't want to. Any essential oil or blend of oils that you like would work. Make sure they are high quality, natural oils. Go to the essential oil shelf of your local health food store and sniff away. Watch the prices though - some natural oils go for 5 dollars for a small bottle, other for 30 dollars.

I really, really like this deodorant. I won't have to make more for a long time - months at least - but when I do I will probably eliminate the cornstarch all together, and reduce the amount of baking soda even more. The first night I made it I didn't know to stir as it cooled so for the first few days I was using only scented coconut oil. It seemed to work just fine.

There are lots of reasons to avoid buying personal care products at the store. Money is a big one and so is the toxic chemicals used to produce those products. If you didn't read the article I linked to about marketing beauty products to women you should - it's bombastic and may be offensive, but so is how women (and men, to some extent) are seen by the people selling everything from shampoo to toothpaste to tampons. I don't have to support any of that when I make my own out of food products like this. Whatever I can do to support my health and a non-consumeristic culture is more than many are doing. And next time someone asks me what that tantalizing scent is I can say "my armpits."

38 comments:

  1. I love this idea! I want to try making it.

    I normally use corn starch with a powder puff -- I love the idea of mixing it with coconut oil (which I use as a moisturizer anyway).

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  2. Awesome! I recently heard about this method from a friend, but haven't tried it yet. I'm gonna use your recipe and make some! (I've had good results with my deodorant stone, but the whole "naturally occurring aluminum" thing just can't be good.) Thanks for posting this!

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  3. This sounds great! Do you think it would work just as well without the extra oils? My husband (who has Alzheimers in his family) likes the natural deodorants, and we use some from Toms of Maine, but I'll bet he would use this if it didn't have any scents...

    Thanks!
    Kelly

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  4. I'm very intrigued by this recipe. In the winter, I don't use anything since I don't do anything to cause a sweat LOL. In the summer (I live in Louisiana), I use just baking soda. I have to laugh because it works so well, even after a full day of yard work, including raking cut grass, I still don't stink, but dh who uses regular deodorant does LOL.

    Here's a question though, when you are receiving treatment for breast cancer, they say not to wear any deodorant at all. I wonder if you could wear this (or just baking soda?)? My mom had treatment a few years ago and she complained all the time about how she "stunk" though to be honest, I never smelled anything.

    I also had to laugh at your description of yourself. I describe myself as a hippie in disguise. In fact, I'm way more crunchy than the 20 something hippie chick I talk with weekly (heh)

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  5. I've been using coconut oil and baking soda as a deodorant for a year or two now. I haven't tried mixing them together. I just apply the coconut oil after I shower, just before bedtime, and then apply the baking soda in the morning when I get up. I have to be careful not to use too much baking soda, or I start getting a rash. Most commercial deodorants give me a rash very quickly.

    They each work fairly well alone, as long as I don't get too sweaty. But when I get sweaty, nothing works anyway. Then it's time for soap and water :)

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  6. I can't wait to try this! Thanks for the detailed post.

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  7. LOVE This!! This is a new recipe to me, never saw anything like it - I'll give it a go! Great post, thanks so much.

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  8. Kelly - yes, the essential oils add a little anti-microbial action but are mostly there for smell. The coconut oil has a pleasant coconutty smell so the oil and baking soda alone will have that nice smell. You can use whatever essential oils/natural perfumes you want, or none at all :)
    Motherhen - I would be interested in hearing what the rational behind the "no deodorant" rule is during treatment. It could be because they don't want an anti-persperant to change how the skin and sweat glands work there, it may be because they don't want the extra chemicals in those sensitive areas, or it may be some completely other reason. I suspect that the coconut oil/baking soda would not cause most of the problems they experience with commercial deodorant, so it is 100% worth asking. Talk with your doctor/nurse, do some research, and ask them lots of questions about why :) This is an all natural product and should be safe.

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  9. I use coconut oil mixed with baking soda to form a very thick paste when the oil is warm enough to be liquid. I pack it into a small jar. I found that during the summer, it stayed a paste and I wet the tip of my finger and rub it on. It works whether I've shaved or not. I too found that it worked a day after I put it on....I was still protected.

    -Judy

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  10. your post was halarious! I rarely use deodorant so I know what you mean about having a bit of stank from time to time!! People would be shocked to hear that we only bathe like once or twice a week. really. Life is too busy to be sitting in the tub! Loved your recipe!

