How Make Your Own Deodorant Powder

September 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Here’s the last of my make your own natural deodorant recipe series. This one is for a deodorant powder.

Natural Deodorant Powder
½ cup of Base powder
1-2 tablespoons of clay or ground dried herbs (or a combination of the two)
1 teaspoon of other powders (i.e. Goldenseal, Myrrh, Sandalwood)
12 to 15 drops of EO (your preferred combo –should be compatible with whatever dried herb you use, if any)

Supplies: Cardboard or plastic bottle with sifter top, glass measuring cup, medium glass or stainless steel mixing bowl, glass eye dropper, a canning funnel (stainless steel is preferred), a coffee grinder, and a whisk for mixing.

Ingredients: Your powder base can be made from Baking Soda, Cornstarch, Arrowroot Powder or some combination of these. Follow directions for the liquid recipes regarding essential oils to use. If you want to work with clay powders your best bet is White Kaolin clay or Bentonite clay (which is usually grey) but you can experiment with other clays as well (Rhassoul or French Green)

Directions: Measure and pour all powders into a mixing bowl. Use a dropper to add essential oils and scatter them around the bowl then quickly whisk the mixture to distribute as evenly as possible. Use the canning funnel to transfer to your container. Shake before each use and apply as you would a regular deodorant powder.

Once again, if you’re not sure where to find the appropriate ingredients or supplies I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs.

If you try this recipe and it works for you please let me know and share what you did so other can learn from you. Or if you have one of your own that you really like, please share it with us here. Thanks!

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How Make Your Own Natural Roll On Deodorant

September 11, 2010 by 1 Comment

In my last post I gave you a recipe for creating your own natural deodorant spray. Since not everyone likes to use a spray, today I’m offering up my recipe for a natural roll-on deodorant.

Natural Deodorant Roll-on
65% Liquid Base (Purified Water, Hydrosols, Aloe Vera Juice, Aqueous Infusions of Herbs or Teas)
20% Witch Hazel Extracts, Herbal Tinctures, or Cider Vinegar (or a combination)
10% Vegetable Glycerine
5% amount of essential oils

rollon deodorantSupplies: Glass bottle with sprayer top, glass measuring cup or graduated cylinder with minimum increments of 5ML, glass eye dropper, a funnel (stainless steel is preferred), and a stirring rod (preferably glass but a chopstick will work too)

Ingredients: See my previous post regarding ingredients for the liquid base as well as suggested EOs. Other ingredients can include things like Goldenseal tincture and in the case of a roll-on you want to add some Vegetable Glycerin as well to help thicken the mixture and emulsify the oils. If you’re so inclined, you can try a pinch of xanthan gum powder to thicken the mixture and make it more gel-like but you’ll need a high speed stick blender and should blend the xanthan gum in the glycerin first then with the remaining liquids.

Directions: Measure and pour ingredients into measuring cup (use dropper for measuring essential oils). Stir gently using a stirring rod, pour into bottle and screw on top. Activate the roller. Gently shake the bottle before each use. Apply under each arm as you would with a regular roll-on deodorant. Note: You may have to experiment with the amount of glycerin in this recipe to get it to a consistency you like. Glycerin is thick and a little sticky so too much will make the finished product too sticky or gooey so go easy n that one (remember the recipe is a guideline).

If you’re not sure where to find the appropriate ingredients or supplies I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs. Roll-ons are a little trickier to make than sprays. You may need to experiment and adjust the amount of glycerin to get the consistency where you want it. If spray or roll-on deodorants aren’t your preference, check back in a couple of days. I’ll have a recipe for you for a deodorant powder.

If you try this recipe and it works for you please let me know and share what you did so others can learn from you. Or if you have one of your own that you really like, please share that with us here. Thanks and enjoy!

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How to Make Your Own Natural Deodorant Spray

September 8, 2010 by 3 Comments

spray canHere are some recipes you can try out if you want to make your own natural deodorant. I tried to make them as generic as possible with suggestions on different ingredients you could mix, match or substitute in a particular category (i.e. powder base, liquid base, etc.). I’ve also used percentages for the liquid products so you can easily calculate how to make them in different sizes, though I recommend you start with small amounts (i.e. 2 oz of finished product) until you find the combination you like best then scale it up.

