When I recently dissected my beauty routine in a post called Natural Makeup, many of you asked about the body care products that I use every day. I’m thrilled to start out by sharing my Homemade Deodorant recipe with you.
Why make Homemade Deodorant? Store bought deodorant can be incredibly toxic, containing endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC’s) such as parabens and phthalates and even metals like aluminum. While I’m not a total stickler about banishing these types of items in entirety from my household, they’re not products I’m willing to apply to my body on a daily basis.
Our skin is our largest organ of absorption, so I am very careful about what I allow on mine. On top of that, deodorant is used on the arm pits which contain lymph nodes, making this an extra sensitive area for us when it comes to absorbing toxic materials.
I prefer making my own beauty and body care products when possible and this homemade deodorant is one of those items that’s easy to throw together in a few minutes. Like all of my recipes, this contains very few ingredients!
Homemade Deodorant
Ingredients
Deodorant
- 3 ounces rose water
- 1 ounce magnesium oil
- 5 drops essential oil of spruce
Special Equipment
Instructions
- Use funnel to pour rose water and magnesium oil into spray bottle
- Drop spruce oil into mixture
- Shake well
- Use daily as needed
I love this Homemade Magnesium Deodorant for three reasons. First, it’s non-toxic, which is very important when applying items so close to the breast area, given the epidemic of breast cancer in our country. Second, “mineral salts have been used for many years as a natural odor blocker,” according to my colleague Dr. Josh Axe. Finally, I think this Homemade Deodorant made from magnesium oil is a great way to sneak more magnesium into our bodies since the arm pits are an area that has many pores that are often very open and absorbent.
You can make your own magnesium oil by combining 1 cup magnesium flakes with 1 cup filtered water. Place the magnesium flakes in a stainless steel bowl, heat the water and pour it over the magnesium flakes so that they dissolve. I store my homemade magnesium oil in an 8 ounce glass spray bottle. Sometimes I make my own magnesium oil and sometimes I purchase it. Either way will work very well.
Free exclusive eBook, plus recipes and health tips, delivered to your inbox.
I use rosewater in this recipe because it’s slightly drying and astringent which is a good thing when it comes to deodorant. I have added spruce in the form of its essential oil because I like combining slightly masculine, woody scents with sweet flowery, feminine scents. I also chose these amazing ingredients because I have spruce trees and roses all over our yard and I think they are gorgeous together on both a visual and olfactory level. Feel free to experiment and combine other bases and essential oils with the magnesium oil in this Homemade Deodorant recipe.
If you don’t want to make your own deodorant, you can buy magnesium based deodorant here. I love that there is a product on the market that is non-toxic and contains magnesium. Make sure not to apply this Homemade Magnesium Deodorant, or any magnesium oil for that matter, to any part of your skin right after you shave because it will sting and create a bit of a burning sensation.
Here are some of my other homemade body care recipes and beauty tips!
Anne says
I can’t wait to try this recipe out – I have been trying to find a replacement for commercial deodorants for year with mixed success. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Elana says
Anne, I hope you love it as much as I do. It’s fantastic!
Andrea says
Interesting recipe, Elana. I haven’t seen one like this before and would love to try it out! Deodorant has been a big deal to me. May I bring up another subject? “Drinking Water.” I would love it if you did a post about this. We had a reverse osmosis system at our kitchen sink for drinking water, but it put off an incredible amount of waste water. Far, far more than we were drinikng. We now have a whole house filter, but with our hard water, the non-salt softener/water purifier (non-reverse osmosis) seems to dispense a lot lime scale right into our drinking water. Blech! Do you have any “green” reverse osmosis recommendations? Thank you!! xo
Elana says
Andrea, that is a great idea for a post! I will add it to my list :-)
Andrea says
Oh, thank you, Elana! Looking forward to it. :)
Laura says
Hi Elana, I have mineral oil, can this be used instead of magnesium oil? Thank you for this information. I started using a product from trader Joe’s to moisture my skin. Since I was 18 I had been using Estee Lauder and Clinique products.
Thank you for sharing.
Elana says
Laura, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it goes :-)
Phyllis says
I UNDERSTAND MINERAL OIL ROBS THE BODY OF VITAMINS. I WOULDN’T USE IT.
p
Theresa M. says
mineral oil is a by-product of the petroleum industry – it is the leftover sludge that they can’t use. They would have to treat this as a toxic by-product, since it can’t be dumped into the environment. Instead, they bleach it, deodorize it and sell it to the cosmetic industry for pennies, who scarfes it up and uses it as a cheap filler. However, it is still that same toxic by-product, just bleached and deodorized. Do not use mineral oil! It is a deceptive name for a toxic waste product! Just look it up anywhere on the internet.
esther feigenbaum says
Elana,
I have been a follower of your website for several years, but have never written. You are an inspiration and I am so glad you are back and feeling well!
