Why I Made the Switch (and How You Can Too)

Switching from commercial antiperspirants to a natural, aluminum-free deodorant can be a bit of a journey and yes, sometimes a smelly one. When I first made the change, I tried countless natural deodorants, many of them pricey and promising, only to end up frustrated. Some say your body needs time to detox and adjust to natural ingredients. Whether that’s fact or just a comforting theory, I can’t say for certain, but I wasn’t about to give up.

What I do know is that many mainstream deodorants contain a cocktail of harmful chemicals, and we’re applying them directly to one of the most sensitive areas of our bodies: the underarms. The skin here is incredibly absorbent, and what we put on it can easily make its way into our bloodstream. Your skin is your body’s largest organ—so if you wouldn’t eat something, you might want to reconsider putting it on your skin.

Some of the most concerning ingredients include:

Aluminum – Linked to health issues and found in breast cancer tissue samples
Parabens – Known hormone disruptors
Fragrance – Unless derived from essential oils, it’s usually synthetic and unregulated
Artificial colorants – Unnecessary and often irritating

Even brands that claim to be “clean” or “natural” can be misleading. Many have jumped on the wellness bandwagon by offering aluminum- and paraben-free versions but still include artificial fragrance or other questionable additives. Marketing can be sneaky, so it’s important to read labels carefully.

After years of disappointment, I discovered a small local business that made an all-natural deodorant that actually worked! The only downside? It was a bit of a trek—an hour and a half drive round trip—and the cost added up quickly. Since I’ve already been experimenting with DIY beauty products like scrubs and toothpaste, I figured: why not deodorant too?

simple ingredients

To my surprise, most natural deodorant recipes use simple, accessible ingredients, the many of which I already had in my pantry. Coconut oil, baking soda, arrowroot powder, and essential oils are common staples in clean beauty DIYs. After testing several different versions and tweaking a few things, I finally landed on a recipe that really works. Like, two days in warm weather without showering and still no odor kind of work.

cost breakdown

Cost wise, each 2oz jar of homemade deodorant will cost you approx. $4.58 USD/$6.30 CDN and even less if you use your own jar, skip the essential oils or buy larger quantities of bulk supplies. I’ve purchased comparable products locally for $18 USD/$25 CDN.

Making your own deodorant isn’t just about saving money (though that’s a nice bonus). It’s also about taking control of what goes on and into your body. Plus, there’s something incredibly empowering about making your own self-care products.

At first, using my fingers to scoop the deodorant from the jar and apply it to my underarms wasn’t exactly my preferred method—but I’m warming up to it. If you’d rather avoid using your hands, you could try transferring the deodorant into an empty stick applicator. That said, I’m not too keen on storing it in plastic either.

I just made a batch and added Patchouli and Grapefruit essential oils and am loving it. Experiment with some of your favorite scents. I’d love to hear how it goes.

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Here are links to the products I purchase to make this recipe:

This may seem like a bit of an investment at first but you can use these raw products for many other DIY body and home products.

2 oz glass containers – great for all DIY body products. I like to keep lots of these jars on hand and give away when I need a quick gift.

Mango Butter – I substituted Cocoa butter for my Peppermint Cocoa holiday version

Coconut Oil

Baking Soda – Always go for Aluminum-Free

Arrowroot Powder

Patchouli Essential Oil – use pure essential oils only with no Phthalates

Grapefruit Essential Oil

If you enjoy making your own body products and seeing the cost breakdown, also check out my homemade eucalyptus and peppermint congestion rub, and natural toothpaste recipe that I created after reading that some ingredients can actually help heal small cavities.