Natural Deodorant Spray
75% Liquid Base (Purified Water, Hydrosols, Aloe Vera Juice, Aqueous Infusions of Herbs or Teas)
20% Witch Hazel Extracts, Herbal Tinctures, Alcohol or Cider Vinegar (or a combination)
5% Essential Oils

Supplies: Glass bottle with sprayer top, glass measuring cup or graduated cylinder with minimum increments of 5ML, glass eye dropper, a funnel (stainless steel is preferred) and a stirring rod (preferably glass but a chopstick will work too)

Ingredients: Your liquid base can be made from Witch Hazel Extract, Apple Cider Vinegar, Hydrosol, Pure Grain Alcohol, Aloe Vera Juice, Sage, Chamomile, Green, White or Black Tea or any combination of these ingredients. Choose any combination of essential oils that please you but be sure to include at least one of the following to ensure efficacy: Tea Tree or Manuka, Cypress or Pine, Sage, Lemongrass or Petitgrain. One of these should be the primary EO and then you can add others that complement the one you choose like Lavender, Lemon, Rosemary, Grapefruit, Lime, Geranium, etc.

Directions: Measure and pour ingredients into measuring cup (use dropper for measuring essential oils and remember that 20 drops is approximately equal to 1 ML). Stir gently using a stirring rod, pour into bottle and screw on spray top. Activate sprayer. Gently shake the bottle before each use. Spritz 2-3 times under each arm.

Adjustments: To adjust quantities start with a 2 oz batch (60ML). Using the percentages provided above that would come out to 45 ML of Liquid Base (i.e. 75% of 60 ML), 12 ML of Other Liquid Ingredients, and 3 ML of Essential Oil (or combination of oils). If you prefer less scent then lower the amount of essential oils from 5% to 2 or 3% and increase the liquid base accordingly, but keep in mind, the essential oils play an important part in eliminating bacteria so staying in the 4-6% range will yield the best results. When you find the combination you like best then you can double or quadruple the amounts o get a 4 oz or 8 oz batch, and so on.

Do not use more than 6% of essential oils and always do a patch test to rule out any possible allergies before using an ingredient.

If you’re not sure where to find the appropriate ingredients or supplies I highly recommend Mountain Rose Herbs. If spray deodorants aren’t your preference, check back in a couple of days. I’ll have a recipe for you for a roll-on deodorant.

Experiment and have fun with the process. If you try this recipe and it works for you please let me know and share what you did so others can learn from you. Or if you have one of your own that you really like, please share it with us here. Thanks!

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Safer, Natural Alternatives to Help You Stay Fresh and Dry

September 1, 2010 by 1 Comment

Knowing that the primary action of a deodorant is to either kill the bacteria in your armpits or turn the armpits into a hostile environment for bacteria, you can focus your efforts on finding or making a natural deodorant with ingredients that will do the job without posing the risk of harm.

The good news is there are plant-based and natural ingredients that can produce both deodorizing and (to a limited extent) antiperspirant effects. Some of these include:

  • Tea Tree or Manuka essential oil (antibacterial)
  • Sage essential oil, sage tea or other form of sage extract
    (astringent –helps inhibit sweat production)
  • Cypress, Lemongrass, Petitgrain and Pine Essential Oils (assist in regulating over-production and over-stimulation of sweat glands
  • Witch Hazel extract (astringent and antibacterial)
  • Goldenseal extract, tincture, or powder (astringent and antibacterial)
  • Myrrh or Benzoin powder (antibacterial)
  • Baking Soda (adsorbent and antibacterial)
  • Cornstarch (adsorbent)
  • Arrowroot powder (adsorbent)
  • Kaolin or Bentonite Clay powder (adsorbent)
  • Apple Cider Vinegar (antibacterial -lowers pH of the skin)

Other ingredients that are safe to use as fillers or binders include aloe vera and vegetable glycerin (for roll-ons), coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax (for solids), and additional essential oils for fragrance. If you’re making your own deodorant powder you can grind fragrant herbs like lavender buds, lemon verbena, or rose petals in a coffee grinder and mix them in with your other powders. Stay away from any form of Talc or Talcum Powder as this can be toxic to your lungs when inhaled. In fact, a 1972 FDA study showed that 39 out of 40 talc samples tested contained up to 1% asbestos! Talcum powder and talc fibers have been linked to ovarian cancer and respiratory illnesses.

