DIY: Homemade Deodorant

My friend Melia and I decided to make homemade deodorant for ourselves and my boyfriend a few weeks ago.  I thought I'd share the technique here with you!  I hope you like smelling delicious...

The above scents we used are (left to right) lemon pound cake for my guy (lemon cake scent + cream cheese frosting), bread for me (fresh baked bread + a touch of cream cheese frosting), and cinnamon buns for Melia (cinnamon + cream cheese frosting).

STEP ONE: Gather up the following goodies: Veggie Based Protein Stick Deodorant Base, some tubes to hold your deodorant, blank address labels to decorate your tubes, and fragrance oils to scent your creations.  (Unfortunately, the bread scent I mentioned above is no longer available on their site, how sad!)

STEP TWO: Decorate your tubes and plan your scents!

STEP THREE: Using a kitchen scale, weigh out your deodorant base into a glass container (one with a spout works great!) based on the tubes you chose to order (ours were 2.25 oz tubes).  It's best to make one or two sticks at a time in small batches to make it easier on you.

STEP FOUR: Before you add your scent, microwave your base in the glass container for 30 seconds.  Take it out, stir it, then add another 30 seconds if needed.  Take it out again, stir, then maybe do another 10 seconds.  Keep going for 10 second intervals until it is ALMOST all melted.  There will be a few small chunks at this point, but if you stir it well (we used a bamboo skewer to stir), eventually those chunks will melt too.  The reason for this is that you don't want it to get too hot, or the mixture will melt the thin screw base inside the deodorant tube you are about to pour it into.

STEP FIVE: Add your scents!  Go slow using a pipette or eyedropper to add scent, and stir after each droplet.  You just want a light scent, nothing too overpowering.  You also don't want to put too much scent because the oils may be too strong for your skin.  If you don't want to add fragrance oils, essential oils can also be used.

STEP SIX: Pour into your deodorant stick tubes!  That's it!  Now wait a few hours for it to dry, then you're good to go.  You can rush the process by putting them in the fridge...  After it's hardened and ready to go, be sure to test the product first on a patch of skin before putting it all over your armpits, just so you know how you will react to it.  (This is a special warning for those with sensitive skin.)

Have fun smelling yummy all summer long!!