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At last! An all-natural homemade deodorant recipe that actually works! This easy DIY natural deodorant is affordable and very effective using ingredients that are probably already in your pantry.
Can you melt things in a jar? Congrats, you can also make your own deodorant. It’s really that easy. Scavenge your pantry and let’s get to it.
Why Make Homemade Deodorant?
Two ingredients in many conventional deodorants are aluminum and parabens. I don’t tend to be a one to leap to scary conclusions, but if we can all make affordable and effective deodorant without potentially sketchy ingredients, why wouldn’t we?
What Ingredients Are in Homemade Deodorant?
You really only need three things (baking soda*, coconut oil, and cornstarch or arrowroot powder*), but I like to add a few other things to take it to the next level. Your pits deserve you being extra. A few optional ingredients that I like to use are beeswax, sweet almond oil, and bentonite clay. You can also add essential oils if you’d like.
Many of these same ingredients can also be used in my Lotion Bars recipe and Homemade Chapstick recipe.
*Arrowroot powder will be in the baking aisle, or if you have a grocery store with a decent bulk bin section, you can usually find it there. A $2.50 bag from our bulk bin section made 10 jars of deodorant. It is not an expensive ingredient by any means.
**If you have a reaction to the baking soda, wait until the redness has gone, and try again. If the reaction persists, you could try all arrowroot powder, or replace the baking soda with cornstarch. However, I have not found the final product to be as effective as the original recipe. Many readers have commented that they prefer using food-grade diatomaceous earth instead of baking soda.
What If I Can’t Use Coconut Oil?
Coconut sensitivity or allergy? No problem. Feel free to sub in sweet almond, avocado oil, or shea butter.
Can I Make it Vegan?
Don’t use animal products? You can replace the beeswax with candelilla wax but decrease the amount by half. You can also leave wax out completely and replace it with shea butter.
What Essential Oils Work Best?
Personally, I’m not a fan of using them because I find my skin is too sensitive for direct contact. But, if you’d like to add them, 20 drops total would be a good starting point. Lavender, tea tree or bergamot essential oils would be wonderful. I would not use lavender in deodorant meant for males as it can be an endocrine disruptor.
How to Make This Homemade Deodorant Recipe:
*You’ll find a printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- In a double boiler or a large mason jar, melt the oils and beeswax.
- Add the powdered ingredients, and stir to combine. If using essential oils, add now.
I use this double-boiler for all my DIY products that include beeswax, so there is always some residue around the sides. Oh well, most of the ingredients are the same anyhoo. - Pour into your containers of choice and allow to cool/set for a few hours.
How to Use Homemade Deodorant
- Apply a small amount with your finger to your underarms. You only need a tiny bit. If you add the bentonite clay, excessive use may cause slight staining on light-colored clothing.
- Pour some of this homemade deodorant recipe into an empty chapstick container and stash it in your purse or work bag for emergency applications.
Recipes Notes/Pro Tips
- In a pinch, you could use any melted wax if you can’t find cosmetic-grade beeswax. It’s a perfect use for odds and ends of candle stubs.
- I store this in a 4 oz mason jar because I have loads of them, but an empty deodorant tube would work too! The reusable cardboard tubes in these photos can be found here. Heck, even old baby food jars would be awesome. Each batch makes about 8 oz.
- In the summer, the consistency may be more liquidy depending on the temp inside your house. Coconut oil is solid in temperatures under 76 degrees F. You could also ramp up the beeswax by 1 tsp to make it more solid, or store in the fridge.
Life is too short to smell. Life is also too short to shell out $5 for a tube of chemicals that you are rolling under yo’ pits. Homemade deodorant is pretty much one of the easiest things you can make for yourself and is bonkers cheap.
MORE HOMEMADE DIY IDEAS
- Eco-Friendly Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner
- Homemade Laundry Soap
- How to Remove Rust From Cast Iron
- DIY Bulk Bin and Produce Shopping Bags
- Homemade Dusting Spray and Furniture Polish
- Zero Waste Food Storage Ideas
- How to Freeze Fresh Produce
- The Oil Cleansing Method
Natural Homemade Deodorant Recipe {That Works!}
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 6 tbsp baking soda
- 6 tbsp arrowroot powder
- 2 tbsp bentonite clay
- 1 tsp sweet almond oil
- 1 tsp shredded beeswax {cosmetic grade}
- 1/4 tsp almond extract {optional for scent}
- 10 drops essential oils {optional}
Instructions
- In a double boiler or a large mason jar, melt the oils and beeswax.
- Add the powdered ingredients, and stir to combine. If using essential oils, add now.
- Pour into containers of choice and allow to cool/set for a few hours.