Last but not least are natural deodorants made from potassium alum or ammonium alum. Not to be confused with metal aluminum this alum is a compound found in alum salts and used to make solid crystal deodorants -a popular natural alternative. Crystal deodorants leave a layer of natural crystal salts on the surface of the skin producing a hostile environment for bacteria, and have been used as a deodorant throughout history in Thailand, the Far East, Mexico and several other countries.

Using mass-market antiperspirants and deodorants may seem like a simple and innocuous thing to do to assuage your fears about the way you smell. But knowing the facts will help you identify the safest and most effective options to meet your needs. Now you have some more information that can help you make wiser choices. Do you use a “natural” deodorant? If so, which is your favorite and why?

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Staying Fresh & Dry: The Difference Between Antiperspirants & Deodorants

August 25, 2010 by 1 Comment

stick of deodorantThe basic difference between antiperspirants and deodorants is that the former keep you from sweating, while the latter cut down on what makes you stink when you sweat. Understanding the difference between the two, and the pros and cons of each is the key to identifying the safest and most effective options out there.

Deodorants target the bacteria that hang around your armpits by making the skin there too salty or acidic (low pH) for bacteria to live in. No bacteria, means no smell. Most deodorants use alcohol to accomplish this and many use synthetic fragrances (which have their own inherent safety issues) to mask whatever smell is not fully eliminated by the other active ingredients.

Antiperspirants do the job using the exact opposite principle: they actually keep you from sweating by plugging the ducts that carry sweat from the glands to the skin’s surface. Without any sweat, the bacteria in your underarms don’t have anything to feast upon. Most antiperspirants have some of the same ingredients found in deodorants that kill bacteria as a failsafe. Their main function, however, is to keep you from perspiring, and alas, this only works for a short time before you have to re-apply it.

Antiperspirants are designed to decrease the production of eccrine sweat, which, ironically, has no odor and therefore no substances for bacteria to thrive on. And neither antiperspirants nor deodorants can decrease apocrine sweat, which is the type of sweat that is responsible for creating odors when the fats and proteins in it interact with the bacteria in your armpits. This begs the question of which product is better or necessary? While both types of products can be seen as interfering with our body’s naturally occurring processes, antiperspirants are clearly more disruptive as they are intended to stop you from sweating altogether and sweating is necessary for regulating body temperature. If body odor is your main concern (as opposed to staying dry), then deodorants are a more appropriate choice. Some people have a problem of excessive sweating which may push them in the direction of using an antiperspirant but if you’ve got this type of problem then you may need to consult a health care practitioner because using an antiperspirant may not be enough to tackle the problem.

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Survival Instinct: Sweating Does a Body Good

August 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I’m a big picture type of person. I like to start with a wider or broader view of something to establish a greater context within which to look at a more specific subject. In the case of using antiperspirants or deodorants and our obsession with body odor, I think it helps to first understand why and how we sweat before tackling the bigger decision of which type of product to use or if you should use any product at all.

Sweating is your body’s natural way of cooling itself off –whether that extra heat comes from hardworking muscles (the result of exercise or over-exertion), from over stimulated nerves (being nervous), or from the burning of food via the body’s metabolic processes. When sweat evaporates from the surface of your skin, it removes excess heat and cools you. So even though sweating can sometimes be embarrassing, it’s a natural bodily function that regulates and maintains the body’s normal temperature, which is crucial to our survival.

The average person has 2.6 million sweat glands in their skin. There are two different types of sweat glands in our underarms, apocrine and eccrine. The eccrine glands are by far the most numerous and produce most of the sweat in our underarms, as well as other areas, including the forehead, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet.

For the most part, human perspiration has no smell until fermented by bacteria, which thrive in hot, humid and acid pH environments like your armpits. The apocrine glands are responsible for making you stink. That’s because the sweat they produce contains fats and proteins from within your body that are carried to the exterior surface of your skin where they react with bacteria that live under your arms –creating odors. The fats and proteins in this sweat make it a little thicker and milkier than eccrine sweat and sometimes yellowish in color. This is what typically causes those yellow stains in the armpit area of your shirts.

Ironically, the under arm hair that most women tend to remove, either by waxing or shaving, can actually help minimize odors because it wicks moisture away from the skin and helps keep the skin dry enough to prevent or diminish bacterial colonization in the first place. This hair is less susceptible to bacterial growth and so it’s ideal for preventing bacterial odor. While antiperspirants and deodorants aim to achieve the same objective: eliminating the source of odor-causing sweat, they work in fundamentally different ways and I’ll talk about that a little more in my next post.

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