what you've all been waiting for

So I'm pretty sure that all of you are dying to for an update on the deodorant experiment. I mean, who isn't curious about my armpits?

[insert photo of my armpit here]

The first one I made just ran out, and I totally love it. It works so much better than Tom's, which is the deodorant I had been using before. I've been trying, especially when I'm pregnant or breastfeeding, to keep antiperspirant, and its aluminum, off my breast tissue and lymph nodes. It seems like the best choice, but I don't particularly enjoy it, because deodorants haven't worked that well for me. (On the other hand, for a while I was wearing one made with coriander, and at certain points during the day, I would think, "Yum, I smell Mexican food...no, Indian food...") And I tend to sweat a lot, for no apparent reason, sometimes.

But this deodorant totally works. I never stink. Never. I wore it all summer long. AND sweating really wasn't a problem. Occasionally my shirt was wet, but not nearly as bad as I though it would be. And sometimes I bike three kids around. I think the baking soda and cornstarch absorb quite a bit. And have I mentioned that my armpits are so soft, and I never get razor burn? It works all day, unlike Tom's, which has a "long-lasting" version that works for 12 hours. I'm not sure what Tom does, but he must get a lot of sleep.

[insert photo of armpit from another view]

The downside is that it built up in a couple of my shirts. This could be because I only wear three shirts all summer long, or because I put too much on, which I do (because I'm mature, at 34, and I know: more is always better). Also, it's kind of a pain to put on, because you have to dig it out with your fingers.

Since I'm making more, I'm trying a slightly altered recipe, using coconut oil instead of shea butter and cocoa butter. This recipe seems a bit crumblier than the last, so I'm thinking of making the old recipe, and putting it in Chris's old deodorant tube.

So now you know. Homemade deodorant is the bomb.



*******
Ok, by request I'm adding the recipes. The comments page kept weirding out on formatting.

Here's the first version, altered a bit, but from Angry Chicken:
3T shea butter
2T cocoa butter
3T baking soda
2T corn starch
1/4 t vitamin e oil
essential oil (you need quite a bit of e.o. to counteract the fact that shea butter smells like Grandpa's townhouse) - I used fir balsam

new version, which I'm not sold on:
2T coconut oil
2T baking soda
2T corn starch
1/8 t vitamin e oil
1/4 t almond oil (which I added because I thought it would be too hard, which it is. I need to re-melt and add more.)
4 drops peppermint essential oil

Either way, mix everything except the essential oil, and melt in a double boiler, microwave, solar oven, whatever. Mix well. Add essential oils and stir again. Pour in container and let cool. Then enjoy how you're sticking it to The (deodorant) Man.

Pushing the bounds of social acceptability...

Perhaps some of this is the kind of thing one should keep to oneself, but I'm so pleased that I'm sharing anyway.




We've been making our own lotion for a few years now, and while Chris tells me that's odd, I like it. It's mixing, melting, and pouring, so it's entertaining for the kids, and it's much cheaper than buying lotion that has ingredients I recognize. So above we have hand lotion, diaper wipe liquid, "calm down" lotion for the big kids (it doesn't work, but don't tell them. I'm hoping it will kick in any day now.), and a wax we made to finish some wood, but which makes great lotion (here's where we get into the stuff I should keep to myself). Today Neave has a terrible diaper rash from the chili I knew I shouldn't give her, so we made diaper ointment, below.

I recently made a hair rinse from apple cider vinegar that actually seems to be making a difference on my dry dry dry winter scalp.

And here's calendula oil in the making, which I'm mostly showing because it's so pretty, which probably doesn't come across in this photo.

Yesterday Chris said, "we're out of glue. We should put that on this list. Unless you're going to make some of that," in a fairly sarcastic voice. But the glue seems to work just great. On the plus side, Tucker thinks it's delicious. So delicious he sneaks bites of it out of the fridge, where it's kept. At least I know what my paste eater is eating, right?... Somehow that doesn't make me feel better.


And here's the coup de grace of my social acceptability - my own deodorant!

I'm so pleased with it. I really like it. I know, it's winter, and it probably won't stand the test of summer, when I really need an antiperspirant. But I made it with fir balsam essential oil, so I smell a bit like Christmas.

Just for the record, Chris has stopped using his medicinal cream for his eczema, and started using the wood wax. And remarking on how we shouldn't have to use petroleum products just because the oil industry wants to get rid of their waste products. I just nod, but I think we all know I won: we're both lame.