How to Avoid Heavy Metals in Deodorant!

April 1, 2012 /

Have you ever read the ingredient label on your deodorant? If not, I highly recommend it.  Most commercial deodorants are full of aluminum, a heavy metal that has been linked to Alzhiemers.   Aluminum is a mainstay in deodorants because, as Dr. Mercola explains, aluminum works in deodorants by clogging our pores, thus trapping toxins and sweat inside our bodies!  These toxins then build up and are trapped in our lymph nodes. This buildup can lead to cell mutations and cancer.

That seems like a heavy price to pay just to smell good. 

Thankfully, you can say goodbye to aluminum AND still smell good.

There are more natural deodorants on the market that don’t contain aluminum, but they still have propylene glycol as a main ingredient.   The Material Data Sheet (for cleaning up chemical spills) says that propylene glycol can cause eczema, dermatitis, and allergic reactions as well as kidney and liver problems. It also causes problems with healthy cell growth.

What to do, what to do?

Make your own!   Seriously.  It takes less than 5 minutes to make enough deodorant to last several months.  Plus, this deodorant is actually GOOD for you!

Here’s the recipe:

Coconut Oil Deodorant

Deodorant container (I bought commercial deodorants from the store (with coupons!), and just emptied them out.)
5 TB coconut oil (Vitacost (follow the link for a $10 coupon!) or Tropical Traditions are both great sources)
2/3c baking soda
2/3c cornstarch or arrowroot powder
Essential oil as desired

Melt the coconut oil on the stove if it’s hard (it is liquidy around room temperature).

Mix together the coconut oil, baking soda, and cornstarch/arrowroot.  Add essential oils as desired.

Spoon into deodorant containers.

Refrigerate to harden.  Done!

Have you tried making your own deodorant?  How did it work for you?

6 Comments

    • Sarah

      April 2, 2012 at 10:17 am

      Hi Victoria! Thanks for the comment and link to your blog! I always enjoy finding new blogs. 🙂 I’ve been really happy with the deodorant and so has my husband. We’ve been using it about 4 months now. We do keep it in the refrigerator when it gets warm – or it would be a BIG mess! (We live in Texas!) Sometimes I do re-apply it towards the end of the day but that’s definitely the exception. It’s not perfect (ie, keeping it in the fridge) but I much prefer it to the commercial varieties and it works better for us than even the Crystal roll-on.

      • Victoria @ Green Idea Reviews

        April 3, 2012 at 8:47 am

        I’m so glad it worked for you, and so sad it doesn’t work for me. After speaking with a lot of women about using home made deoderant, I’ve found that results have a lot to do with body chemistry. I guess some of us are just stinkier than others! 🙂
        I’ve been using the crystal stick for the last few months and I LOVE IT!

  • Jill

    April 2, 2012 at 10:30 am

    Homemade deodorants made with baking soda absolutely work better than ANY deodorant you can buy at the store, whether it is a chemical based deodorant or a natural deodorant (most natural deodorants don’t seem to work at all). They won’t prevent sweating (which is good because we are supposed to sweat), but they are stellar at preventing odor. I have made this basic recipe, but have found that it works better if I put it in a jar and apply it with my fingers because during the warmer months coconut oil is liquid where I live. The first time I made homemade deodorant I used cocoa butter as a base and put it in an empty deodorant stick container, but found that I broke out in “armpit acne” (painful bumps) in about a week. I’ve since learned that cocoa butter clogs pores, but have not had this problem with coconut oil. This deodorant will seriously last 24 hours or longer, plus I love that you can scent it any way you want with essential oils. Amazing stuff.

  • Meghan @ Whole Natural Life

    April 2, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    I made deodorant very similar to this for about a year. I loved it – it was easy to make and worked so well. Then suddenly it started giving me a rash! I was really disappointed. After searching for a while, I eventually stumbled on using milk of magnesia instead. So far it’s working great! Just thought I’d share here in case anyone else is having the same issue. Wish the coconut oil deodorant still worked for me!