Every day it seems that some people are yet to either discover deodorant, or discover one that is right for them. They travel in public, go to work, school or socialise, and smell unpleasant with a heavy body odour that makes the more sensitive among us feel quite sickly. There are, of course, various causes of body odour, not just from a lack of using deodorant. Some people are predisposed genetically to smell more, especially if they have a metabolic disorder, and some people find that deodorant in general does not work for them.
Some other causes of body odour include: Too much heavy metals in the body, a zinc deficiency which could be due to gut malabsorption, lack of digestive enzymes, lack of good bacteria, liver defects, kidney defects, or even food intolerances.
However, this article is not meant to be a scientific study about what causes body odour, but rather how to choose a good deodorant or even make your own, for those who can use a good deodorant. Nor is this intended to be getting at those whose body odour is beyond their control.
Some work hard in physical jobs and at the end of hard day’s work cannot expect to be smelling of roses, what with all that sweating, which is fair enough. And some are rightly concerned about the toxins in most modern commercial deodorants that have been known to cause things like cancer, especially breast cancer in women.
In fact, a lot of deodorants can be among the most toxic skin care products you can buy. Commercial deodorants often contain toxic ingredients like aluminium and parabens. Parabens are quite dangerous, and end up being in 99% of breast cancer tissues. There are rock-salt-based deodorants which appear to be non-toxic, yet contain an ingredient with “alum” in them — this is just another form of aluminium.
And you should definitely avoid “anti-perspirant” deodorants as they actually work to stop you from sweating. Sweating is a natural process that has two purposes: it helps to cool down the body when it is very hot by putting water on the surface which then evaporates, giving a cooling effect on the skin; and it is one way the body gets rid of toxins, and it is the bacteria on the skin that eats the toxins which then produces the bad smell we all hate so much. So it is really not a good idea to stop sweating, as you might need to cool down, as well as getting rid of toxins.
So what can you do if you want a good deodorant? Either find a very expensive but good quality deodorant that contains only natural ingredients, or else make your own deodorant at home. If you have lots of money and no time then go buy the natural deodorant; but if you’re poor, or have plenty of time, or are feeling creative and like to experiment, then read on to find out how to make your own deodorant.
It is quite easy to make a non-toxic deodorant, using edible natural products which are safe to use on your skin. However, some people could be allergic to certain products, so before you do this, if you are in any way not sure of a product, test a small amount on a piece of skin, such as your arm, and check for no allergic reactions. If you do get a reaction to a product, then maybe this home-made deodorant is not for you.
The main ingredients you need are virgin coconut oil, tapioca starch, bicarbonate of soda and your own choice of essential oils. It is best to put the finished product in a suitable glass jar, one that you can use your fingers to put in and then apply the deodorant to your skin.
Some commercial deodorants are sprays that put toxic chemicals into the air as well as on your skin, which you could breathe in — not good for your health, whilst others are “roll-ons”, which means you are reapplying toxins from your sweat back onto your armpits each time you use it. Far better if you can use your clean fingers to apply this deodorant under each arm without contamination of any sort.
And by using virgin coconut oil and pure essential oils, you are putting healthy antioxidants and plant extracts onto your skin. If you don’t know much about essential oils, you should try to do some basic research, but they are basically condensed and highly-concentrated extracts of plants, and should be used with caution. Only a few drops at a time, and generally essential oils should not be ingested (although there are some exceptions, e.g. frankincense sacra boswellia can be ingested if of a pure enough quality but then only in very small quantities, like 2 drops in a glass of water).
So Here Is a Recipe for Home-Made Deodorant:
45 ml / 3 Tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil (should be a hard solid – not liquid, it melts above 23 degrees Celsius)
45 ml / 3 Tablespoons organic tapioca starch
30 ml / 2 Tablespoons bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda, definitely not the same as baking powder which should be avoided)
17 drops of pure organic essential oils (use a mix of oils)
Follow This Simple Procedure:
Get a suitable glass jar with wide-enough mouth, such as an old jar that had food in, but not a food that left a strong smell in the jar — you don’t want a mustard-scented deodorant (at least I hope not). Wash it thoroughly and let it dry. It should be easy to get your fingers into.
Take a small bowl, mix in the virgin coconut oil, tapioca starch, and bicarbonate of soda. Blend well until the texture becomes smooth and creamy, using an electric hand-held blender or similar device.
Add your choice of essential oils and blend well.
Then put the mixture into your glass container. I usually put a label on the jar as well, so I remember what it is, with a list of the essential oils I used.
Directions to Use:
Ensure your hands are clean, and then you can use one or two fingers on your right hand to apply to left underarm, and one or two fingers from your left hand to apply to your right underarm. Massage the mixture thoroughly into your skin.
Essential Oils:
Some possible essential oil deodorant blends:
General/All Purpose
9 drops ylang-ylang essential oil
8 drops frankincense essential oil
Classic
5 drops cedarwood essential oil
5 drops geranium essential oil
4 drops tea tree essential oil
3 drops patchouli essential oil
Lavender Blend
10 drops lavender essential oil
4 drops lemon essential oil
3 drops rosemary essential oil
Frankincense Blend
10 drops frankincense essential oil
7 drops sandalwood essential oil
My personal choice which I now use every day
5 drops lavender essential oil
5 drops frankincense essential oil
3 drops lemongrass essential oil
2 drops myrrh essential oil
2 drops peppermint essential oil
I think you have to have at least one essential oil that you like the smell of and consider that is how you are going to smell after using this. The coconut oil itself can be anti-bacterial, but also good to choose an essential oil that is anti-bacterial, and which smells nice, such as lavender. Frankincense has been shown to actually help the body repair its DNA when taken internally, so I think that’s a good choice to use externally as well. Lemon is also anti-bacterial and smells nice.
The choice of oils is yours. Of course, it costs a lot of money to buy the essential oils, and make sure you only buy those that are 100% pure. If they are not pure then you don’t know what you’re getting.
I hope you find this information helpful and if you make your own deodorant I hope it works well for you. I have found it to be 100% (or near enough) effective and I have no body odour from using this. You can also apply a small amount to your feet if you get smelly feet, and it can be applied elsewhere on the body if required.
If you find a good blend of essential oils not listed here that works well for you, why not leave a list of them in the comments box below?
Take care and stay smelling nice.
Disclaimer: this information has, in part, been adapted from http://coconutoil.com/homemade-coconut-oil-deodorant-recipe-with-essential-oils/
Nothing in this blog post should be considered as medical advice. If you need medical advice, please consult a qualified medical practitioner. Use of home-made deodorant is entirely at your own risk, and the authors of this blog post cannot be held responsible for any problems caused by following the instructions here. There is no guarantee that such a home-made deodorant will work for you.
Two top images are © inesbazdar / Dollar Photo Club and © zea_lenanet / Dollar Photo Club
Other images from http://www.rgbstock.com and http://absfreepic.com
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