DIY Detoxifying Deodorant
These homemade bentonite clay deodorant bars are simple to make and super effective! They are free of baking soda and coconut oil, as some find those ingredients irritating, but still moisturizing with jojoba oil and cocoa/shea butter. Add essential oils for a unique scent! The bentonite clay helps to absorb toxins for overall wellness.
Homemade Bentonite Clay Deodorant Bars
Store-bought deodorants can contain toxins like aluminum, parabens, triclosan and SLS.* These toxins easily absorb into our skin and wreak havoc on our bodies.
Homemade deodorant is free from these toxins and therefore so much healthier for our overall wellness.
If you have a nursling, I highly recommend making your own deodorant since the dangerous ingredients in store-bought may absorb into your breastmilk – and baby’s little hands also make their way into momma’s armpits.
Armpit Detox
This deodorant bar recipe calls for natural ingredients like arrowroot powder, jojoba oil, cocoa butter, and beeswax to prevent stinky armpits (and also moisturize your skin!)
The bentonite clay will help detox your armpits and absorb toxins that are leaving your body.
While you can use this deodorant at any time, it’s a good idea to use it when you are switching from a store-bought deodorant to get rid of all the toxins in the area.
You’ll find that this homemade deodorant is free from baking soda and coconut oil. For some people, these ingredients are irritating and drying. Count me as one of those people!
* (Read more about why store bought deodorant is horrible for us.)
Making Deodorant Bar Designs
When I used to make and sell soap bars, I loved creating designs on my bars using stamps and other items.
If you decide to gift these, your lucky recipient will be impressed anyways but even more impressed if they look pretty, too!
To make a design on your deodorant bar, remove a rubber stamp from the wood and place the stamp design-side up in your mold. Simply pour the mixture into the mold. When it solidifies, pop the bar out of the mold, and gently remove the stamp using your fingernails or a knife.
You can also find acrylic stamps at craft stores that are not attached to a wood piece to make this even easier.
How to Store:
- I choose to store mine in the fridge in a glass container to lessen the residue that I get on my fingers. However, this deodorant bar recipe makes for a fairly solid bar even sitting at room temperature. This will depend on how warm or humid your house gets.
- You can also pour the mixture while it’s warm into an old deodorant tube (great way to upcycle!)
Important note: Always use glass, plastic, or wooden utensils, bowls and storage while working with bentonite clay. Contact with metal may cause the bentonite clay to absorb those metal elements and less of the toxins found in your armpits/body.
This deodorant bar recipe was inspired by Simple Life Mom.
Are you looking for more ways to improve your holistic health? Check out 5 Simple Steps to Improve Your Holistic Health
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons bentonite clay powder
- 1/2 cup arrowroot powder
- 1/3 cup jojoba oil
- 1/2 cup cocoa butter - or shea butter
- 2/3 cup beeswax*
- Optional: 5-10 drops essential oil for scent
Instructions
- Mix together the bentonite clay and arrowroot powder in a bowl.
- In a small pot over low heat on the stove, melt together the jojoba oil, cocoa (or shea) butter, and beeswax. As soon as the beeswax is melted, pull from the heat.
- Pour the melted mixture into the bentonite clay and arrowroot powder. Add essential oils if desired.
- Stir, working quickly before the mixture hardens.
- Pour the deodorant bar mixture into molds. Muffin tins or soap molds work great.
- Set the molds aside to let them set until no longer liquid. Then, move to the fridge to completely solidify for 2-3 hours.
- Remove the bars from the molds and store in the fridge in a container.
- For use: Simply the deodorant bar on your armpit like you would a deodorant stick and place back into the fridge.
Notes
Hailey
Hi, I like the look of the ingredients but I don’t see how I can make this recipe without more precise measurements. I buy my beeswax in a block, how much is 2/3 of a cup would greatly depend on what you used to grate it unless you use the pellets (mine comes out of the hive instead of a bag) Same issue with the butter measurement as well. Unless you meant to melt them down first and measure out the liquid??? I really want to try this, breast cancer is only a matter of time in my world. My Mother, Grand Mother and all my Aunts have had breast cancer. Please help
Karissa
Hi, Hailey. Unfortunately, I don’t make these deodorant bars anymore. But when I did, my measurements were never incredibly precise. I’m sorry I cannot be of more help. I now use Corpus Naturals deodorant https://corpusnaturals.com/
Danielle
I just made this for the first time. First time making anything really. I have a couple of questions, Do you use the cocoa butter that smells like chocolate? And how in the world do you get it off the bowl when you are finished? I can’t get it off to save my life.
Karissa
Yes, it smells like chocolate. Soaking the bowl in hot water helps.
Dani
Thank you for the answers to my questions. Unfortunately this deodorant doesn’t work for me. I really hate having to go back to the poison stuff. I have tried several kinds of natural deodorants and the ones with baking soda work very well but irritating my underarms is an understatement. Back to hunting. Thanks again
Kat
Well! I’ve just finished the cooling process of the recipe and so far so good! Love the way it took to the mold and I also put some in my deodorant tube! Giving it the test run right now and hopefully this recipe will beat out the last recipe I tried! I used Grapefruit, Lemon, Tea Tree and Lavender essential oil and it smells so wonderfully soft and fruity! Thank you for the recipe! So far very impressed!
Mona
hi, would love to try this, but I don’t have any bentonite clay, would it work without it? Or is it anything I can substitute it with?? Looks awesome
Karissa
Hi, Mona! The bentonite clay is pretty essential. I order mine from Amazon.
Angela Zeigler
I really wanted to try this recipe. I have every thing on my counter ready to go until I came to the part of measurements for the cocoa butter. I have no idea how to measure it. Might be my overwhelmed sleepy self, but I pulled my big ole block out and started cutting chunks off, then I thought well that’s alot of viod space. So I dumped it, pulled out my trusty cheese crater, half ended up on the plate the other half everywhere but my plate. Figured I had enough put it in the measure cup, then I wonder should I press it down? I did and my half cup is about a quarter cup. Normally I would wing it and just go for it but jojaba oil is so expensive! Any advice? Do you have a weight measurement by chance?
Karissa
Hi, Angela! If you warm it up, the cocoa butter will soften and you can measure it out easily.
Estelle Stone
I have to say, I’ve literally tried SO many deodorant recipes I gave up. I saw this recipe and liked the fact it did NOT have Baking Soda nor Coconut Oil, so I thought, why not try it. I did and I cannot believe how great it works!!! Honestly it is absolutely amazing. It even works on my husband and adult son (who are always stinky in the middle of the day!) Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I’m going to make some for my niece in Florida who has a problem with deodorants. I think she will be pleasantly surprised!! You are awesome!!
I would give this 10 Stars if I could!
Sharon
I thought this would be more complicated. This is so healthy. You could literally eat this too.