First Attempt at Herbal Deodorant

The ingredients:

Beeswax
Olive Oil
Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
Frankincense Essential Oil
Sodium Bicarbonate
Tapioca Starch Powder

For a photo of the set up, click here.

For this first attempt at an all natural deodorant, I mimicked making lotion bars.

Step One: Measure out Beeswax and Olive Oil. In this recipe, I did 1:1 Beeswax: Olive Oil. Melt the mixture in the microwave. It took approximately 4 minutes to melt the beeswax thoroughly.

Step Two: Add the Powders. I added approximately 2 teaspoons of Tapioca Starch Powder and 1 teaspoon of Sodium Bicarbonate to 3 oz. of melted wax and oil. The powders mixed in easily with a chopstick.

I wasn’t sure what consistency this pseudo-deodorant would be. I decided to be safe and use a mold, rather than a traditional deodorant push tube. A push tube won’t easily push when the product is mush. This project was an experiment so spending $1.50 on a push tube seemed frivolous. This frugality ends up being a bad choice.

To balance out single cavity molds that are prone to tipping, you can balance them in a spare mug, vase (the square one in the photo is particularly handy) or just shove them in a bowl full of rice.

I added the Ylang Ylang and Frankincense at the last possible second to ensure minimal heat degradation of the essential oils. I used a 1% Ylang Ylang and 1% Frankincense. It smells strong. It’s not entirely horrible but also not as pleasant or alluring as I envisioned.

I did not fill the entire mold up. Sometimes, too-full molds can be difficult to release. The final product appears a milky smooth balm. It feels soft and squishy.

Check back tomorrow for a report on unmolding and the first week of use.