GOING NATURAL | COCONUT OIL DEODORANT

Last summer was my first forray into the world of homemade beauty products, and the first time I attempted to make homemade deodorant. After a lot of searching online, I came upon this original recipe (she has a lot of great information and FAQ's about the product on her page if you're curious) from Passionate Homemaking  and decided to try it for myself. I ran out a while back, and was finally able to make a new batch the other night.

Which, I must thank my new husband for the time, because he took it upon himself to make us dinner just so I could work on thank you cards and get some projects out of the way I'd been wanting to do. Thank you, babe :)

My concoction ended up being something like this:

4 large tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup baking soda
15 drops tea tree oil
10 drops grapefruit oil

Mix everything together until it's blended and store in an airtight container. No need to refrigerate.

James uses baking soda, and that's it. He just wets his fingers and dusts a bit of powder on after he gets out of the shower. So, that's an alternative.. for me it's just too messy and unreliable and it irritates my skin. This too, though, can irritate your skin if you apply it just after shaving.. I've noticed.

But otherwise, I've been really pleased. I still alternate between using this and a normal store bought antiperspirant/deodorant (even though I know they're awful) but sometimes you just need that extra protection (when we're out dancing or going to be away from the house for a long time..) It does tend to need a little refreshing towards the end of the day. I also think there is an adjustment period, that I haven't been able to tolerate yet. But, I'm trying.

// In other news, I finally caved and have been trying the ACV toner that so many people rave about. It's too soon to tell, but I think we're going to like it.
// And thanks to Bekah reminding me that it exists, and for her endorsement of it's awesomeness, I'm planning to make some Coconut Milk Shampoo this weekend.. I'll let you know how it goes.