Simple Baking Soda Deodorant
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of water
Dissolve the baking soda into the water - the liquid should feel slippery, since sodium bicarbonate is a base - and apply directly to skin. Adjust quantities as necessary - you may need less, you may need more.
Since there's different "types" of water, you may need to adjust the recipe. If your water easily rinses away the "slimy" feel of sodium bicarbonate, you'll need to use more. If your water does not easily rinse it away, you'll need less.
Too much sodium bicarbonate will cause some skin irritation. It also needs to be dissolved sufficiently, because dry powdery baking soda can chafe skin just like sand.
By the way, the water solution will leave white stains on clothes or countertops wherever it drips and dries out, but it washes away easily. After all, another use of baking soda is as a cleanser!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
i really liked this at first, but it turned my pits a weird purplish brown color. so, if you don't have dark skin already, beware! otherwise, it worked great!
This works great! Very effective. I live in Las Vegas, and had to go nearly 3 hours today with the sun baking down on me, 105 degrees. About 2 of those hours was spent moving heavy material. No airconditioning for any period during that 3 hours and very little shade. I sweat buckets and buckets. But I smelled fine after it was all over, thanks to this recipe. My old natural deodorant would never have held. I will not go back.
I thought I'd add this, in case anyone is interested in additional reading on the subject (it's been a hot topic on the Q&A board)
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=17010.0
aluminum issues aside, i simply don't think commercial deodorants work very well. i am super impressed with this method! it's been pretty hot and humid here, and it even survived a sticky day of waitressing at a beach restaurant. :) my only problem is that it hurts like hell if you have just shaved that morning! as far as the perspiration goes, yeah, it doesn't do a whole lot, but i don't really think inhibiting sweat is the best way to go anyway, because it's your body's natural way of cooling. then again, i don't tend to have pit stains, so maybe i'd feel differently if i did! :P so glad i don't have to fork out the big bucks anymore for deodorants that don't work anyway. ;)
I too keep a little 1/4 teaspoon and an old pill container at my sink; premixing is unnecessary on second thought (I'm just lazy sometimes, hee hee).
I'm still giving this a test, but basically it's been working. Yesterday it wore off by late afternoon but that may have been an application error (I don't have a 1/8 tsp so I have to eyeball it, and sometimes I'm impatient and it doesn't mix properly). I've just gotten used to the fact that I sweat, lol, but sweat is less of an issue to me than stinkiness! I hope this continues working in the long-run because I've pretty much had the same experience as the other posters here, buying natural deordorants that work for maybe the morning and then wear out. But thanks again for the recipe! It takes some playing with, but overall I think it's effective.
I've had a chance to try it now, and it DOES work! I was amazed. It worked way better than the perfume oil I was using before. I would agree, as far as an antiperspirant, it works maybe 80%, but it worked 100% as a deodorant. To be honest, the icky aluminum-based stuff I was using before didn't even work as well.
Right now I have a little measuring spoon and a custard dish on my bathroom counter. I have a tub of baking soda under the sink for cleaning, so I just take some from there every morning, mix it up, and apply.
I don't think it would help to make it before hand; I don't use measuring spoons or anything, just a little "sprinkle" in my hand and a few drops of water. Rub a little under each arm and rinse off my hands. It doesn't take any more time than using a stick. OK, maybe another 10 seconds. You can get the "shaker" container of A&H baking soda, which fits right in with the powder and q-tips (and isn't open to the humidity in the bath).
It does work for perspiration, although not 100%, but a good 80%. Like I said, we'll see how it holds up to a hot summer. I meet with professional clients all the time and quite honestly, wet rings under my arms is not the best way to retain these clients. I am a picky picky little snot when it comes to deodorant. That's why I felt compelled to comment.
The only complaint I have (and it is quite minor), but baking soda has a grit to it that will chafe a bit from time to time. But nothing serious. I've considered running some through my coffee grinder to see if I can get it finer. Not sure if it bothers me enough.
Also, I had noticed with other natural DO that it definitely gives out during the night. Not this, it holds far longer than anything natural that I've used.
Does this do anything for perspiration, or just for odor? I recently switched from an aluminum-based product to simply applying a perfume oil to my underarms, due to health concerns. This works great for deodorant purposes, but we had a very warm day yesterday, and well... it's not so great for visible signs of sweating. I really don't mind sweating, but it tends not to compiment my outfit!
Is it possible to make a big batch of this and keep in a bottle for morning use, or will that weaken the strength of the baking soda (or cause other problems)? This works great but it'd be even better if I could pre-make it and not have to fool with measuring spoons every morning. ;)
I switched to this in December, when this was posted on the Q&A board and I gotta admit, I was skeptical. THIS WORKS!
I had been trying for years to switch from an aluminum base DO to one without and after collecting a bunch of sticks of mediocre deodorant, I was ready to resign myself to what ever health problems the aluminum may cause. I refuse to stink. So far, it has held up during some warmish spring days, hopefully it will make it through a southeastern summer.
I add a drop of essential oil on some mornings (not recommended on days you shave). Lavender is delightful, peppermint is, well, minty fresh and I do not recommend tangerine, even if you didn't shave that morning.
Thanks a bunch!
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