Homemade Bentonite/Kaolin Clay Deodorant

For the past 6+ months, I have been using just apple cider vinegar for deodorant. It worked really well during the summer, with sleeveless tops, even though I would often need to reapply throughout the day.

However, as the weather got colder and I started needing layers, the ACV just stopped cutting it.

I loved my 2-step deodorant from last winter/spring, but I wanted to try something different and easier this time around. However, I had tried another store bought, natural deodorant and it most definitely did not work, so I was leary about using expensive materials to make a deodorant that wouldn't work.

So, as usual, I did a lot of reading, and decided to try making my own recipe based on a couple that looked good!

What I created was this:

30g coconut oil
20g Shea butter
10g beeswax
10g homemade lemon balm infused grapeseed oil
15g arrowroot powder
15g bentonite clay
5 drops vitamin e oil
2g tamanu oil
5g neem oil
Essential oils (a LOT to mask the neem)

I melted the harder ingredients in a double boiler, took it off the heat and thdn added the liquid oils. Then, I added 8 drops tea tree oil, 20 drops lavender oil, 8 drops eucalyptus smithii oil, 10 drops bergamot oil, 10 drops lemon oil and 10 drops peppermint oil. (I used these ones specifically because they're safe during pregnancy and we're trying again). I then whisked in the powders until it was nice and smooth.

I was a little nervous that the bentonite clay would stain my clothes, but so far (almost three weeks in), I haven't had any problems with that!

I really like it! It goes on really smoothly and all the ingredients are non-irritating, so it's nice and gentle on the pits, even after shaving!

The odour control on this recipe is really good, but it still smells a bit like neem, which I'm not too jazzed about. It does, however, control body odour all day, and the neem smell fades after an hour or so. Next time, i'm going to put in a little less neem, because I don't really want to put in much more essential oils - the concentration is already high enough.

The moisture control was lacking, unfortunately. I thought about just adding more arrowroot powder or clay, but because the jar was quite full, I decided to just make a separate powder like the one from my two step deodorant and that's working really well! And really, it's not that much more work to put a powder on after the cream!

The benefits of the ingredients:

Neem oil: neem is high in Vitamin E, emollients and fatty acids, which are great for dry,  stressed and damaged skin.  It is also antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately,  it smells god awful!

Beeswax: forms a protective barrier on the skin, which helps with both odour and moisture control. Beeswax is also anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral. It Is also an emollient and humectant and is high in vitamin A, which makes it a great moisturizer.

Coconut oil: an amazing skin moisturizer, coconut oil is also anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial.

Shea butter: shea is high in vitamin A, which makes it an excellent moisturizer with amazing healing properties.

Tamanu oil: this oil is an amazing skin regenerator, great for healing and regrowing healthy skin. It is also antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory.

Lemon balm infused oil: lemon balm is calming and anti-inflammatory.

Arrowroot powder: more gentle than baking soda and a great moisture absorber.

Bentonite clay: is a great moisture absorber and also helps to absorb toxic metals and environmental toxins from the body.

Tea tree oil: this essential oil is antiseptic, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory.

Lavender oil: lavender is soothing and softening, antiseptic, antifungal, speeds healing, and is anti-inflammatory.

Lemon oil: this one is astringent, antiseptic, antiviral, soothing and deodorizing.

Bergamot oil: bergamot is deodorizing, anti-depressant, antibiotic, disinfectant, antibacterial, and antiseptic.

Eucalyptus oil: antibacterial, anti-infectious, and anti-inflammatory.

Peppermint oil: peppermint oil is a great moisturizer, alleviates stress, is antiviral and is a great deodorizer.

I made a very similar recipe for Adrian about a month ago and it has been working very well for him and also hasn't stained any clothes yet :-)

His recipe is:

30g coconut oil
20g Shea butter
9g beeswax
15g cocoa butter
16g kaolin clay
15g arrowroot powder
5 drips vitamin e oil
15 drops cedarwood oil
6 drops bergamot oil
6 drops tea tree oil