Soothing, yet effective, this natural homemade deodorant stick works without baking soda nor coconut oil, and uses zinc to help combat odors for those with sensitive skin.
I’m so excited to finally be able to share with you a natural, homemade deodorant for sensitive skin that actually works!
Over the years, I’ve tried so many different natural homemade deodorant recipes, but all of them were either ineffective, irritating to my skin, or just plain too messy to use daily for the rest of my life.
Can you relate?
Let me start off by telling you…
What natural homemade deodorants haven’t worked for me!
I’ve been on the search for a decent natural homemade deodorant for years now. Long, long ago, even before I started trying to live a more natural lifestyle, I even had issues with a lot of “normal” deodorants not working for me.
I tried everything from detoxing and eating mostly fruits and veggies for awhile after hearing that often body odor is diet related. I tried supplementation, but that didn’t seem to help me much either.
For awhile, I was even buying some strange sort of special 2-3 day deodorant that I found here in Spain. It was a conventional deodorant, made to last for several days without needing to reapply, but I was using it daily. That, of course, concerned me a bit.
I wanted something more natural, so I turned to those weird crystal deodorants that you have to get wet with water and then apply under your arms. Unfortunately, not only did I find them messy, and not 100% effective, but I ditched the idea when I learned that the active ingredient was an aluminum salt. I mean the whole reason I was ditching the conventional deodorants was to try to avoid as many toxins like aluminum as possible, right?
Many will call me irrational and argue that they are perfectly safe, but why take the risk, especially when I have cancer and Alzheimer’s running in my family?
I wanted something that was aluminum free, so I turned to the internet and began using a mixture of mostly coconut oil and baking soda. At first it seemed to be working out well for me, but when I started to try to exercise while wearing it, or even just at certain times of my cycle, the baking soda would become way too irritating for me and I’d end up with very red and sore, chaffed armpits. If I ditched the baking soda and just used coconut oil, whose antibacterial properties are supposed to work as a deodorant alone, it was if I hadn’t applied anything at all. Coconut oil did absolutely nothing for me, and only left me feeling a bit messy.
Because the baking soda irritated my skin, I began to try out numerous baking soda free deodorant recipes that I found on the internet. Most of these recipes again used coconut oil, but either replaced the baking soda with clays (like bentonite clay), essential oil mixtures, or both. I guess the clays are supposed to help absorb the moisture, something that I wasn’t as worried about, and the antibacterial qualities of the essential oils are supposed to help combat body odor. While they did help somewhat, they definitely weren’t enough to keep me smelling fresh, and my husband was only all too willing to tell me how ineffective they really were!
At one point, I even spent a small fortune buying the ingredients to try out a natural homemade deodorant recipe that used neem oil, and it smelled so bad that just by wearing it I smelled worse than the body odor that I was trying to avoid! Plus, it didn’t work, and the mixture of neem oil and body odor was nauseating enough that I couldn’t sleep well the first night I applied it. My husband was, once again, happy to make sure I knew. Sigh.
Back to the drawing board…
Baking soda was irritating to my skin, but it did work for me, so I decided to try again. I figured that it was probably the abrasive nature of the powdered form that was causing me problems. For several months, I filled a rollerball deodorant container with baking soda dissolved in water. I sometimes added a few drops of an essential oil like tea tree oil to help with its antibacterial qualities.
Baking soda and water actually worked pretty well, and most of the time wasn’t even irritating to my skin! I did have an occasional flare up, but usually months would pass between them.
It wasn’t this messy every day, but I often found white drips like this in my bathroom after using baking soda and water!
The real problem, though, was that it was very messy to apply. The baking soda solution was completely liquid, so it usually ended up all over the place, leaving a white powdered mess behind once it dried. I got sick of always having to clean up afterwards, and my husband started to complain about the white stains everywhere when I unwittingly left a few drops behind. It also left white marks on my clothes like spilled toothpaste. They were easy enough to clean, but I got sick of the white spots showing up on my clothes all of the time.
Why does baking soda work as a natural homemade deodorant?
Baking soda is an effective deodorant because it alters the pH under your arms, making it a hostile environment for bacteria to form. In the case of baking soda, a base, the pH is raised enough to help combat body odor.
Do acids like Vinegar, lemon juice, and citric acid work as natural deodorants?
Lowering the pH is another great way to prevent body odor. That’s why vinegar is another natural deodorant that is used by many, and I was effectively using it myself for months at a time.
There were several problems to using vinegar as a deodorant, though. I had to apply it when my husband wasn’t around because he can’t stand the smell of it. Fortunately, the scent of vinegar goes away when it dries, so it can be an effective deodorant that doesn’t smell bad.
Unfortunately, although it worked for the most part, there were days that midway through the day I could tell that it was no longer working. I reapplied, when I was able, but when I started applying too often, I ended up with red, sore armpits again.
I tried using lemons, but didn’t like “wasting them” as a deodorant, plus I had similar issues with lemons as I did with vinegar.
