DIY: Homemade Coconut and Tea Tree Oil Deodorant

DIY: Homemade deodorant with cocomut and Tea Tree Oil

Having read a lot about the side-effects of using antiperspirant – one of them being that antiperspirant is the single biggest cause of breast cancer, I started looking for a antiperspirant free deodorant.

I have used crystal deodorants sometimes, but find that it doesn’t work that well on me.

For the past year I have used my own homemade coconut oil deodorant and it works really well.

Here is the recipe:

3 tbsp Baking Soda
7 tbsp Cornstarch
8 – 9 tbsp Coconut Oil
10 drops Lavender Oil
5 drops Rosmary Oil
10 drops Tea Tree Oil

The essential oils are used for their antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal, and antiseptic qualities.

How to do it:

1. Mix baking soda and cornstarch in a small bowl
2. Add liquid coconut oil. Mix it
3. Add the essential oils and mix well
4. Store in a small airtight container. Full recipe fits 2 small containers.

I prefer to keep it on the container in the bathroom where I get ready in the morning. Sometimes it’s solid and sometimes it melts, but it can be applied either way.

I use my finger to scoop a little out (just enough to cover the tip of my pointer finger), then spread it out in my armpits. This is enough to last all day. I reapply if I have been outside sweating in the heat a lot.
If you find that the deodorant is a bit stingy, just add a bit more coconut oil to dilute the mix.

One important thing to remember when you switch from an antiperspirant to this homemade recipe is that you will sweat with this deodorant, but not smell. That’s a bit of a transition if you’re used to not sweating when using a store-bought antiperspirant.

Like a normal stick deodorant, it can be prone to get white marks on dark clothing. To avoid this, don’t use too much and thoroughly work mixture into the skin before putting on clothes. If white does show up on clothing, just a little water will get it off.

DIY: Homemade Toothpaste with Coconut Oil

Making your own toothpaste is very easy and saves you from having to use chemically produced toothpaste with glycerin and sodium flouride.

Glycerin gives toothpaste a nice creamy texture and coats the teeth for “protection”, but at the same time it also stops re-enamalization which essentially means that cavities can’t self-heal.

Sodium flouride is a by-product of aluminum manufacturing that can also be found in rat poisons and industrial pesticides).

Here is the recipe for making your own healthy toothpaste:

ingredients

6 tbsp coconut oil
6 tbsp baking soda
25 drops essential peppermint oil
1 tsp stevia (or more if you like it sweeter)

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Whip it really well to give it a light creamy texture.

2. Pour into a small jar and seal it up until ready to use.

I use a small stick to dip into the toothpaste and spread nicely onto the toothbrush. You can also just dip the toothbrush into the jar.

Enjoy

DIY: How to Make Washing Soda

Making washing soda is a very simple process. You basically need to bake “baking soda”.

Tools: An oven, a pan, a heat-proof utensil and the baking soda.

STEP 1:

Pour out the baking soda onto the oven-safe pan and spread it out to a thin layer. If you need a lot, use two pans.

Making washing soda
Making washing soda

It is important that the layer is thin because that way the heat can penetrate all of it more quickly and you won’t have to keep your oven on for so long.

DIY: Making washing soda

STEP 2:

Heat your oven to 200 – 230° C (400-450° F). Place the pan(s) of baking soda into your heated oven for about 1 – 1.5 hours. I stirred the baking soda around while it was in there.

DIY: Making washing soda
DIY: Making washing soda

STEP 3:

The baking soda has turned to washing soda when it gets a slightly more grainy texture, less shiny, grey colour. Baking soda is fluffy, powdery, and slightly shiny.

STEP 4:

Remove your pan of washing soda from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Then use it to make your laundry detergent or just store it in a clearly labelled container. I usually make a lot and use part of it immediately to make liquid laundry soap and part of it I store (it takes much less space as powder than liquid laundry detergent).

Good luck