Notes
What is the almond extract for? Scent? Which essential oils smell good with this recipe? I bought a lot of ingredients but am still shopping around for recipes. This one caught my eye because of the Bentonite Clay. Good idea, about switching out baking soda for Diatomacious Earth.
Kim, the almond extract is just for scent. It makes the deodorant smell like sugar cookies. 🙂
I think the essential oil would vary depending on your taste and if you’re making it for someone who prefers masculine or feminine scents. Sandalwood would be lovely for a masculine scent. Lavender or a mixture of bergamot and lime would be great for a clean/feminine scent. I’m also always partial to citrus – so lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, and lime.
I make my own too but in the dead of summer it’s a struggle to stay stink free. I am very sensitive to baking soda & have experimented with using diatomaceous earth as a substitute, so that’s something to consider for your sensitive pit readers like me 🙂
I do still need to reapply in summer during the hotter days, but I needed that with store-bought too. Adding the dried clay has been a game changer for me.
I’ve read about DE but don’t have enough experience with it. Did you get the food-grade kind?
Yes I use food grade DE as I use it in my tooth powder too. That stuff is awesome!
Interesting. I have a sensitivity to baking soda as well. I’d never considered DE as a substitute. 1:1 substitution?
FYI The chapstick container as an emergency applicator is a brilliant idea!
Yup I would try a 1:1 substitute of DE for this recipe
I’m curious of the purpose of the clay?
It helps remove toxins from the body (it’s a crucial ingredient in face masks) and it is good for impurities in the skin. It’s not mandatory for this recipe but I do like the consistency of my deodorant when I add it.
I was a doubter until I tried it! Honestly, I used men’s deodorant because I thought I needed that strength. I haven’t looked back since you gave me one to try. I am a converted hippie (without the underarm hair:))
I’m totally a stress sweater, and stress sweat smells even worse than normal sweat. Any chance you have a similar problem? (Too personal? Sorry lol) Just curious if it will work on my anxious pits. Thanks!
My stress sweat comes in the form of boob sweat!
Hey Emily! I’m a stress sweater too (and why does it smell so bad omg) It works! <3
I’m very allergic to coconut products. Have you tried a substitute or does anyone have a goto oil that can replace coconut oil in homemade like this? I’m on a very tight budget. Thanks.
So, the coconut oil seems to mainly be a “carrier” oil in that it helps the other stuff get spread around. It also has the added benefit of being solid at room temp. You could always try to sub in another neutral oil that you have in the house (olive, walnut, avocado), but ramp up the beeswax a bit if you want a more solid product. Without trying it myself, I can’t really say how it will turn out, but since you’d mainly be using things you already have on hand, it shouldn’t be too expensive.
Thanks. Will try one of these.
Maybe try shea butter? It’s pretty firm at room temp and is also great for skin.
I don’t like the smell of coconut oil and don’t use it. My deodorant might be a teeny bit more liquid (it’s about the consistency of tooth paste) and it works great. <3 I do use almond oil and shea butter.
If you ever find yourself with a jar of “expeller-pressed” coconut oil, it doesn’t have the scent. I’m not a huge fan of coconutty things myself!
I would be very interested to know if anyone has used charcoal to modify this recipe? I have been using Piper Wei for a few months and love it, but it is way more expensive than I want to pay.
You could try a bit of this clay in your mix (I’ve heard good things): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UFDHT06?ie=UTF8&tag=thisb02-20&camp=1789&linkCode=xm2&creativeASIN=B00UFDHT06
Interesting. I have super sensitive skin and most natural deodorants can’t touch my funk / give me fire pits / hyper-pigment my skin. I switched to applying baking soda directly (with an old make up brush) and suddenly I smell fine, no fire pits, and no more hyperpigmenting. I was just about to try to mix a batch of something more like this sometime this week because traveling with baking soda is kind of a pain in the backside. I’m curious if the baking soda really is the culprit.
I also stopped shaving daily and switched to waxing. That made things sooooo much better too!
If you don’t mind me asking how does the homemade deodorant fair with heat/sweat/smell?
I’m interested in making my own but I live in Sacramento and summers are hot :p
I wore this in Denver in the summer while pregnant, and also in LA when we were at Disney when it was 90 outside. By the end of the day, I am as sweaty as I would be with normal deodorant, but not stinky.
Thanks for this, I’m going to give this a try. I pinned this so you are going to be super duper popular. 😉
Thanks for posting this! I have always wanted to try to make my own. I have been using a salt crystal and Kuumba Made oils (Egyptian musk or water goddess) for the past 10 years but it doesn’t work 100% and natural deodorants never work!
I will def try this recipe!! 🙂