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  11. Wow! Loved everything you had to say! Marketing is a hot topic with me. One day I picked up a bottle of Suave (the Matrix copy) at the store and was SO enraged by the paragraph on the back of the bottle. That was the last straw, I went no poo and haven't looked back. That was almost a year and a half ago. I love it.

    Question for you, do you notice any oil staining on your clothes or does it pretty much just soak into your skin? I have to say that I like the crystal, but I do get some irritation. I am going to have to try this coconut oil thing.

    Thanks!
    Shannon

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  12. Allthingshealth - I don't shave my armpits so have very little problem with irritation or oiliness. There's just lots of surface area there for the oil to soak into. Again, I am only using a pea sized amount so my skin doesn't get particularly greasy.

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  13. Thanks! I love this idea. I have a gallon of coconut oil so it would be great to be able to use it this way. Any ideas for making your own body soap?

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  14. Angela - nope, never made soap. I know people do it, though.. google it! :)

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  15. I'm a new convert to this kind of deodorant- yay! Nice to find lots of info on it in blogs.

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  16. Alyss,

    I am blown away!!! I tried this the last two days and it rocks!!!! I even did a lot of hard work yesterday. Absolutely not even a hint of smell. There was sometimes a hint with the crystal rock, I just thought there was nothing I could do about that.

    I actually just used plain coconut oil, no baking soda.

    Thanks so much!

    Shannon

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  17. this is great, just what i was looking for. made it today, looks and smells great.

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  18. hi alyss! would you mind explaining the process of washing your hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar? this post has been very helpful, i've been wanting to use my coconut oil for deodorant, but haven't taken the time to figure it out...thank you.

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    1. very basically, baking soda (suspended in water) for scrubbing the scalp, rinse well, then cider vinegar (diluted with water) rinse. many variations exist...personally, i like teatree oil (just a drop!) in the wash and lavender essence or rose water (arabic food store) in the rinse. the vinegar smell fades and just leaves a clean smell, and smooth and shiny. great for ALL types of hair. (mine is long, thick, and wavy and tends to be dry, my husband's is long, fine and tends to be oily) if you have thick/curly/wavy hair that tends to be dry, try just a tiny bit of coconut oil run through while air drying.
      a note about no-poo: do not be discouraged if your hair feels sticky the first time you try this. it takes a few washes to strip all that waxy nastiness, but it is QUITE worth it. we will never go back!

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  19. Hi Alyss,

    You have saved me from stankdom! Since I stopped using deodorant 2+ years ago, I've always had to keep cleaning my armpits throughout the day or else, peeeauuuw! And a lot of the time even that didn't help. Anyhow, your post got me intrigued enough to make my own batch and WOW... No smell... at all!! Thank you, thank you, THANKS so much for sharing truly useful info. Now I can wear any top without worrying about stinking it up -especially important for special occasions like weddings, etc.,

    I've been no-poo for a few months now, but would like to hear more about your experience with it. Many thanks.

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  20. Three months later update: This stuff STILL works :) The weather is warm now and it's still keeping me from smelling rank. I have started keeping a plastic fork in the bathroom to stir the mixture with since when the temps get high the oil liquifies and the baking soda settles out.
    I made a batch of this before he moved to alaska but used part expeller pressed coconut oil to cut down on the coconutty smell. I think I used eukalytus and rosemary as the essential oils. He loves it.
    Thanks for all the comments!

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  21. Great post. I have been tossing my stockpiled "natural" deodorants as worthless (plus they involve serious plastic packaging that I'd just as soon not have to purchase over and over), and I share your disdain for the whole consumer-marketing world dedicated to making us feel we are lacking. I've already tried a similar recipe to yours but didn't have specific amounts so next time I make it I'll try your recipe, including rosewood -- that sounds yummy! Thanks, Jeanmarie

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  22. OMG, I have been looking for a natural deodorant for years, tried every one available in Whole Foods, including the crystal, and none of them work for me. So I resigned myself to stinking. Recently I was put on menopause medication and have been having hot flashes, and not wearing any deod is NOT an option anymore, so I reluctantly started putting the poison back on my pits. If this works, I will be SO psyched!!!

