Homemade deodorant

Does it really work? I certainly didn't think it would. I have always been a very sweaty person, mostly because I am a nervous sweater. This has lead me to apply lots and lots of deoderant, sometimes several times a day. Storebought, that is. As I began my zero waste journey I realised just how quickly I went through one of those deodorant sticks. They could last me maybe two weeks, tops? Something had to be done.
Googling "deodorant recipe" gave me plenty of results, for sure. But I really didn't understand how some baking soda and shea butter would help me and my armpits out. Then eventually I took the plunge and you know what? It worked. It actually worked! It looks nice, is easy enough to apply and is not sticky or anything. And I smell like jasmine, I mean come on, doesn't get any better than that.

I followed this recipe made by Beauty Munsta and it is easy and really basic; you only need four ingredients! They also list lots of reasons why you should ditch your storebought deoderant and go over to au naturel.

How I did it:

I did tweak the recipe a little bit, mostly because I had read somewhere else that the more baking soda you have in it, the more it will absorb (but again, I also read that baking soda can irritate your skin, so measure out what you think is best for yourself). The same goes for essential oils; use what scent speaks to you. But, some essential oils are not meant to be applied to the skin. Make sure to do some research before you use yours.

I had

• 6 tbs coconut oil
• 6 tbs cornstarch (maizena for norwegians)
• 2 tbs baking soda (natron for norwegians)
• about 12 drops of Jasmine essential oil

Other than that I followed the recipe and heated the coconut oil in a caserole on low heat before adding the cornstarch and baking soda. Stirring well to mix it good, I then poured it into an old container for body shop's facial mask (always remember to reuse!) and added the essential oil. Using a wooden spoon I mixed the essential oil in and let the deoderant cool down. 

You only need to scoop up a little bit on your finger per use, overapplying can result in some oil stains on your clothes or irritable skin if you're sensitive (but that goes for nearly all things). If you give it a try I hope you will find it as nice as I did! 

The great thing about this is that I already had all the ingredients in my cupoard. Previously when I browsed sites and stores looking for natural deoderants they were usually outragously priced. This recipe cost me nothing but 10 minutes of my time. The further I get into the zero waste journey, the more I realise just how conned we have been. How brainwashed we are into spending money on stuff we truly do not need. How much simpler isn't life when you don't have to stress at the end of your paycheck, when you're out of deodorant and really don't have those extra 4 bucks to spare? When you let go of all those unnecessary expenses that just ends up burdening you and stressing you out, things become at least little bit easier in every day life.