For awhile, citric acid dissolved in water was my go to natural deodorant recipe of choice, but, again, it was hard to find a concentration that would be effective without irritating my skin. Still, it was what I was using up until recently, when I made a discovery by accident!
I told you I tried a lot of different natural homemade deodorants!
Zinc as a natural deodorant
Unlike aluminum, zinc is an essential trace element that your body needs to maintain health. Instead of irritating the skin, it can actually help with wound healing. Zinc in topical formulas is also thought to help with acne, eczema and psoriasis. (Just think of the zinc oxide in many diaper creams.)
How does zinc oxide work as a deodorant?
Zinc oxide has antibacterial qualities. In fact it works against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. If you have no idea what that means, don’t worry. It just means that it’s effective over a wide spectrum of bacteria, so no matter what bacteria is causing your odor issues, you should be covered.
As I mentioned before, body odor comes from perspiration combining with the bacteria on your skin, so if you can create a hostile environment for the bacteria by either altering the pH (baking soda, vinegar), or by using something with antibacterial properties (essential oils, zinc oxide), you can prevent body odor from developing.
Zinc oxide alone in a deodorant works fairly well which I found out by accident one day when I applied a homemade sunscreen (post idea?) to my red, irritated armpits when I had no other creams or lotions on hand. Not only did it help calm my irritated skin, but I was surprised to find that I had no unpleasant body odor, despite not wearing any deodorant of any type.
Left to right: Zinc oxide powder, green matcha powder, and zinc ricinoleate beads.
Zinc Ricinoleate as a deodorant
I really started to look into zinc for deodorants, though, when I noticed that zinc ricinoleate, a zinc salt that I had bought to prevent acne in a homemade facial cream, was also sold as a deodorant additive. Zinc ricinoleate comes from ricinoleic acid, a fatty acid found in castor seed oil.
If you saw “ricin” in the name and were concerned about it, you’ll be happy to know that although they come from the same place, castor oil and ricin don’t mix. Ricin is water soluble, so it doesn’t get mixed into the castor oil. Any leftover ricin that may enter the castor oil when it is extracted will no longer be an issue because the proteins in ricin are deactivated by the heat used in the process of castor oil extraction.
The mechanism for zinc ricinoleate working as a deodorant isn’t exactly known, but it is thought to absorb the odors somehow without inhibiting natural perspiration.
When I received my package of zinc ricinoleate, it stated on the package that zinc ricinoleate “covers (I’m translating from Spanish, here, so I’m not sure I’m using the perfect translation, but…) the bad odors that are caused by the bacterial decomposition of sweat so that they aren’t perceived as unpleasant.” I’ve tried to research the exact mechanism of “covering” the odor, but it seems like it isn’t well understood. Most places that talk about it just say that it has a way of absorbing the bad odors.
If you don’t have zinc ricinoleate, you can most definitely try to make the recipe without it. As I stated earlier, my homemade zinc oxide sunscreen was enough to combat body odors without any. Because I had it on hand, and it is an ingredient specifically purposed to deodorize, I figured I may as well add it to my recipe to give it a little extra strength, especially now in the summer when I’m sweating a lot more. Zinc ricinoleate, though, is a very inexpensive ingredient, and it shouldn’t be that difficult to find if you intend on making deodorant in the future. It comes as a sort of waxy bead that you melt along with the beeswax into the other oils. If you omit it, there is a chance that your deodorant stick will be a little less solid, but you can avoid that problem by adding in an extra gram or two of beeswax.
How well does this homemade natural deodorant with zinc oxide work?
I’ve been using this homemade deodorant ever since I got home from the US last month. It’s been hard for me to keep it off the blog because I’ve been so excited about how well it’s working for me, but I wanted to make sure that I gave it a good try for long enough before sharing it with all of you.
Not only has it worked through many-a-workout and walking outside on hot summer days, but it hasn’t caused any irritation at all. In fact, I think it has helped sooth my armpits and has kept me from getting chaffing when I walk or run without any sleeves. In the past, despite the heat, I’d have to wear short sleeves when walking or running to avoid friction rashes, but I’ve been able to workout in tank tops and sports bras lately!! You can’t even begin to know how happy I am about that!
So, are you excited to begin?
Let’s make some deodorant!
Natural Homemade Deodorant for Sensitive Skin
Natural Homemade Deodorant for Sensitive Skin
Soothing, yet effective, this natural homemade deodorant stick works without baking soda nor coconut oil, and uses zinc to help combat odors for those with sensitive skin.
Makes around 75 ml (5 small 15ml tubes, or one larger 75ml tube)
Ingredients
- 25 g shea butter
- 40 g sweet almond oil
- 15 g beeswax pellets
- 20 g zinc oxide
- 2 g zinc ricinoleate
- 1/2 tsp. matcha
- 10 drops vitamin E
- 15 drops tea tree essential oil
- 15 drops lavender essential oil
Instructions
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Melt together the shea butter, almond oil, beeswax, and zinc ricinoleate in a double boiler until the wax and zinc ricinoleate melt. Remove from the heat.
