Easy Homemade Deodorant & The Best Natural Deodorants
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The aluminum and other chemicals in store bought deodorants have been linked to breast cancer. As a healthier alternative, we’re sharing an easy homemade deodorant recipe, plus our choices for best natural deodorants.
Health Concerns with Conventional Deodorants and Antiperspirants
Like many beauty products, mainstream deodorants often contain questionable ingredients. Some of these include:
Aluminum Compounds (in antiperspirants) – There is a disproportionate amount of breast cancer in the upper outer quadrant – next to your armpits. Aluminum can cause DNA alterations. That’s reason enough for me to choose an aluminum free deodorant.
One study I saw recently indicated that the crystal deodorants may actually be more dangerous than regular deodorants. My grandmother battled breast cancer, and I lost my older sister to cancer, so I’ve been working to detox our home, diet and our personal care products.
Aluminum salts temporarily block sweat glands to reduce sweating, which may interfere with the body’s natural detoxification.
Parabens – Parabens (used as preservatives) mimic estrogen, which may trigger hormone disruption.
Synthetic Fragrances – Many deodorants use synthetic fragrances, which may contain allergens or endocrine disruptors like phthalates. These contribute to hormone imbalances and skin irritation. They also stink – at least to me. My son is so sensitive to synthetic fragrances that he had to give up jiu jitsu because he got sick from close contact with chemical deodorants and detergents.
Skin Sensitivity – Some ingredients, such as triclosan (a common antibacterial agent), can cause irritation or allergic reactions. Triclosan disrupts the skin microbiome and thyroid function. With my sensitive skin, I used to break out in hives from some deodorants.
Easy Homemade Natural Deodorant Recipe
This simple homemade deodorant uses coconut oil, baking soda, tapioca starch, and essential oils (optional).
To make the homemade deodorant, in a small bowl, combine:
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
Mix in 4 – 6 Tablespoons of softened coconut oil or shea butter. Add a few drops of essential oil, if desired. This creates a soft paste that’s easy to spread on the skin.
You can keep this mixture in a small glass jar and apply with your fingertips, but it’s much easier to use an old deodorant container. You can also buy new empty deodorant containers. The trickiest part of the whole process is loading it in the tube.
Alternatives to tapioca starch:
- Corn starch (look for non-GMO)
- Arrowroot powder
Need a baking soda free deodorant? Skip the baking soda and reduce the coconut oil accordingly. If you want a milder fragrance, infuse your coconut oil with herbs before making homemade deodorant. Learn how to infuse herbs here.
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It’s best to keep this homemade deodorant in the refrigerator when it gets hot, as it will get soft. Shea butter will stay firmer than coconut oil. There’s a chance it might stain light colored clothing, due to the oil, but I didn’t have a problem.
Best Natural Deodorants
Before I list our picks for best natural deodorants, I want to mention that I now rarely wear deodorant. Body odor acts as a diagnostic tool. As long as I eat clean, stay active, and don’t get too stressed out, my body odor is mild. If I’m stinky, I know I need to change up my routine.
Strong body odor may be linked to health issues, diet, synthetic fabrics, medications and supplements, stress, or other factors. If you don’t smell right, see if you can find an underlying cause rather than simply covering it up.
My top pick is Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant with charcoal and magnesium. It absorbs odors, and adds magnesium. Low magnesium levels may contribute to body odor, so this product helps treat the cause of odor.
Herbalix deodorants smell good enough to eat, and provide long lasting protection. In addition to standard deodorants, they also offer detox deodorants. You wear the detox deodorant at night to help clear your armpit pores and lymphatic pathways near the armpits.
Duncan likes Weleda Sea Buckthorn roll on deodorant. He says it goes on smoothly and does not irritate his sensitive skin.
American Provenance Sensitive Skin Formula has a vey short ingredient list, close to the homemade deodorant. It also includes magnesium, and beeswax for a firmer product.
HiBAR natural deodorant has a silky smooth finish and includes magnesium. The packaging is plastic free.
Attitude Super Leaves deodorant also has a plastic free container and pleasant scent. The container is a little more awkward to use than the HiBAR container.
Other Natural Odor Control Options
Use Milk of Magnesia as a Deodorant, as discussed at Whole Natural Life.
Rub a slice of lemon under the armpit to kill odor causing bacteria. (Don’t use this on freshly shaved armpits!) My friend, Mary Jean, likes this option.
A spritz of rubbing alcohol, with or without a drop or two of essential oil and/or witch hazel added. (Again, not a good one to used on freshly shaved armpits.)
Use baking soda or cornstarch alone, applied with a powder puff under the arm
Rub plain coconut oil in the armpit area. Use sparingly and let sit a bit before getting dressed to give the oil a chance to absorb and reduce the chance of staining. Coconut oil is antibacterial and antifungal.
