hey there!  what am i doing?  oh, not much, just making my own deodorant.

looks gross, huh?

if you’ll indulge me, i’ll overshare, and tell you a bit about my adventures in deodorant… i’ve been on a quest for a great, more natural deodorant for years.  years people.  when we left new york, i had to toss about 8 different deodorants that i had purchased (and not loved) from our medicine cabinet.  because we were not going to move excess deodorant.  most left me damp and stinky by the end of the day, but so far pit putty by bubble and bee has been my favorite.  it smells like christmas!  however, it is not a friend to black or sleeveless clothes.  plus, it would get super hot in our brooklyn bathroom, and this stuff is just arrowroot powder and oils and stuff, and it all just sort of melted in the container, and so it had to go.

what i have learned most over all these years of trial and error is that it’s not the deodorant, it’s me.  i am just a really sweaty person, and there ain’t no changing that. the best i can hope for is something that keeps me smelling good, and a nice cool breeze. so instead of buying yet another stick of something sticky, or weird smelling, or melty, i thought i’d try my hand at mixing up some myself.  i’ve been reading a bit about making my own bath/beauty products, like the sleep salve, and have been wanting to try more. part science + part aromatherapy + part cooking = 100% fun!

i found the recipe on angry chicken.  i followed amy’s directions, except i substituted arrowroot powder for cornstarch.

3 tablespoons shea butter
3 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons corn starch (not me!  nope.  arrowroot.*)
2 tablespoons cocoa butter
2 vitamin E oil gel caps (puncture and squeeze out the oil)
essential 0il (i used 3 drops tangerine, 2 drops ylang-ylang)

melt/mix everything together in a heat proof container, on a double-boiler kinda set-up.   once it’s smooth, turn off the heat, add your oils, and pour it into something.  then put it into the fridge to congeal.  pretty simple, if you’re into that kind of thing.

so we’ll see how this one works.  it’s pretty solid, and i have to scrape it out of the jar and rub it on.  but there’s no aluminum, and bonus!  cocoa butter smells like chocolate you guys.  seriously.  my armpits smell like chocolate and orange.

(*i don’t actually know what the difference is between arrowroot and cornstarch, besides one comes from corn and the other… arrows?  it was just convenient and i was feeling too lazy to dig through my cabinets for the called for ingredient.)