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Add in the zinc oxide, matcha powder, vitamin E drops, and essential oils, and whisk together well until the zinc oxide is well incorporated into the oils and wax.
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While still warm, pour the mixture into deodorant containers. You can also pour it into tins, or pour any excess into storage containers, for applying the deodorant by hand.
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Allow the mixture to cool off and set without disturbing it. Once it has set, you can use it immediately!
Recipe Notes
- Matcha is optional for antioxidant/anti-inflammatory properties and a bit of color.
- Use the essential oils of your choice for scent. (Or leave them out completely for unscented.)
Watch the video for how to make the deodorant:
Substitutions
I’m allergic to beeswax or I am vegan and don’t want to use it. What can I use instead?
I haven’t tried it yet, but am in the process of ordering some candelilla wax to try it out. It’s a vegetable wax that is supposed to make a great substitute for beeswax in natural recipes. I’m going to try using it in some of my future homemade makeup recipes too.
I don’t have zinc ricinoleate. What can I use instead?
I’d suggest adding it to help with the deodorizing abilities of this homemade deodorant, but if you are in a pinch and want to give it a try without it, you can just leave it out. Because it is a waxy ingredient, it may be a good idea to replace it with an extra gram or two of beeswax to help keep the deodorant solid.
I don’t have almond oil, but do have coconut oil. Can I use that instead?
Yes, you can use coconut oil or another carrier oil instead. As much as I love coconut oil, I like to try to leave it out of my homemade beauty products because it solidifies at around 76ºF. The problem is that the consistency of the products can greatly change depending on the temperature outside. This recipe works best with a liquid oil, so coconut oil will work great in the summer, but I’m not sure how solid the deodorant will feel in winter.
To avoid having any issues, you can either use a fraccionated coconut oil, which doesn’t solidify, or use a little less beeswax when you make your winter batches with “regular” coconut oil.
Why the matcha? Can I leave it out?
I’m so glad you asked. If you don’t have any matcha, you can most certainly make this deodorant without it, but I think it’s a great addition to this homemade deodorant.
I started using matcha in my first homemade deodorant, a recipe that I almost posted on this blog last year. I had determined that dissolving the baking soda helped me to avoid the sensitivity issues with baking soda deodorants, but I hated applying a liquid solution of baking soda, so I made a deodorant stick recipe using a combination of making soda and water combined with oils.
Lotions and creams are made by emulsifying together a water solution and an oil solution, using a wax or other emulsifier to help keep them together. Adding water and other liquids to your lotions and creams makes them lighter and hydrating, but it has the disadvantage of being a breeding ground for bacteria. (Just think how quickly a fresh fruit or vegetable goes bad in comparison with a dried one whose moisture has been removed.)
To help make my homemade deodorant last longer without needing to add preservatives, I added vitamin E to the oily part, and I added matcha powder to the liquid part.
Green tea, in the form of matcha powder, has lots of antioxidants, it’s anti-inflamatory, and it makes the deodorant a beautiful shade of green! I loved it so much in my old recipe that I had to use it again here!
As for the old recipe with baking soda that I wanted to share with you once upon a time…
It worked marvelously for months, but I occasionally got irritation, something I didn’t want if I were to share this as a recipe for sensitive skin!
For those of you that prefer a deodorant with baking soda, I’ll share my old recipe with you here. This is a small batch, and it’s probably a good idea to keep it that way because it incorporates liquids without any real preservatives. (The essential oils, baking soda, matcha, and vitamin E will help it last longer, though.) I had mine last a couple of months without any issues, but If it starts smelling funky, don’t risk it and throw it out!
This was the homemade baking soda deodorant that served me well for quite some time. It’s smoother than the average baking soda deodorant, but grainier and not as smooth and creamy as my zinc oxide deodorant.
Baking Soda Deodorant for slightly sensitive skin
4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. matcha
2 tsp. water
2 Tbsp. shea butter
1 Tbsp. almond oil
1.5 Tbsp. Beeswax
10 drops vitamin E
10 drops tea tree essential oil
15 drops lavender essential oil
- Dissolve the baking soda in water over a double boiler.
- Add in the shea butter, almond oil, and beeswax and whisk over the double boiler until the wax and shea butter have melted, and all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the matcha, vitamin E and essential oils.
- Pour into deodorant containers and allow to set.
This deodorant worked well for me for quite some time, so it may be worthwhile to those who are sensitive to zinc oxide, but that can handle baking soda when it isn’t so abrasive. That said, I now much prefer the zinc oxide based deodorant and no longer use this recipe!
Hi, I’m really excited to try this recipe! I was just wondering if you have noticed that the shea butter or zinc oxide stains clothes? I noticed this with another recipe I tried using shea butter beacuse it’s yellow. The beeswax was yellow also. I just want to make sure it’s not going to stain my shirts- espeically when I wear a tank top- before making it.If i need to bite the bullet and find beeswax and shea that isn’t yellow I can buy new. I just have quite a bit of the other on hand. Sounds like a great recipe though. I’ve tried everything for both myself and my husband, so hoping it works for us!