Kristan M. suggests, “It’s as simple as all get out (and I sweat like a butcher)- 1/3 c. organic corn starch. 1/3 c. baking soda. Add seven drops of tea tree oil. Put it in one of those funny looking flat 1-cup Mason jars, and shake it! Apply after showering/bathing with a blush pad.”
Eat some sprouted fenugreek seeds in your salad. Just a small amount per day will make your armpits smell like maple syrup.
What’s under your arms? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts and tips for body odor.
This article was written by Laurie Neverman, engineer by training, health researcher by calling. Disappointed by mainstream advice to “just live with it”, she’s devoted her time to learning more about helping the body to heal. You can read more about how she cleared her skin of psoriasis in her book, “Psoriasis Healing“.
Originally posted in 2011, updated in 2024.
Many moons ago, when the Internet was young, a friend asked me to research “aluminum” for him. When I did, the article talked about “the aluminum in your antiperspirant”!!! I was shocked and stopped using antiperspirants after reading about all the problems aluminum causes the human body. So I’ve been using “deodorant”, since it is only the antiperspirant that uses toxic aluminum. The aluminum stops the sweat, while deodorant masks odor.
Later I had a boyfriend who said he had a problem with keeping a job since he gets real skanky when he sweats and he usually walked to work. My immediate response was “Stop eating spice food.” The spices have to leave the body somehow, I thought. He did and his B.O. drastically reduced.
Hope these thoughts help someone.
Different foods (not just spicy foods) can influence body odor, so that’s certainly something to keep in mind when dealing with excessive body odor.
Hi, Laurie! I make my own deodorant and body powder, but I don’t add any oily stuff. It’s just powder and I keep them in containers with powder puffs to apply. Here they are:
Homemade Body Powder: 3 parts cornstarch or arrowroot powder (I split this between the 2), 1 part baking soda, mix and use.
Homemade Deodorant Powder: Cornstarch/arrowroot powder, baking soda (measure same amounts of both), I add dried lemongrass powder (I grow it and grind it to a powder) for a nice, faint aroma and lemongrass also has healthful properties. You can also add ground lavender, but I’m not crazy about the smell of lavender.
Enjoy!
I have used these products for years with excellent results.
I’m with you on lavender. A little is okay, but I don’t want to smell it all day.
Lime juice works wonders as a deodorant. Fresh or bottled, just rub it in until dry. Stings a bit on freshly shaved skin but not badly. Doesn’t irritate the skin or stain 🙂
Do be careful with lime juice if you will be exposing your armpits to the sun, as it can cause phytophotodermatitis.
I used corn starch, baking soda and coconut oil. I melted those three ingredients and mixed a few drops of grapefruit essential oil in and poured it in a old deoderant container. I’m a nurse and am constantly moving, and I have not had a problem with sweating or smelly armpits. (I keep my deodorant in the fridge as I live in a warmer climate and sometimes room temp. is 90°, coconut oil melts if it is warmer than room temp.)
Hi. I came upon your website tonight and saw the homemade deoderant recipe. I’ve tried this exact recipe before and i started getting little bumps and rash in my armpits during use. I stopped using it for a while and the bumps went away. I made another batch using only half the amount of baking soda and started using again. Again, the bumps came and they are itchy. Is this something I should not try anymore, or is this a way my body is detoxing? It makes me nervous when bumps show up every time I use the homemade deoderant. What do you think of this?
It’s hard to say without seeing it, but it sounds more like simple irritation than detox. When I’d get what I suspect was a detox reaction, it would just be a simple pimple or a large pimple/cyst thing. No itching or irritation to speak of, and once it cleared, it cleared. I’d probably try a different option.
An herbalist friend says she uses baking soda only. I had made the cornstarch/soda/coconut oil mixture, but her suggestion for the baking soda intrigued me. I had trouble with it initially causing bumps, but the slight abrasiveness looks like it was the problem. Now I shave at night, then apply the baking soda in the morning, patting in on – but not rubbing it at all. I have been odor free for months now.
Just bought Lavilin for the first time. Excited to experiment with it. Heard Lavilin is the best one! I will try it in combination with your tips and let you know how it goes.
Sounds good.
Hi, just wondering if the above recipe goes on feeling sticky? I have tried more natural deodorants (Toms of Maine in particular) and it feels sticky. Yuck, I think I would rather just be sweaty than sticky. Also, I don’t have a lot of free time, so other than Herbalix, any other deodorants that I can buy that are safer. (Natural as opposed to conventional.) Thanks!
I’m still using Herbalix when I’m not using homemade, so I haven’t really experiment with other options. This recipe goes on smooth, not sticky.