My three-step deodorant (how-to-make):

This was pretty much trial and error when I began my mission to quit putting unnecessary chemicals into my body over three years ago. I researched, scoured, and tried many ‘all-natural’ health food store deodorants with less than impressive results. And it was only after the fact when I would arrive home and read all the ingredients of said deodorants.

How much money did I end up wasting? About $30 per month!!! For that price I could have very easily made my own deodorant and still have money left over.

So, I kicked all those mineral salt deodorants and Tom’s of Maine to the curb. I pitched out all cheap store-bought deodorant brands too, especially the kind that contain aluminum, which by the way, from what I’ve read extensively about, the body doesn’t NEED aluminum. Aluminum could be a cause of bone disorders, kidney problems, Alzheimer’s, breast cancer. Therefore, to eliminate these risks I looked through all of my daily beauty products. I was quite shocked to find Ivory soap “the soap that floats” does contain that sneaky beauty industry word, “fragrance”. This means Ivory isn’t 100 pure. Also, whether or not it really does as advertised to kill 99.9 % of germs leaves a lot to the imagination. If it’s a bar of Ivory it will collect bacteria like a Petrie dish.

Throughout the summer of 2015 I experimented using nothing more than a lemon slice daily. And believe me if you have sensitive skin this will burn like a three alarm fire! Lemon slices were out as far as home made deodorant alternatives were concerned in my case. I looked into using just baking soda, but found I had to re-apply it quite often and it sweated off in less than five minutes. Also, some generic and well-known brands of baking soda can contain aluminum which could account for me breaking out into rashes and having it make my teeth hurt when I used to brush with it in place of store-bought toothpaste.

Well, gosh darn it! So I did further research and came across some home made deodorants using Arrowroot Powder, but the stuff’s expensive. For the meantime, I just wanted a ‘go-to’ home made deodorant. While I was reading up on the benefits of raw organic coconut oil (like oiling pulling where you swoosh a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth the very first thing 20 minutes upon getting up and on an empty stomach). Not only is this anceint techinque suppose to help draw out toxins, it’s also supposed to help your oral health and whiten teeth as well. I also read about coconut oil’s deodorant properties too. I then discovered there’s many more uses for hydrogen peroxide other than just using it to treat cuts and scrapes. Hydrogen peroxide also has deodorant qualities. I tried this and almost got it to where it worked for me, but it wouldn’t stick. Hmmm…

For the final test version I dusted off with Rumford aluminum-free baking powder. The results? Excellent!

Here’s my three step process I’d like to share with the readers. If you like, you’re more than welcome to pass this along. I don’t know how well this will work for every individual since everyone is different, but here it goes:

Wash, shave (if you need to), and pat dry your underarms. I do this exclusively as part of my morning routine. I haven’t even begun to master tweezing and don’t ever foresee myself getting the hang of that. Shaving is still very quick for me and less of a hassle.

After your underarms are dry, smear some raw organic coconut oil on your fingers and apply this to the underarms making sure to get a generous amount rubbed into the skin.

Next, soak a piece of toilet paper with Hydrogen peroxide and dab this to the under arm area. Since I haven’t found an easier solution to apply hydrogen peroxide without a piece of toilet paper, this will have to do for now. I’ve tried using cotton balls to no avail and even tried using a facial scrubbing pad with messy results since the hydrogen peroxide doesn’t absorb into either material. It just dribbles all over the place.

And last, using a big makeup brush (or powder/ blush brush), dip it into the Rumford’s aluminum-free baking powder and dust it under the arms. Depending on whether or not you’ve shaved recently this might make sensitive skin hurt and/ or turn red. The redness goes away as long as there’s no razor burn or scrapes. And the sensitivity might lessen. Don’t apply this to broken or irritated skin, nor rub in the coconut oil with sharp fingernails. Believe me, this hurts really bad!

Things you’ll need:

Two makeup blush/ powder brushes. Since I use just one for now I often have to wash it out every other day to prevent bacteria buildup. Having two would come in handy while one is drying.

Hydrogen Peroxide (any brand) although I’ve heard there’s a lot of difference between brands.

