Renegades of Funk: Homemade Deodorant

I am a sweater and you better believe. I'll sweat because of anything: putting on lotion, sitting in a chair, carrying groceries, watching a tense movie, taking too hot of a shower. It really doesn't matter what season or what climate I'm in, I'm probably going to be sweating, which has led me to try about every goddamn deodorant under the sun. In the past, I was desperate to find the strongest, beefiest, sweat-annihilating deodorant known to man. It could have made me grow hair on the soles of my feet, but as long as it kept me from having any sort of moisture under my arms, I was prepared to try it. After a while of using store-bought and prescription strength antiperspirants, I noticed something. When I wore these ridiculous antiperspirants, I was sweating profusely everywhere else, and to tell you the truth, the stuff I was using wasn't doing that great of a job. I took a leap of faith, a shunned antiperspirant deodorant all together and took to using crystal deodorant, which was good for keeping me from being smelly. I like crystal deodorant, and if you want a deodorant totally free of antiperspirants, then I highly recommend it. But I needed a little more assurance, and that's when I discovered the magic formula. I found out that if you mix coconut oil, baking soda, arrowroot powder, and a few essential oils, that you got a pretty damn good deodorant out of that. Now, I am sharing the secret with you!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Baking Soda

1/4 cup Arrowroot Powder

5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Your Favorite Scented Essential Oils (I used lemon, bergamot ,and ginger oils)

Step 1.) Melt your coconut oil in a double broiler, or as I use, a pot with an inch of water in the bottom with a glass bowl fitted over-top. Turn on medium heat and let the oil melt down. The coconut oil melts at 76 degrees Fahrenheit so it won't take long, in fact, you could melt it halfway and let the residual heat do the rest.

2.) Once your oil is melted, add your baking soda and arrowroot powder

3.) Stir the mixture until it's smooth with no lumps or bumps and remove the bowl from the heat. *IMPORTANT* You need to allow the mixture to cool before adding your oils. Putting essential oils in something that it too hot will destroy all the good stuff in the essential oils! So don't be impatient, or if you are impatient, put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

4.) Once your oils have cooled either on a counter or in the fridge,it's time to add your favorite fragrances. I added 7 drops of lemon oil, 4 drops of bergamot oil, and 3 drops of ginger oil.It ended up smelling like a lemon ginger cookie and it's freaking amazing! Use your favorite scent combo, or just use one!

5.) Transfer your mixture to a clean container, allow mixture to further cool and solidify, and you're finished! Your very own, homemade deodorant that cost you almost nothing that should last you as long, if not longer, than your traditional stick. To apply, just scoop about a half a teaspoons worth of the mixture and rub into your underarms until the oil gently melts into the skin.

I hope you try this cool and stupid-easy recipe that will free you from the shackles of commercial deodorant. Get a little more natural and play around with your favorite scents! One of my favorite places to get essentials oils is From Nature With Love, they've got a ton and also carry arrowroot powder and cute jars for packaging! Have a good weekend everyone!

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