Replacing Deodorant

Now, before you are seriously grossed out and run holding your nose and screaming away from this page, you should know that I have tried all kinds of ways to stay among the ranks of the unperspired.  I kid you not, it was deodorant that started this whole chemical-free quest.

Toward the end of last year I started getting hives in reaction to everything I put onto my skin.  Now, this happens to me once in a while.  I am not sure if it happens because my body gets tired of the same old thing, or maybe it just wants a little vindication for not exercising regularly.  Either way, I end up having to completely repurchase all of my hygiene products.  Sucks, huh?  Or should I say, "itches?"  Ahem.  Moving forward.

This happened with my deodorant. 


That was new.  I have not had trouble with deodorant since I was a prepubescent smelly tween.  And lemme tell ya, itchy armpits are the WORST.  This new dilemma soon moved beyond itching, though, right into the hurt.  And we are NOT going to talk about shaving.  So not going there.

I quested forth to find a suitable deodorant for my prima donna pits, and lo and behold, I found... nothing.  The all natural ones were just sticky messes.  The store bought ones all made the hives worse. The expensive online ones worked for a few weeks, and then I would have to start all over once a new round of rashes hit.

So then I tried nothing.  That's right, folks.  I stopped wearing deodorant.  You know what kept the smell away?  Oil.  I've already had a post about this, but my shame was too great to tell you about the 'pits.   Actually, at first I was putting fragranced lotion on to fight the case of the smellies, but once I gave up on lotion I thought I'd try my fragrance-free sesame seed oil.  Booyah.  No more rashes, and no B.O.!  Now I don't have any problems and I don't think I'll be going back to deodorant.

Update:
My oh-so-clever friend Katie gave me this recipe for homemade deodorant.  I haven't tried it yet, but for those of you who aren't brave enough to share your natural scent with the rest of the world, you might want to give this a whirl:

1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup baking soda
6 TB coconut oil

Update to the update:
That recipe for deodorant is the BEST.  You might want to cut down on the cornstarch, though, because it can make the paste a bit gritty.  You should also know that I didn't have coconut oil, so I used Gold Bond lotion instead.  I also added a few drops of tea tree oil for the smell.  You can customize your own way.  :)

If you make this with coconut oil, Katie suggested putting it in an old deodorant container and refrigerating it.  That way it will get hard, like store bought deodorant, and you can apply it the same way.  I don't mind putting mine on with the softer lotion.  It's really easy to smear on and absorbs right away.

Oh, and bonuses about this?  I can make it smell however I want.  No more white streaks on clothes.  No gunked up stuff under there (yes, that's gross, but you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about).  This is basically the best stuff ever.  And...

I'm back among the Wearers of Deodorant!