All Natural Deodorant That Works: Strong Enough For Men and Women

Let's talk body odor...

I used to teach junior high English. About twice a year, I would have a conversation with one of my classes that would begin with, "You guys stink!" I would then talk about cleanliness and deodorant. If the students were really lucky, I would then make them diagram a sentence with the subject "I", the verb phrase "will use", the direct object "deodorant", and the adverb "tomorrow". Yeah, I was an awesome teacher.

As my wife and I have moved towards trying to avoid chemicals, deodorant has been a struggle. For years I felt like my two options were either to use chemicals or to use natural deodorants that didn't really work. In fact, I felt like most natural deodorants just kept me in the habit of applying deodorant on a daily basis without actually doing anything for me.



To stink, or not to stink. That is the question...

Then, about six months ago, we came across a recipe for a homemade deodorant for sensitive skin. While neither one of us has sensitive skin, we decided to give the recipe a try. It has 5 ingredients (we eliminated one of them), two of which we had to purchase specifically for this. The ingredients are:


6 Tbs Arrowroot Powder
2 Tbs Bentonite Clay
1 Tbs Baking Soda
2 Tbs Coconut Oil
3 Tbs Shea Butter (we substituted 3 Tbs Coconut Oil for this)
10 Drops of favorite essential oil (what do you want to smell like for the day?)

The instructions for making the deodorant can be found at Homemade Mommy's website.

Based on the last several times we have made this, the mixture will be somewhere between slightly soupy to kind of hard. If it ends up on the harder side, you can add a few drops of coconut oil before applying.

In the morning, apply a lima bean size amount to each armpit. Enjoy not stinking!

Here is what I have discovered about using this natural deodorant.

1) It really works. Example: Last week I rode my bike five miles to work in the morning. I worked a rigorous 15-hour day and came home too exhausted to take a shower. I got up in the morning and went on a three mile run. After the run, I was wondering how bad I smelled. I did not detect any hint of BO. Maybe this should be a classroom project for a junior high chemistry class...

2) The yellow stains and crustiness from the armpits of my undershirts are gone. My white t-shirts are actually white again.

3) Did I mention that I don't stink? Even when I end up directing traffic after school in the baking sun, I do not stink.

4) The bentonite and arrowroot powders were each about $8 per pound on Amazon, and they will last forever. The other ingredients are things that we already have around the house. This means that we are paying less to make our own effective deodorant than we were paying for the all natural deodorants that don't really work.

Now before you rush out and make your own deodorant, please consider subscribing to Renaissance Dad by filling in your e-mail at the top. You'll then need to respond to the e-mail you're sent. This prevents me from filling in your e-mail address for you.

Thanks for reading, and happy not stinking!