Coconut deodorant

For a good year now, I have been eyeballing this "recipe" for homemade deodorant. It consists of coconut oil, baking soda, and either cornstarch or arrowroot powder (these can be used interchangeably here, as well as in cooking).

Deodorant has been a hard one for me to go more natural on. I am not willing to be stinky. Mascara holds some sort of sway over me, too--I refuse to quit wearing it (I do wear a safer one on most days, but it's not waterproof, so I bust out the nasty stuff on rainy days...and uh, I live in SW Washington...)

So I've continued to wear my beloved, but most likely cancer causing, Dove deodorant (actually, that Skin Deep link was more promising than I'd thought it would be!). I tried a couple varieties of Tom's of Maine; a Jason deodorant; some other brand I forget that was neroli orange and patchouli scented; and a really cheap one I found at Fred Meyer's. I wasted a lot of money, because they all really, really sucked.

Finally, the day of the ultrasound, when I was antsy and tackling my list of things to make homemade (remember the mayo? There was dishwasher soap, as well), I made the deodorant. I chose to make it with arrowroot powder, and I used a little more of the dry ingredients.

This deodorant is amazing. It did take some adjusting to sweating again--most deodorants are antiperspirants as well, so most people don't sweat under their armpits anymore. Probably not a good thing, as part of sweating is getting rid of toxins--makes you wonder if it's not the deodorant chemicals that should be linked with breast cancer, but the fact that your body isn't able to excrete toxins it would normally be rid of, so they build up...just a thought.

I was concerned that the oil in it would cause staining in my clothes, but I've been using it for well over a month now and haven't noticed anything so far.

I haven't put this deodorant through a rigorous workout (those went out the window at about week 15 of pregnancy), but it did hold up nicely through a few yoga classes, a couple hikes, and the few 70-degree days we've had. And, I have to admit, I usually only shower every other day; this stuff holds me over without a problem. I am a fairly stinky person, too. Chris swears that he can go without deodorant with no problem; I am not so lucky.

As an added bonus, my armpits smell like coconut; reminds me of my days of tanning in college, except most likely now I am not giving myself skin cancer :)