Rumford brand aluminum-free baking powder (this can be found in most health food sections of a grocery store and/ or health food vitamin store). The container comes in a red can with a tan-color plastic lid. This baking powder sells between $2-3 dollars depending on location.

Raw Organic Coconut oil. I personally haven’t noticed a difference between cold pressed virgin coconut oil or any other less expensive store bought brand. I use whatever coconut oil I have on hand. I used to buy coconut oil by a brand called Spectrum, however, my store quit carrying it. It was also great for baking too.

And there you have it. I hope this is helpful for everybody. I also did this as to get away from the name brand/ store bought deodorants that have been known to be linked to certain types of cancers. And especially for women since some commercial deodorants have been linked to lumps in the breast tissue and lymph glands under the arms as well. By cutting out the use of deodorants exclusively, it’s my belief that my body is thanking for doing it.

And one other thing before I close: what you eat and put into your body has a lot to do with how your body sweats out the toxins and the odors that it’ll release. For example, if you eat a diet rich in red sweet onions, white onions, garlic, then you’re body will secrete these causing body odor that’s very unpleasant. However, I’ve heard from others who are on raw veggies/ fruit diets say that the body odor is almost eliminated and it all boils down to one’s own chemistry, sweat glands, etc. As always, thanks for liking, re-blogging, sharing, commenting, tweeting. I sincerely appreciate it. 🙂

Naturally ‘deceptive’ and Thai Aluminum—err “mineral” salts: What’s really in deodorants:

It came as no surprise when I read about all these organic, healthy, natural deodorants sharing suspicious possibly even toxic ingredients with their commercial counterparts. Ever since 2004, when I first became wise to the nasty toxins and other hidden toxins disguised in most deodorants that have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and certain kinds of cancers, especially breast cancer in women, I began to take a very serious look at what I had up to that point been using daily for many, many years.

I tried everything as an alternative deodorant from a fresh sliced lemon which caused me a three alarm fire to using just plain baking soda which caused me to have very sore underarms. However, neither of these do-it-yourself, ‘save money’ home remedies for deodorants worked for me.

Sure, they can be inexpensive and that was it. The baking soda dusted on with a powder puff applicator worked okay, but only at first for fifteen minutes. However, I found I constantly needed to re-apply it because it sweated off rather fast and didn’t last. Plus it caused my underarms to become increasingly painful and made them feel raw. Therefore, I had to go straight back to the store bought deodorants and continue to subject myself to more toxins for several more years.

I checked into Tom’s of Maine, Thai mineral salt [aluminum] deodorant, and any other supposedly ‘healthy’ deodorants only to find out none of them are even remotely healthy in the least. For myself I discovered that whatever other ingredients were in these made me burn for an hour after application and one caused a serious nasty looking rash as well. Most of these healthy deodorants contain two cleverly disguised beauty words passing themselves off as an organic and/ or safe and it is propylene glycerol and ‘mineral salts’.

What is propylene glycerol exactly? It is an organic compound with the chemical formula C3, H8 O2. It’s a colorless and odorless liquid that has a faint sweet taste to it.

Sounds like its kissing cousins with automotive antifreeze and that’s what it is. Propylene glycerol is in inexpensive Imitation Vanilla Extract, dog food, regular food and most deodorants even in the ‘natural’ varieties as well. Natural paths will claim to avoid this ingredient or at least to find alternatives to make your own deodorant at home using Arrow Root powder, Shea butter, organic bee’s wax pellets, scented essential oils (make sure you look for the kind that can be applied safely to the skin), baking soda, and here again, they strongly advise NOT to use just any inexpensive baking soda. Some baking soda has been known to contain aluminum even though its not listed on any of the cheap boxes I have in my cupboards. One baking soda company that claims not to have aluminum in it is Bob’s Red Mill baking soda. Personally, I haven’t had the chance to try this out, but do plan to eventually. Since I absolutely dread driving to get to my vitamin store again I will likely order these ingredients online.