Hi Jenna,
I was wearing this for months and months without it staining anything, but I have to admit that it did start to build up a bit on some clothes after using it a lot. I was able to get it out, but the zinc oxide can be a bit of a pain if you let enough of it build up.
You don’t need to use a lot of this deodorant, so I think the secret is to use a very thin layer. In the summer, that can be a bit trickier because the bar is less solid from the heat. (I find in the winter that the deodorant is solid enough to go on smoothly in a very thin layer.) You could try rubbing it in well before putting on clothes to help prevent the buildup.
Lately we’ve been using a liquid formula using zinc ricinoleate and zinc PCA that doesn’t use zinc oxide. It works well. I find that on very sweaty days that this solid bar works better for me, but the fact that it normally works well for me says a lot. I didn’t even really find any commercial liquid deodorants that worked 100% well for me normally, so…
I’m just about to make a new batch of it, and if it goes well, I’ll be posting it soon. I’ve made around 3-4 batches already, but haven’t posted because I was looking to make it with an emulsifier that was easy to find in the US. (My first successful batches used an emulsifier that I couldn’t source well for readers, and I had a few failed batches along the way when trying new emulsifiers.)
I’ve never had any staining issues with that recipe. (Yet. 😉 )
Hi Tracy, So glad I found you! I have been experimenting with natural deodorants for a while and have been very disappointed. I am currently awaiting Amazon to deliver supplies to make your recipe. My question is: Have you posted the recipe for the liquid deodorant with zinc PCA yet? Thanks so much and I will let you know how it goes.
Hi Stephanie,
No, I haven’t posted it because I’ve been experimenting with more common emulsifiers to make it work well. I had made the first batches with Montanov 68, but it appears to be hard to find in the US. So, I tried with Olivem, but it separated and got weird.
I’m about to make a new batch with the same emulsifier that I used in my hair conditioner recipe. That one is supposed to be good for light lotions, so it should work perfectly for the deodorant. It should make its way to the blog soon after I find something that works well repeatedly. If it works well, I’ll make a second batch for myself, and I’ll try to get up the recipe ASAP. I don’t like putting up recipes that I can’t reproduce easily, nor recipes that I don’t think will work easily for everybody! 🙂
HI! I was THRILLED to find this post. I too went on a harrowing 2 yr journey with DIY deo, including spending the small fortune on the neem oil recipe and practically gagging when putting it on.
I’m about 2 months into using your recipe here as-is. I can’t say it’s as good as the primary baking soda one, but no rash, so it’s winning. Few questions for you: It seems pretty lotion-y to me though… have you tried anything to make it a bit drier? I also feel like it doesn’t do as good of a job of keeping ME mostly dry. Thoughts?
With the lotion-y texture it seems like it clogs up my razor, gunks up my screw-on container top, and the matcha green leaves an unappealing cross between pale green deo and pale yellow sweat. ewww.
Thanks again for sharing!!
Hi Jen,
It shouldn’t be lotion like at all. Mine is very solid, so something is off in your batch.
Did you leave anything out, like the zinc ricinoleate, perhaps?
Some people have left it out, and find it’s a sticky, pasty mess, and it isn’t as effective without it. Zinc ricinoleate is a waxy like substance and it helps solidify it. You could otherwise solidify it more with more wax, but you’ll be missing out on the effectiveness of the zinc r.
As for the matcha, you can leave it out if you don’t like the color of it. I never see the color on anything because the stick goes on pretty dry. I actually added it because I liked not having a bright white deodorant. I thought it blended into my skin quite nicely. I thought about turmeric, which is yellow like skin and also anti-inflammatory, but it also stains, so I wanted to avoid that! 😉
nope, i followed the recipe to the T. maybe i misread something. will try it again! thanks for the response.
i tried it again tonight, using the recipe for “4” servings and on metric. it’s maybe a little bit drier, but i’d still put it in the lotion category.
i’m using a scale and taring it properly (am no stranger to recipes like this). and i’m in the bay area, so far from a tropical climate.
would you mind checking that the proportions are correct with the little calculator above and my selections?
thanks.
Stephanie?
Great post! Thank you for sharing! I’ve been struggeling for years to find the perfect recipie for myself as well, your post has all my struggles with baking soda. I always end up super irritated but no one in my family seems to have trouble with it And my friends are all good with it too. I thought it was just me who reacted badly to it.
I then started using arrowroot powder and DE for my recipie. So far its okay. Leaves my skin smooth but doesn’t help much with the sweating and I still have a bit of odor. I feel as though the DE absorbes the esssential oils I add and. i can hardly smell the essential oils.
I will try zinc oxide in my next recipe. I actually just bought some for my home made sunscreen I’m working on and I”ve been thinking of adding it to the deodorant but wasn’t sure.
Does this recipie keep you dry? Also instead of the matacha powder, could I add green tea extract for the antioxidant properties? I actually have some that’s why I ask.
Also do you think it’s okay to keep the DE in my recipie. Or do you think this may change the properties of the deo? I just bought so much of it that I wouldn’t know what else to do with it haha!
