Monday, January 07, 2013

Stank-Buster

Internet, I have a confession. Sometimes, I stink. Lately, those stank-times have been more often than not. Coles stopped carrying my usual deodorant. I switched to my back-up supply, a tea tree scented deodorant that worked not that well against the tropical summer. Then even that started to run low. No worries, I though, I'll go to Woolies. But Woolies stopped carrying my usual deodorant, too. I got angry and frustrated. I looked online - $7-$10 for one single container of vegan deodorant, plus shipping?! You've got to be kidding me. I could have looked in pharmacy, health food and cosmetic shops, yes. But the other day I was sitting on the couch and Andy noticed a bad smell, and realised it was coming from me. So I stopped what I was doing on the internet, and looked up how to make deodorant at home.

Well, my friends, it could not be simpler, nor more effective.

1/2 cup of coconut oil - since this isn't for eating, I used the cosmetic grade stuff I bought in PNG rather than expensive edible ones
1/4 cup of corn flour (corn starch)
1/4 cup of bicarb soda (baking soda)
scented oil, if you roll that way

Mix the three together. Rub some on your pits. Stank no more.

Seriously. I made this straight after the stink-incident above, and rubbed some on straight away, and the bad smell was gone. On the first day I wore this, it erased BO, and held off any new stank despite very hot & humid weather featuring outside work in the garden. The second day I wore it, only one application in the morning made it through a very sunny outing at the beach, plenty of digging and landscaping outside in the hot sun, and then 12kms worth of bike riding - all with no stank! So in terms of deodorising, it was a total success.

Where I went wrong: I tried too hard to be clever. In looking for a jar or container for storing my deodorant, I came upon these two, 50mL pump bottles, which I love because they have a cap so you can travel with them and they don't squirt their contents everywhere. I thought it was perfect, because I could bring one to uni and it could crash around in my shower bag in my office, and I could leave one at home.

All was well until the next morning, when I went to my pump bottle and found oil all over the outside of it. And the pumper all clogged with bicarb and cornflour. Not only did the dry ingredients settle out, but somehow the coconut oil expanded and exploded (a tiny explosion, but no less devastating than a big one). I tried to salvage the pump bottles, but in the end I gave in to reason and transferred (most of) the contents to a bigger jar. So friends, learn from my mistakes. If you try to make your own deodorant (and I really think you should!), put it in a big, wide mouthed jar with plenty of room to breathe. And if you live in a warm place, be prepared to stir up your deodorant before you use it in the mornings. Now I just need to find a smaller jar so I can bring some to work...

14 comments:

Kate said...

This post made me smile :) would like to try making my own too, sounds easy!

Tara said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
urban vegan said...

You are too funny! I love the idea of homemade cosmetics. I use Thai Deodorant Crystals. They always end up breaking (because *someone* drops them!)--so I save the little pieces and take them when I travel. They do the job for me and I love that they last forever & are therefore economical. But when I run out I will definitely try your concotion.

Do you have Lush shops in Oz? They also sell some natural deodorants and deo-powders. Here's to a fragrant New Year! ;)

Lady Base Camp said...

I just use body "butter". My favorite is Satsuma and I have some olive. My body odor really lightened up after age 40. Sorry you had to go through the unpleasant embarrassment

Joey said...

Homemade cosmetics for the win! I'm glad you got a winning formula there - I tried out something similar, and it really didn't work. You've cracked the alchemy of stank no more!

Lovlie said...

Nice one! I will try this recipe, have ordered a few oils recently. Does this not leave any oily traces on your garments though? Just wondering... but definitely worth a try. I've been using deodorant less and less since going vegan but yeah, I do need them sometimes! ;)

Cindy said...

Awesome job! I have a crystal deodorant that I quite like, but your recipe is so simple that I feel compelled to make at least a small amount to try it out for myself.

Theresa said...

@urban vegan - we have Lush, but not in Townsville, so I would have to order online, and it was all too much work :)

@lovlie - I have only worn sleeveless so far, but the coconut oil seems to absorb really well into my skin, and perhaps the powder ingredients help the process? I don't have oily pits when I put this on.

Bianca said...

I've considered making my own but vegan deodorant is fairly inexpensive and readily available at Whole Foods, so I've been lazy. But really, I should try this!! Glad you cured the stink. :-)

Kari said...

This post has made me giggle :) I love the sound of your homemade version and may have to give it a try...I have vegan body wash and use body shop soap / body butter but will admit to using commercial deodorants because I worry about the natural ones not working. I will try your mix out!

K said...

Love your honesty and your initiative!

Mel said...

I went through a stank phase for a while too! It took me ages to find an effective vegan deodorant and I also tried just using bicarb of soda for a while but I found it a bit messy and not totally effective. Good on you for finding a natural home made mixture that works for you!

Matt said...

I have thought about doing this so many times - and have seen it so many times on the net! But there are so many scary comments about people's skin peeling off from bi carb soda etc.. you may have inspired me to try again ;)

and Dynise - yes! I drop my darn crystals allllll the time.

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