The bad draw back of the only vitamin store in my town is that it also shares parking lot space to an extremely busy snow cone drive-thru (yep, snow cones are a hot commodity nowadays). And people pulling in behind you will blame everything on you that you’re the sole reason your blocking a place of business when there’s also an insane long line of cars waiting to go through the drive-thru and there’s no margin of space to pull into the vitamin shop (bad city design layout). Well, whoever thought up the brilliant idea to open a snow cone/ shaved ice drive-thru smack dab in the middle of a busy two-lane street is likely laughing all the way to the bank without a care how their business impedes the folks that need to go to the only vitamin store. It’s beyond frustrating, especially in the summer.

I also dread the inflated prices of my vitamin store too which is why I seldom, if ever stepped foot inside there until at the beginning of the month when I thought I was going to be a little healthier for wasting $8 on a stick of Thai mineral salt deodorant which actually contains heaping portions of aluminum. Our bodies don’t need aluminum or ‘alum’ for short, or even potassium salt which is the same thing. So folks, please, if you don’t do your homework, then I will do it for you. 🙂

I was at my wits end a couple of nights ago. I noticed rashes forming after using the “natural” deodorant “Naturally deceptive” err… I mean, Naturally Fresh. Not only does this contain aluminum, it also contains Xanthan gum. What’s this new ingredient? I think to myself after buying a pack of peppermint chewing gum containing this Xanthan. I was told at the health food store in Colorado where I previously lived that it was a natural sugar…. eh, what lies people will tell. Xanthan derives it’s name from a strain of bacteria Xanthomonas campestris and it was discovered in the 1960s and used in cosmetics to prevent separation and added as a thickener in foods and salad dressings… eeeww, gross. I am so kicking Hidden Valley Ranch to the curb.

And since I’ve quit consuming sugar (as much as humanly possible), I no longer chew gum anyway. And I certainly will look for alternatives for making my own cosmetics and toiletries. I’ve already downsized my perfumes and store bought lotions because they contain “fragrance” and ‘perfume’, in the beauty industry this allows companies to put any nasty chemical in their product and they don’t have to list it.

Now some toiletries I will admit do smell nice, but are the potential health risks worth it in the long run? I can do without, thanks very much. I will see how much I can save by teaching myself how to make some of them at home using natural food-based ingredients. And here’s the versatile use I found for Organic Coconut oil:

1.) I tested it as a deodorant going on three days now in extreme heat. It works. Not only is coconut oil great for baking and cooking, it has anti-bacterial properties that can help eliminate odor when mixed with a little corn starch and/ or aluminum free baking soda.

2.) Organic Coconut oil makes an okay toothpaste. The downside is I’m mixing this with inexpensive baking soda that may contain aluminum so I’ll have to omit this from my toothpaste and switch to using salt and coconut oil instead in a pinch.

3.) Organic Coconut oil is used for home made lip balm. Since I don’t have the ingredients or even the essential oils to try this out as of yet, I can’t vouch for how well it works. I would imagine better than store bought chap sticks that can dry out your lips. Also, steer clear of that chemical “camphor”. Not only was camphor a main ingredient used in the production of celluloid items, but it was also a known chemical used in the production of Edison 4 minute blue Amberol cylinder records way back when.

Organic Coconut oil might be my newest friend and life saver, literally! Since using it in combination with some soothing vitamin E oil which can be found in Dollar General for $2 or even at Family Dollar, but be warned, some vitamin E oil can contain soybean and olive oils to keep cost down. So far I haven’t ran across any that contain the synthetic “DL” in the vitamin E oils, but I’m sure that’s coming. For now, I’ve had no problems using vitamin E oil and use it to soften my skin after I shave my legs. And it does sooth sore underarms and razor burn too. A little bit goes a long way.

Also, I haven’t noticed any of these aforementioned oils ruining my whites. I wear a lot of light-colored shirts in the summer to deflect heat as much as possible. And when I bake in that oven of a vehicle, the organic coconut oil and vitamin E oil are put to the ultimate test of endurance and I rate them an 11 +++ on a scale of 1-10 (10 and beyond being the best, 1 being the worst).

So there you have it, also stay tuned for another hair beauty blog that has amazing benefits that will strengthen and keep your natural hair color. As always, thanks for reading, re-blogging, sharing, liking, tweeting, etc. I always appreciate it and your comments as well. 🙂