V: Homemade Peppermint Deodorant = Tingly Cool Underarm Awesomeness

I love angry chicken's blog... I am so envious of her sense of style and many creative talents. I also really admire her efforts to make natural alternatives to everyday products, and I was immediately drawn to her recipe for homemade deodorant.

Now I should say that I am a very very sweaty person, as is my darling husband. Since coming to the US, neither of us has really had any luck identifying a deodorant that actually works well, so smelly pits have been a permanent problem (ew!).

I am not exaggerating when I say all of our problems have been solved by this homemade stuff! Of course, it will not stop you from sweating, but it does stop the stink... even after hauling our new air conditioner home on the subway and up our 5 flights of stairs. It doesn't stain. It is the business. The fact that it's all natural is a bonus!

I basically followed Amy's directions to the letter, including ordering my ingredients from Mountain Rose Herbs. I didn't shop around, so there may be cheaper alternatives. The only substitution I made was that I bought a little bottle of Vitamin E oil in Trader Joes - I added about a tablespoonful. The unrefined shea and cocoa butters have a rather strong smell that isn't all that pleasant, so you need quite a lot of essential oil. For the first batch, I tried bergamot and sweet orange essential oils, but it was altogether too orangey. For the latest batch, I used peppermint - it has a delightful tingly cooling sensation when you put it on. I've also made a lavender batch. I really cannot recommend this stuff enough, and I swear it's not just for hippies!

Update (29th July 2010): Unfortunately a couple of people have reported getting a rash from the homemade deodorant... I'm going to try and work out what the source is (the essential oil, perhaps??) and will post another update if I do. I think that I did get a slight rash, but the effectiveness of the deodorant far outweighed the discomfort of the rash, so I persevered and it seems to be gone now. Please let me know how it worked out if you tried it yourself!