On average in the UK 79% of people have bought deodorant as part of their weekly shopping. One thing that may take your fancy is making your natural homemade deodorant. Before you start googling away trying to find the best natural deodorant recipe, we have instructions for a DIY natural deodorant that is not only effective but smells great too. 

We would prefer it if you left the deodorant construction to the professionals, but we understand that sometimes it’s good to get your creative juices flowing – so here is our guide to making your natural homemade deodorant with baking soda and other ingredients you can pick up in your weekly shop.

DIY Natural Deodorant Ingredients

• 2 ½ tbsp unrefined coconut oil
• 2 ½ tbsp unrefined shea butter
• ¼ cup arrowroot flour/starch
• 1 ½ baking soda
• 6 drops of essential oil of your choosing – lavender, grapefruit, sweet orange, tea tree etc. (6 drops per essential oil you add in).
• Minimum 90ml jar with lid to keep deodorant in

How To Make Homemade Deodorant

1. Place coconut oil and shea butter in a glass bowl or jar and then put the bowl/jar inside a medium saucepan.
2. Add water to the saucepan (enough to surround bowl/jar but not to overflow it) and bring up to boil.
3. As water is heating up, ensure to stir coconut oil and shea butter and continue until it is melted.
4. Once melted, add in arrowroot flour/starch, baking soda and essential oils.
5. Place in a 90ml jar and allow to cool at room temperature or in the fridge (it will harden faster in the fridge) until it has reached a solid-state.
6. Cover with lid until use.

There you have it, the best natural deodorant recipe!

How to Apply Homemade Natural Deodorant

1. Wet underarms slightly (this helps with even application).
2. Spoon out a pea-size amount with a wooden scoop or with fingers and rub between fingers before applying directly to underarms.
3. For a regular day, one application in the morning should be fine. For hotter days (not that there are many at the minute!), workouts or if you’re particularly sweaty, feel free to reapply as needed.

Where to store homemade deodorant

Now that you have learned how to make homemade deodorant, it’s time to preserve it in the ideal conditions so you can use it for weeks to come. Homemade natural deodorants once set, should be kept in a cool and dry place – try to avoid leaving in bathrooms as the steam from baths and showers can cause the deodorant to melt slightly.

Before you jump right into making your own homemade natural deodorant, it is important to know that if you are wanting to create the deodorant to help with sensitive – this may not be the right thing for you.

Baking soda can still be an irritant, you see, baking soda or sodium bicarbonate, is most commonly used to relieve heartburn because it’s a basic chemical that helps to neutralise acid. This can happen on the skin as well.

Healthy skin is slightly acidic – this helps form a protective barrier, and it’s important for overall skin health. Using baking soda on your underarms can remove the skin’s protective oil barrier, alter its PH and disrupt the natural bacteria on the surface that help to prevent infection.

What happens if you decide to make the homemade natural deodorant anyway, and come out in a reaction? Don’t panic, use a fragrance-free moisturiser until the irritation clears – but if you are worried, please seek medical advice from your GP or pharmacist. 

Here at Proverb, we understand that just how every human is different, so is every armpit – which is why we have created our core range of deodorants that feature baking soda as one of the deodorising components. In addition to, a teen-friendly range which won’t have it in, nor will the sensitive un-fragranced for the super sensitive.

Best Natural Deodorant To Purchase

Say you have made your homemade deodorant with baking soda and it’s not as effective as you hope or it’s too complicated to make, what do you do?

Proverb has a collection of organic refillable deodorants that have been tried and tested on elite sports stars. Our formula is blended with only natural ingredients – no aluminium, petroleum, parabens, SLS, artificial fragrance or propylene glycol. Our packaging is also sustainable and refillable.

We have saved you all of the time of stressing to find ingredients and releasing your inner chemist – Proverb Natural Refillable Deodorant goes beyond what a DIY natural deodorant could offer you.