Hi Migdalia,
I hope the zinc helps you!
I will say that this recipe is formulated to use both zinc ricinoleate and zinc oxide. Without the zinc ricinoleate, the texture will be a lot pastier because the ZR is a waxy type substance that helps give a solid consistency to this deodorant.
Some people have tried this recipe with only the zinc oxide and it has worked for odor for some, and not so much for one or two people. I think the zinc ricinoleate really helps a lot too as it’s specifically made for deodorizing purposes.
I’d assume that adding diatomaceous earth to this recipe would be OK in small amounts (not enough to alter the texture enough to make the rest not work), but I’m not really sure it would benefit things in any way. I personally haven’t had any luck with deodorants with DE in them, though, so that’s where my pessimism about it stems. 😉
As for dryness. I’m not sure that it really helps with dryness at all. It may help somewhat, as you create a sort of barrier, but it doesn’t have any anti-persperants (unless one of the ingredients has anti-persperant qualities I’m unaware of), so you will still sweat. I used to have a lot more problem with wetness. I don’t notice any problems recently, but that could be due to any number of factors. I sort of doubt it’s the deodorant, but you never know.
As for the green tea extract- while it would probably work, there is the danger that green tea extract is water soluble and could introduce bacteria into the mix. I’m also not sure if it would separate out or not. In any case, you don’t really “need” either, but I just liked the idea of adding some color/anti-inflammatory properties to the deodorant, seeing as I always have matcha powder at home. Whether or not it’s helpful, I don’t really know for sure.
Good luck, no matter what you decide to try! I hope you find something that works for you!
Thank you so much your tips! I’ll keep experimenting.
Hi Tracy,
Have you also heard of adding probiotics to deodorant recipes?!
I actually tried your recipe and then I read about adding probiotics. So I added 2 capsules and I really like it. I just thought I’d share that info
Hey Tracy!
Guess what arrived today?! I am going to try melting my original batch and adding the zinc ricin and will let you know if that works better!
This evening I made up your recipe with baking soda and added some lemon juice to the mix, and can’t wait to see how that works as well.
I will def report back on my results! Thanks for keeping those fingers crossed for me! I want to be in that club too! 🙂
Hi Joan,
I have my fingers crossed!
I really hope it will work for you.
I do want to say that with the other recipe, the lemon juice is probably working against you. The reason I think it works is because the pH of the baking soda is high enough that it makes it a inhospitable place for bacteria. The acidic lemon juice will likely react with the baking soda to neutralize the pH, something you don’t really want.
Lemon juice, by itself, on the other hand, also works well in my opinion as a deodorant. It’s just a bit too messy for me to want to use everyday. 😉
Anxiously awaiting your results with the zinc r! 🙂
I was so excited to try your deoderant as the ones with baking soda give me a terrible rash. I ordered all the ingredients needed but unfirtunately the zinc ricin. did not arrive with them. Decided to try it without as I am desperate and figured the zinc oxide would help my underarm rash too. Unfortunstely I was stinking by the end of the day (my worst nightmare lol). Anyway they say it will be here within the next week so I will try it again and hope it works. I guess I will be stinky for a while still.:( Keeping my fingers crossed that the zinc ricin. Is the secret!
Hi Joan,
I really sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you without the zinc ricinoleate. I’ve heard people some people say that it has worked well for them without it, but I’ve personally never tried.
Of course the deodorants that don’t work at all for me do work for some people, so we are all different.
In my case, I’ve been making a liquid deodorant with zincPCA and zinc ricinoleate for my husband, and it works for both of us. That one doesn’t have any zinc oxide in it, and is still effective. I’m hoping that means that the zinc ricinoleate is the more potent part of the recipe, and this deodorant will work for you when it arrives.
The zinc ricinoleate will also make your deodorant slightly more solid and better for a stick deodorant container. (It’s like a waxy substance.)
My guess is that your recipe without it turned out slightly pasty and messy.
Because these ingredients are all oils and waxes, and there are no water based ingredients, you should be able to melt your batch and add the zinc ricinoleate when it arrives. That way you don’t end up with a wasted batch!
I have my fingers crossed with you. I know exactly how frustrating it is when nothing works!
I’ve heard back from a lot of people who were super happy to find this recipe because it has worked for them, and I’d love to include you in our club. 😉
Is the zinc oxide paste or powder? Also, have you tried substituting arrowroot powder or cornstarch for baking soda? If so, what was your experience? Thank you!
Hi Lori,
The zinc oxide comes in a powder form.
Arrowroot and cornstarch do absolutely nothing for me when it comes to helping stop body odor. I think they are usually added to deodorant recipes with the idea that they will somehow absorb some of the wetness, and/or to help make them feel less oily and help keep the oilier recipes from staining clothes. I have my doubts that either could really help prevent body odor for most people, though.
I’m convinced that the baking soda works by changing the pH enough to make it difficult for the bacteria that make up body odor to multiply. Neither cornstarch nor arrowroot powder do that.
Hi!