A few years ago I was advised to avoid aluminum, among other things. Being a huge “sweater”, I had been using aluminum based deodorants for 50 years!! While investigating alternatives, I came across a “milk of mangesia” deodorant online, but the shipping charge was as much as the item. I decided to see what plain Milk of Magnesia would do. I dabbed some under my arms and found it to be totally effective in stopping odor and perspiration! It didn’t flake as I expected…just disappeared as it dried. it is cheap and very easy to use.
Esther
Elana says
Thanks Esther!
Terissa says
Thought this would be a great gift idea for my adult kids – what essential oil would you rec for my son to replace the rose oil ? Thank you !
Elana says
Terissa, I love that you are going to make this for your son! I would probably use cucumber water, tulsi water, or witch hazel in place of the rose water :-)
Nicole Parker says
Would rose hop oil work instead of the rose water?
Elana says
Nicole, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it goes!
Brenda says
I like my recipe. It is easy and works. To about 1 cup of organic coconut oil, I add 6-8 drops of
tree tea oil and mix well. Rub less than 1/4 teaspoon under each arms and you are ready to
go. If I have been doing something where I am sweating profusely, I may need to reapply it –
no need to wash. Just reapply.
Elana says
Thanks Brenda! I’ve avoided coconut oil deodorants due to concerns about staining clothes :-)
Jan Sykora says
jansykora@mac.com
Hi Elana,
The recipe sounds great I haven’t seen one that uses mag oil, I wonder if this would work with a roller ball? I always have issues with the sprays, the content DRIPS down side body and also the sprays stop working after a few weeks, even cleaning them out is useless. Do you have a jar recipe? or have you ever used coconut oil and baking soda? I tried Schmidt’s (great company) but totally had an allergic reaction, so just looking for alternatives. Thank you!!
Elana says
Jan, I haven’t tried using a roller ball for this, but the spray bottles I use are amazing and I haven’t ever had one stop working or get plugged up :-)
Mary Peterman says
I used the coconut oil , arrowroot and baking soda version. It takes a couple of days to become completely effective, and you don’t want to use very much or you’ll get oil stains on your clothes when you sweat.
Elana says
Mary, that’s good to know. I was concerned that deodorant made with coconut oil could leave stains on clothes, that’s why I made this deodorant with a rose water base :-)
Aliceyn says
I use equal parts of magnesium oil & which hazel with essential oils. I make about 1/2 cup at a time & store in a glass jar. I use the roller ball bottle to apply & I love it…
Judy says
I have a bottle of Magnesium Chloride (Magnesium Oil) but it leaves a weird feel on my skin as it drys/evaporates. Anybody else? And why does it?
Elana says
Judy, straight magnesium oil is very concentrated and this happens to me too. I don’t have that issue with the formula that I created here, it’s stingless :-)
Jan Sykora says
Elena, what brand mag oil do you like to use and do you have a favorite essential oil company, that is not MLM??
Jan
Elana says
Jan, if you click the green text in the ingredients portion of the recipe you will be given all of that info :-)
Jan Sykora says
YES thank you look forward to trying this!! I LOVE your info, recipes and website!!
Sarah says
My magnesium oil spray stings so badly. It’s a well-reviewed brand, and I read that that problem should stop on its own as my body gets accustomed to it, but it stings terribly. Not fun, as I’m trying to use it as much as I can, to address blood pressure problems. :-(
Elana says
Sarah, I love using this homemade deodorant because it doesn’t sting. I take oral magnesium 3x per day to keep my levels up :-)
Emily says
Thank you for all of your recipes. I have been trying out different natural and homemade deodorants. I was excited to try this. I used the witch hazel instead of the rose water. Once I used it, I also had a weird residue on my skin. When I got hot, I was all sticky and felt yucky. It got better once cooled off, but still felt like I had a residue. Should I add more witch hazel?
Elana says
Emily, I haven’t had any issues with stickiness or residue when I used the rosewater as the base, so removing and replacing it could have caused that :-)
Yolanda Dobler says
Magnesium makes my arm pits sting really bad, even when I wait for a while before applying. Does this happen to you? Thanks
Elana says
Yolanda, that is why I use the rose water in this recipe, to cut the magnesium oil so there is no sting when applied.