Making my own cosmetics, skin and haircare products is something I dip in and out of… I’m not dedicated (or scared) enough to go full eco-warrior and ditch shop-bought products entirely, but I’ll give it a go ever so often.

It’s not so much for the money; it’s more for the idea that it’s better for me. I may be right or wrong, but one thing I know to be a fact:

I first made this in 2014 thanks to a recipe from Crunchy Betty – I made another batch yesterday to show my mum how to do it, so I’ve got some very blurry pictures to share (sorry). I’ve jiggled the recipe around a few times so I tried to measure out weights in grams for UK readers… be prepared to change things to suit you if you want to try it yourself. Read on to the end to find out why I changed the recipe to suit myself.

Lord Balders will be embarrassed to hear me say this, but we used to be able to tell when he was doing a weightlifting workout by the whiff of sweat… even from another room!

I begged him to try my homemade deodorant, and he said no.  And no. And no again… until he said yes one day, and after his first pong-free workout, he’s never looked back. Now, he won’t touch a store-bought deodorant unless I’ve been too lazy to make more.

It’s the same recipe that’s bouncing around the internet, but here’s my version anyway. All the ingredients came from Tesco and Asda, and it’s very cheap (I bought the cheap coconut oil which was on sale as well).

I used:

100g Bicarbonate of Soda

150g Arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

100g Coconut Oil

 I used to heat the coconut oil first, but this time I was being lazy and dropped it all in together, and then heated gently. I did this on the hob/stovetop – I tried the microwave the first time and the crackling noise that followed freaked me out!

I planned to reuse the baking soda and arrowroot containers for holding the deodorant, and because of the runny consistency I always got when I made this before, I put the empty containers in the freezer to chill – they stood up to the coconut oil better if they were cold and stopped leaks. However, this time, I didn’t end up with a runny mixture – go figure!

(Update: I found that this mixture, although effective, was too dry for our liking – I’ll be using slightly less arrowroot next time.)

I’d used the circle of cardboard at the bottom of the tubes to push up the deodorant sticks the last time I made them, but this time, it seems that Asda had changed their packaging. The bottoms were glued on, so I came up with a better idea – reusing the lids to push the deodorant up.

I had to cut the little plastic rim off of the lid to make it fit snugly inside of the tube, and I pushed it halfway up since I wasn’t making a huge batch, and I needed it to make 3 sticks. This bit is probably against all health and safety guidelines – I didn’t cut myself, but I should still say, don’t try this at home, kids.

When the mixture was thoroughly combined I spooned it into the tubes and put them into the freezer to set. I told Mum she’d probably have to keep it in the fridge once she got back to the States and made hers, but up here in Lancashire, I’ve sadly never had an issue with melting, even in our ‘summer’. Sigh.

Last bit – I wrapped the Asda tubes with leftover wrapping paper and StarWars wallpaper. Confession time – I’ve only done that last bit because I was planning to put them on the blog! I usually couldn’t be bothered with prettying it up that much, and the paper will get oil stains, but I’m glad I did it now.

 Also, it’s worth saying that if you want to try this for the first time, some people have a bad reaction to baking soda. Actually, I had it as well! I had dark brown, itchy patches appear on my underarms one day, and I flipped. However, I fixed it by applying some diluted apple cider vinegar to my underarms and skipping the deodorant for a few days. It cleared up for me and I went back to using the homemade deodorant, but with a lower ratio of baking soda to arrowroot/cornstarch and coconut oil. It’s not come back since and Lord Balders has never had a problem, but be aware of the effect that baking soda can have on skin.

If you do decide to try making your own deodorant, let me know how you get on; if you have a better, swankier recipe, share it!