Very inspiring post. 🙂 I have one question, where can I get a hold of the containers that you put the deodorant mix in?
Hi Therez,
Well, you have a couple of options. You can either repurpose an old solid stick deodorant container. I clean out old cosmetic containers as best as I can and then throw them in the dishwasher to help fully clean them.
You can also find empty deodorant containers online. I used tiny 15ml containers in my pics, and was using those for a long time. I ended up making about 5 of those with this recipe. I liked them because I could take them around with me, on travel, etc.
Since then, though, I’ve realized I don’t need to bring them with me because the deodorant is effective all day. Having so many tiny containers only means I need to clean out more containers when it’s time to make more. So I’ve since bought 1 larger container (75ml) and this recipe basically fills it almost perfectly.
Does this deodorant have to be refrigerated when not in use?
Hi Giselle,
There is no need to refrigerate this deodorant because there isn’t a water component to it. It will keep for as long as the oils keep without going rancid.
In the recipes that I make with water, like my basic lotion recipe, I use natural conservatives so that you don’t have to worry about refrigerating in those recipes either. Most of the most natural conservatives will help a product last for 3 months without refrigeration.
I could have written this! I tried EVERYTHING and my pits were sooooo chaffed and had a huge red rash. I put my baby’s diaper rash cream on them yesterday because I didn’t have anything else. And at the end of the day my pits were not stinky! I was shocked. So when I came across this post I got so exited! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Hahaha Ash- Right?
It seems amazing that it’s so simple. I still can’t understand why there are so many natural deodorants out there that just don’t work! Or why they still use aluminum instead!
I hope it goes well for you. This is still one of my favorite recipes. 🙂
Hey! Thanks for sharing your experience! I have two questions. One has to do with the zinc ricinoleate. I can’t find it in the Netherlands, do you think the deodorant will work the same if I just use the zinc oxide? And the second question is where do you buy the essential oils? Are they pure essential oils?
Thanks! Looking forward to your response so I can make my own deodorant.
Hi Daniela,
I’ve heard people trying it and saying it works, but they end up with a very pasty texture. The zinc ricinoleate is hard like a wax, and it makes the product more solid. You could perhaps try changing the zinc ricinoleate for a wax like beeswax to at least help keep the texture the same.
I’ve recently been making a liquid deodorant with zinc ricinoleate and zinc PCA, and it’s really effective without the zinc oxide, so the zinc ricinoleate in itself probably is a good deodorant, but it can’t hurt trying without it.
I tried doing a search for you in eBay and Amazon, but the only place I find it is here in Spain and it doesn’t appear that they send to the rest of Europe yet. It appears to be called Zinkricinoleat in German. It surprises me that your wouldn’t be able to find it in Germany- usually they have a lot more to offer than the places here in Spain.
If you do try it, I’d love other how it goes!
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for your super quick reply! Ok so I do have beeswax, so I can definitely try it with it. Also, I found I can buy Kaolin klei, which has Zinc in it and Calamine powder which has zinc oxide and zinc carbone… Do you think that could also work out?
Thanks again!
Pd. Lei que eres mitad espanola, entonces tambien te puedo escribir en espanol, cierto? Mi computadora no tiene acentos por eso no escribo con acentos 😉
Grcias por tus consejos!
Hola Daniela,
Siento no haberte contestado en seguida. Por algún motivo el sistema del blog no me avisó de tu mensaje. (O lo marqué yo como leído sin darme cuenta. Vi otro aviso ahora al vaciarme el inbox del email!)
Contesto en inglés para poder ayudar a la mayoría de la gente…
It’s hard for me to know for sure what would work or not, and how any of them would affect the texture of the deodorant. Adding a powder or clay would likely solidify it more, and anything with zinc in it would likely help add to the deodorant properties, but without having tried it myself, it’s really only a guess as to what the result would be. If you do give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes.
And sorry again for having overlooked your comment. I do make a point of answering people as soon as I can, and hate when I overlook comments like this one!
Have used this for 6 months – so effective! Love it! Thank you for not giving up in your quest for a great product.
I’m so happy to hear that, Tami!
Thanks so much for your comment.
Yes, I tend to be a bit stubborn, and just can’t bring myself to posting something that I don’t love myself. If you only knew how many body butters I tried to make before finally delving into making lotions. Now I’m inspired to continue.
If you like roll-on deodorants, I’m planning on posting a new roll-on option soon. (My husband hates solid, so I had to make it for him.) It’s working amazingly well too, and is light and nice for summer.
Super excited to try this recipe! I had tried one with just coconut oil and corn starch and essential oils and I found I had to reapply it two or three times during the day, even when just sitting at a desk at work all day. I was wondering how many tubes this fills?
Hi Jennifer!
I hope this goes well for you. I don’t need to apply it at all during the day, and even with some conventional deodorants, I wasn’t always making it through the day.
Th last time I made this, I ended up filling one 75ml container, which makes sense because I think I fill about 5 of the tiny ones, which I think are 15ml each.
I’ll have to make sure to make sure next time I make this.
