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Deodorant Powder with Baking Soda & Cornstarch

Deodorant Powder with Baking Soda & Cornstarch

Basic Homemade Deodorant Powder

Deodorant, everybody needs it, and no one wants to admit it.  It’s something we use every (almost) every day of our lives.  Learning how to make deodorant is easy, and if you are looking for a way to stay fresh with less chemicals here’s how to do it. 

According to many using your standard store bought sick of deodorant raises some health concerns.  Many of the shelf deodorants include parabens and aluminum.  I won’t get into their health risks here, but concerns include cancer, and Alzheimers.

There are all-natural stick deodorant alternatives out there, but many people have mixed results with their actual odor fighting power.  Not to mention that all-natural, and organic products can be expensive.

I like to keep things simple, with that in mind here is a great, extremely easy to make and use homemade deodorant for men and women that is as easy as shaking a box.

Time: 2 ~ 4 minutes

Update:  If you want to try out some slightly more involved homemade deodorant powder recipes check out my other post on homemade deodorant powder.

– Ingredients –

how to make deodorantThis is another great really easy homemade beauty (for lack of a better word) product.  All you need is:

 The corn starch will absorb and trap moisture, while the baking soda serves as an odor eliminator.

– Step One –

how to make deodorant with corn starchCorn Starch

This isn’t one of those exact measurement recipes.  I didn’t even manage to mess it up once.  Measure out some corn starch, it doesn’t really matter how much, just as long as you know how much baking soda to add next.

Optionally, you can use arrowroot powder instead.  You will get a deodorant powder that is just as effective in the end but a little more friendly for those with a corn sensitivity.

– Step Two –

homemade deodorant with baking sodaBaking Soda

 Then measure out an equal amount of baking soda, and add it to the corn starch.  It doesn’t need to be exact, we’re just going for about half and half.

– Step Three –

How to make deodorant

Mix it

Sift it, stir it, or shake it.  It doesn’t really matter how you do it as long as you mix it completely.

– Step Four –

Scents

A lot of people online suggest using essential oils to scent their homemade deodorant.  Personally I’m not a big fan of using essential oils.  The oils don’t really mix well with the powder, and it clumps making it harder to apply and use.  But if you want to give essential oils a shot feel free.

As an alternative I suggest trying something like powdered lavender.  In the future I plan to even try drying out some orange peel and using that in the deodorant power.

– Storing it –

You can store you homemade deodorant in pretty much anything you like.  It is vast if you find an airtight container.  Baking soda absorbs odors, and you probably don’t want it pre-absorbing any odors before you put it on your body.

A salt or pepper shaker will do the job.  An old makeup tin with a powder puff will work.  Or you can reuse an old powder squeeze bottle.  This cocoa powder shaker would work awesome too.

– Applying it –

Depending on how you store it you can either apply it with something like a cotton ball, or a powder puff.  If you want to you can even store it in something like old arm and hammer squeeze bottle and just poof it on that way.

Thoroughly coat your entire armpit.  One application should easily last for an entire day, some people even find that it will last for up to two days.

– My Experience –

I really like using my homemade deodorant so far.  Honestly I really like this deodorant much better than normal stick deodorant.  The powder can get everywhere if you’re not careful, but it’s awesome because it isn’t pasty.  As a guy I like it because it doesn’t make armpit hairs stick together.  Bottom line, it just feels cleaner than rubbing paste in your armpit.

I haven’t had any problems with my homemade deodorant affecting the color of any of my clothes.  However be cautious and test it out by rubbing some of it on an inconspicuous area of a shirt or two.

Now that you know how to make homemade deodorant go and make yourself a batch, and keep your pits stink free without all those extra chemicals.  Leave a comment with your own experiences and feedback.