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  23. Hi, I have a question I hope you can help me with. I made your homemade deodorant recipe, using lemongrass instead of rosewood. I also put the tea tree essential oil in. I have been using it for 2 days now and it is red and burns under both my arm pits. I am going to keep using it in case my body just needs to get adjusted to it, but why do you think this happened? Do you think the tea tree oil is causing the burning?

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  24. I sometimes have problems with tea tree oil, maybe try mixing up just a little bit without it and using that for a week or so. If your redness clears up, you'll know it's the tea tree oil. I don't think your body should be red and burning trying to adjust to something natural.

    -Kate

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  25. I just made some, using the basic recipe, including 8 drops of a tea tree/lavender oil blend that I have. I put it in a half-pint mason jar, closed the lid, shook, and put it in the freezer, and everything seemed to stay pretty well distributed when it solidified.

    Looking forward to seeing how it works!

    Thank you for the post.

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  26. I've gotta try this. DO has also been my last chemical product hold-out. I don't have air conditioning in my home or car, and I can really get my funk on. I've tried so many natural products, but they just don't work for me. I end up nervous about stinking it up around my clients, and then sweating more.

    Has anyone tried the coconut oil baking soda solution during sports?

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  27. I never actually considered making my own deodorant. I have been pretty happy with the Thai Crystal spray on mineral salts, but even it is not without controversy on the aluminum front. I am looking forward to trying this out. Thanks for posting.

    Just a tidbit...tea tree oil is actually an anti-bacterial/anti-fungal oil, so it probably adds more to the mix than just smell...as does lavender, which an earlier comment alluded to. It also is a natural disinfectant.

    RE: Baking Soda. If you are trying to avoid aluminum, I would recommend you seek out "aluminum free" baking soda, otherwise baking soda does most often contain aluminum.

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  28. Fantastic article!!! And on time too. I have been struggling with the same problem of odor. I am already shopping for the essential oils as we speak and gonna start making the deo right away. Thank you very much!!!!
    Anna

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  29. It actually works for me! Thank you! I will recommend to all my friends!
    Anna

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  30. This deodorant is awesome! I made it three days ago and it has proved itself, even through an hour of yoga! Passed the link to this post on to my FB friends, and some have already made it as well. Thanks so much! You have made the world a better place! :)

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  31. Very late to post a comment but this deoderant is amazing! For a few years now I've been using an aluminum free tea tree deoderant which I liked alot,but it was expensive and had plastic packaging. I had this on my to make list for about a year, because I was so skeptical it'd do anything! Oh my gosh, it is AMAZING! It works better than the one I was using! I will be using this for life, and want so much to get my friends and family onto it! They think I'm such a hippie with my wooden toothbrush and homemade deoderant :)
    Kylie in NZ

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  32. P.S. I think you should definately start a series of homemade health products! One I'd really love to learn how to make is toothpaste :)
    Kylie in NZ

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  33. I noticed that when I stopped eating garbage food alltoghether the bulk of the stink went away. A concept that continues to reinforce itself with me- that everything is connected and that garbage in, garbage out. I like the Jasons brand but have been thinking about changing to coconut oil-- I'll never spend money on moisturizer again since using coconut oil on my drier skin and chapped lips.. once this is gone, I"m not going back.

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  34. I love your post. I, too, have been using this recipe for the armpits. It took about a two week transition before I felt it was really working. I surely wouldn't go back to that pricey toxic waste in a stick.

    I misread the title of your column and thought it said "Coconut Oil Killed my SINK". I thought maybe you had poured it down the drain by mistake and it clogged the pipes. I'm glad to find out there were no problems like that. I did get my mom to use Coconut Oil when she had shingles (the sores were along her lower back and around the waist) and the oil did take the finish off her toilet seat.

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  35. Do you buy the baking soda aluminum free? I know aluminum is the main ingredient in store bought deodorants. Aluminum absorbed into the body has several harmful affects to the nervous system. Just wondering. Thanks! :)

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  36. absolutely the best way to control underarm smell, whether you shave them or not. i actually get compliments on it! my concoction has a smidge of clove essential oil, also. the raw coconut oil and baking soda are the key, though. works lovely for myself and my husband.

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  37. I know this is an old post but if it's still monitored I'm wondering if you have an old deodorant package (from pre-enlightened days) could you wash that out and put the semi-solid mixture in there and let it harden then just glide on like a normal deodorant?

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