Lately I’ve been testing out a homemade roll-on deodorant using zinc ricinoleate and zinc PCA, and it’s been working really well for me too. (My husband prefers roll-ons and now that I’m better at making emulsions, I was up for the challenge.)
I’ve been using that one successfully for several weeks now, and will try to post it soon for those who don’t like working with the zinc oxide powder, or those that find it stains. (I personally haven’t had that problem because it’s solid enough that only a thin layer goes on, and it absorbs pretty well right away, but it’s good to have options, right?) 🙂
I made it! I left out the zinc ricinoleate because I didn’t have it and I added in some bergamot essential oil also and it works pretty great! I sweated (like you’re supposed to) and couldn’t smell anything! It goes on a little pastier than I was expecting (think the texture of diaper rash cream), but I just rubbed it in a little bit and everything was fine. However, I think I disturbed my deodorant tube too soon because it won’t go up and down, it just stays stuck in there. I’ve been applying it with my finger. Lessons learned for next time! And we’ll see how it holds up come summertime! Thanks again for the great recipe!
Hi Jennifer!
I’m glad it’s working to combat the odor, even without the zinc ricinoleate. I think I’m going to have to update the recipe with a note about leaving out the zinc ricinoleate. Somebody else told me that they left it out, and that they also ended up with a pasty mixture.
The zinc ricinoleate feels like a hard wax, so I think leaving it out is causing the texture to be completely different from mine. Mine is very solid, and only goes on in a thin film. I made the mistake of microwaving the leftovers once to quickly pour them into a tiny tube, and that made the mix really pasty and I didn’t like using it nearly as much.
I’m going to guess that rather than leaving out the zinc, perhaps exchanging it for beeswax would be a better option, and would likely give a result more like mine. (That, of course, is just a somewhat educated guess. I haven’t personally tried it.)
Can you give measurements for the US? When I change the recipe to US on the page it shows up in ounces. Can this be measured using teaspoon and tablespoon measurements?
Hi Amanda,
When working with these sorts of recipes, I work in grams and ounces because it is very difficult to quantify in volume ingredients like beeswax (some people use sheets, others use beads of varying sizes, etc.). Plus, some of the ingredients are used in such small amounts (less than 1/4 tsp.) that I wouldn’t know what measurements to use.
If you are planning on making more DIY natural products and/or soaps, it is worth the investment to buy a small, inexpensive kitchen scale for these sorts of recipes. Otherwise it’s impossible to get precise measurements, meaning that your final products may not turn out as they should.
I usually use grams when working with weights, not only because it is more universal, but because using the term “ounces” often confuses people. They aren’t sure if you are talking about weight ounces or liquid ounces; in this case it’s the weight ounces.
Hello! Do you think it would work to just use castor oil instead of zinc? Maybe replace the almond oil with castor and leave out the zinc? Just trying to use up the ingredients I have on hand😊. Thank you in advance for your reply!
Hi Jenny,
The zinc is the active ingredient that I have found to work for me at keeping away body odor. I can’t imagine this deodorant working for me without the zinc.
On the other hand, if you were to want to just replace the almond oil for the castor oil (while still using the zinc), that probably would work fine. Keep in mind, though, that castor oil can be more drying to your skin.
Was just browsing the internet for zinc ricinoleate deodorants and stumped on your blog….
Zinc Ricinoleate is created by extracting the ricinoleic acid from castor oil, using zinc oxide. If you use castor oil, you’re only going to get a minute amount of ricinoleic acid, which has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, but not odour reduction properties. Zinc Ricinoleate works to absorb bacterial odours because the chemical composition isn’t just ricinoleic acid, it’s changed by the zinc. It won’t actually do anything to help your deodorant be more deodorizing. 🙂
Oops, that should have been stumbled* on your blog! 🙂
Ha! I didn’t even see the typo. 🙂
Interesting…
I’m curious to what you mean about the deodorant not being any more deodorizing, though?
Do you mean if you only used castor oil?
Can the baking soda substitute with bentonite clay. I guess my question is does the clay do the same as the baking soda
Hi Antoinette,
I really prefer the main recipe which uses zinc and doesn’t use either one.
If you are looking at my old recipe at the bottom, and want to try that one instead, I find that baking soda works a lot better than bentonite clay for odors. The baking soda alters the pH, making it less desirable for odor causing bacteria. I don’t know what bentonite clay would do in a deodorant recipe. My guess is that it may help absorb some of the moisture, and may slightly help with the impurities in armpits, but I doubt it would be enough to combat odors.
If you read through the entire post, you’ll see how many different things I’ve tried, most of which didn’t work for me.
The baking soda deodorant did work successfully, but irritated my skin after awhile. It was a lot less irritating to me, though, than most of the deodorant recipes that I’ve seen floating around the internet that use coconut oil and baking soda.
I hope that helps!
Hello! I am also living in Spain. How was it finding these ingredients? Did you have to order them online or did herbolarios have them?