Deodorant Powder with Baking Soda & Cornstarch

how to make deodorant powder

This homemade DIY deodorant powder recipe made with baking soda and cornstarch or arrowroot powder will save you money and keep you dry all day!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Active Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Materials

  • Cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder
  • Baking Soda
  • Essential Oil (optional)
  • Scented powder (optional)

Tools

  • Bowl
  • Measuring spoon (any size)
  • Fork or sifter
  • Airtight container or shaker

Instructions

  1. how to make deodorant with corn starchAdd 1 part corn starch.
  2. homemade deodorant with baking sodaAdd 1 equal part baking soda.
  3. homemade deodorant powder add in essential oilsAdd desired scent, either essential oil or scented powder (optional).
  4. How to make deodorantUse fork to mix or sift together. Store in airtight container or shaker.
  5. how to make deodorant powderApply to underarms and walk around smelling nice and feeling great!

Monica

Monday 18th of February 2019

Great "how to"... For fragrance....I used a cotton ball spritzed with my perfume....and just plopped it in to the container....a shake or 2 each time I went into the bathroom...viola! I also ordered a set (one pink... one blue) of old school powder puff boxes...used my husband's for the other box.... Once again thanks a ton!!! Blessings~

Mollie

Thursday 23rd of January 2020

Thank you for the suggestion Monica, that is a great idea!

Frida Ambia

Sunday 18th of November 2018

I was looking for a powder recipe that included clay because it is one of the ingredients of Le Stick, a deodorant that is now discontinued, but that both my son and I love. Your recipe is exactly the one I've been using for a while now! To apply it, I moisten my armpits just a tiny bit and apply it with my clean fingers. It does not work that well for me in the summer, though. When it was very hot, I used to switch to Le Stick or use an aluminum free Mitchum, but I want to avoid Mitchum in the future. Thanks for posting such a detailed recipe!

Mollie

Thursday 23rd of January 2020

Thank you for commenting Frida!

RayLang

Wednesday 24th of October 2018

Will it work on my balls ?

Lance Shroyer

Wednesday 5th of December 2018

Yessir, it will definitely help with dryness in the male junk region as well. A simple application of just the starch(cornstarch or arrowroot powder) will work great for controlling moisture down there all by itself. I would just recommend that if you decide to add essential oils into the mix you start out with only a drop or two in the mix and that you do a small test application before applying too liberally to avoid and unpleasant experiences. Good luck and thanks for the comment!

Linda A Reynolds

Wednesday 5th of September 2018

Love it!!!!! Simple and feels so good that after bathing, I rub it on my shoulders and belly. Thank You!!!

Mollie

Thursday 23rd of January 2020

Awesome! I'm so glad you love it!

Robert

Saturday 28th of July 2018

Hi Lance, I ran out of a tester batch of powder deodorant and now wanted to make my own. At first actually while trying out that tester I thought the idea was great, but it didn’t work for me. Meanly I think because the powder didn’t stick to my (dry) armpits and ended up falling directly into the sink/onto my clothes. But later on I noticed it worked very well actually to take a pinch of the powder on a dry hand and rub it onto my damp (after shower or so) armpits.

I didn’t have arrowroot at home so I started with the basic recipe using corn starch. But, since I have the interest in essential oils I hoped to be able to use those (for their fresh smell, but also for their antibacterial properties. The tester had had some fine cut herbs in it, but they never stayed under my arms. So I experimented today like this: I made powder of 2 teaspoons of our homegrown and dried lavender flowers with the use of a coffee grinder (we don’t use it, not for coffee beans, and now I’m not sure if we can use it again without an added lavender scent ;) Then -in the hope it would eradicate the problem you noted about getting lumpy - I added the essential oils to the lavender powder. I went a bit overboard maybe, but I used (almost) all I could find of what we still had at home. Some for their scent but mostly for their anti bacterial properties so the sweat and bacteria don’t get a chance to get smelly (ca 5 drops of frankincense, eucalyptus, peppermint, orange, orange blossom and pine needle).

Then when I read the comment about the cotton ball with perfume I get enthusiastic and tried out spraying 10 little stays in the deo powder mixture and mixed it by shaking it hard for a while.

So far so good. I’m very excited to try it out and see if I can totally drop my normal deodorant rollerball from now on! :)

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