Hi Cassie,
Well, I order quite often from a few places online anyway because I find that I save a lot of money compared to most of the herbolarios that I can find locally. The herbolarios do have the oils and essential oils, but I doubt they would have the zinc ricinolate. The zinc oxide is a maybe. 🙂 I tend to save the herbolarios for most of my food choices. I think everything for this can be found at this place called cremascaseras.com. I’m not an affiliate for them or anything, but I have bought a lot of stuff from them and have overall been happy with them. I did have an issue with them once where I couldn’t get a discount to work (They give you a percent discount for your next order), and they never really answered the problem, but the orders have always arrived really quickly and well. I hope that helps somewhat!
I’m wondering if this deo helps with perspiring? I certainly don’t like to stink, but it’d be nice to not feel wet either. I also find a lot of the “natural” deos not working for me. I was researching the ingredients but don’t want to spend a lot of money before I know. Thanks!
Hi Michelle,
That’s a great question, and I wish I had a better answer for you, but I have to answer I don’t know.
Let me see if I can better clarify my answer now.
When I was younger, I remember being embarrassed about sweating a lot from my armpits in the summer when using commercial deodorants/antiperspirants. It hasn’t been so much of any issue for me lately, now that I think about it, but I don’t know if it’s because I just don’t sweat as much or if it has something to do with the deodorant itself.
Commercial antiperspirants use aluminum salts to plug the pores and keep the sweat from coming out of those pores, from what I understand. I’m not sure if zinc would do anything like that. I will say that I have seen recommendations for people who have problems with excessive sweating to try supplementation with magnesium and zinc. Also, this goes on like a thick cream, and I’m not sure if that would cover the pores in a way that would keep some sweat from coming out?
What I will say is that I haven’t had problems with excessive sweating from the armpit area lately, but I have no idea if it has anything to do with this deodorant. I am ecstatic with the way this deodorant works for me, though, and I wouldn’t go back to using anything else.
If it helps, I can try to better monitor my perspiration over the next few days and see if I can give you a better guess about how effective this may be. (Even if I don’t sweat much from my armpits when I go hiking with my dog this week, it may be due to other factors- my diet these days, or who-knows-what can affect perspiration- but I’ll try to give the best guess I can.) Sound fair?
Ok, this just popped up in my Pinterest and I read it all the way through. I can tell you, your story is my story! Coconut oil/ baking soda was working marvelously for such a long time, and then my flare ups for to the point where I felt my lymph nodes were getting tender, so I stopped right away. I spent money on all the clay formulations only to find none of them worked, and some were stay enough green (with unbleached shea butter) that it wasn’t good on my clothes. And my husband was also helpful in letting me know of the failed attempts. I’ve tried so many brands of natural stuff and finally found the Nubian heritage stuff to work-but it’s spendy! I’d decided I was done trying new recipes until I saw one with a vastly difference ingredient list. As soon as I can gather the zinc stuff and matcha powder, I am going to give this a go! Based on our similar problems, I’m very hopeful!
Hi Melinda,
I really hope it goes well for you. I’m still using this recipe, and it is still working well for me!
I’ve made several batches by now.
Right before this, I had just spent a lot of money on a natural deodorant from the health food store that did nothing for me either. I’m still holding onto it for some strange reason, probably because I wasted so much money on it. hahaha I need to just throw it away because I know I’m not going to use it.
This deodorant has a slight green color because of the matcha, but I haven’t found it to stain anything (yet). The deodorant is creamy and absorbs in right away, pretty much, so I haven’t found staining a problem at all. In any case, if you were to have a problem with it, the matcha is only there for anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory properties and its pretty green color, so you could always try leaving it out. 🙂
I look forward to hearing if it works for you! I have my fingers crossed!
Instead of matcha powder can any other powder be used? I have arrowroot and beet root powder. Would those help in binding?
Hi Sam,
If you don’t want to use the matcha, you can just leave it out. It isn’t there for the binding at all. It’s just added for it’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, but it’s totally an optional addition.
I never even heard of zinc ricinoleate. Interesting! I tried a deodorant recipe last summer using DE along with a homemade mix of calamine (zinc oxide + iron oxide). I think I even had some clay in the mix. It seemed like at first it worked and I especially loved how soothing it felt on my skin. Over time it didn’t work. Definitely an inspiring recipe that has me thinking of incorporating into my recipes. Have you tried magnesium? Great post! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Hi Michelle,
For me it’s been working wonderfully for a couple of months now, and, yes, it’s very soothing and so much nicer feeling than anything else I’ve tried so far. Plus, it works all day, even when I get wet.
As for magnesium… I did do some trials with a homemade magnesium oil as a deodorant, but it wasn’t very effective for me. Not only did I find it irritating, but it didn’t work very well for very long. I had to keep reapplying it, which irritated my skin and made me feel icky. I guess I should have added that to the list of things that didn’t work for me. Using magnesium as a deodorant sort of slipped my mind as I still use magnesium oil for other things. I had read about people supplementing with magnesium not needing to wear deodorant, but even when using magnesium oil, I still need deodorant right away. Perhaps there is a better way to use magnesium as a deodorant? For now, this is the best that I’ve found. 🙂