I thought I would share a little bit of background, as to what went on behind the scenes, when I wanted to start making natural deodorant.
When I worked a full time job, where stress was an everyday occurrence and an antiperspirant was an absolute must, I knew that it wasn’t natural to not perspire, but back then social etiquette decreed that I couldn’t hold a public speaking role and have large sweaty armpits!
So, I finished my full time job, I decided to make the first step into just going down the route of a deodorant. A lot less stress and a good cheap roll on deodorant took me into what I thought was a more natural state of armpit-world. However, I have sensitive skin so not all supermarket products fitted, quite a lot irritated, and some just made me feel quite acky.
Times have moved in the deodorant world, there are lots of natural deodorants out there now, so, I thought, how hard could this be to make my ow?
Knowing that our skin is such a large organ, the vital part of not letting nasties into our bodies, I knew I’d have to careful research before asking my team of volunteers if they would be my testers. There is a lot to learn and understand. For example, I did know that anything getting through the skin that could impact on the lymph-node function was an absolute no no!
So I sought the advice of the Cosmetic Chemists who I work with (this is my third one in three years, and yes I am particular when it comes to the safety of both myself and my customers).
The conversation went something along the lines of, ‘I’d like to add a deodorant to my range of products but don’t know enough about them to safely make up a sample to try, can you help?”
The response was a pleasant surprise that they already had an off-the-shelf formulation that I could buy and make as my own brand. Woohoo! I thought, that was an easy conversation.
So, back in January 2025, I made my first batch of deodorant, using the bought in formulation, based on Bicarb. This is how it went . . . .
Day 1, a bit stingy on application. My initial thoughts were, it might just be my sensitivity, just keep going, it’ll be fine.
Day 2, applied the deodorant again, within four hours my armpits were on fire! This clearly wasn’t just a sensitive skin type of thing, it was painful.
I had more than a few days off wearing deodorant to get my skin to calm down. It was winter time so no over exertion and no overheating. Just a bit smelly and uncomfortable in the presence of others.
I went back the to Cosmetic Chemists and explained what had happened. They suggested that I try their deodorant for sensitive skin, based on Zinc Oxide. So, back to square one, I made the formulation as it went something like this:
Day 1, applied new formulation deodorant, got on with some housework and within 2 hours it failed, quite dramatically……… I stunk!
This was an absolute disaster. I couldn’t ask anyone to try this product.
A few weeks had gone on by this time, and I had gained an understanding of how the formulations were structured, so I felt a lot braver when contacting the Cosmetic Chemists again to explain just what had happened this time.
The conversation went something like this. . . . “OMG! your standard formulation burnt my armpits off and your sensitive version failed, literally failed within 2 hours!”. By this point I had also done some further research into which bacteria eating ingredients are absorbed into the skin and which are not.
I looked at the function of Magnesium as a bacteria eating ingredient. All the research and reading, lead me to Magnesium Hydroxide as the possible solution. It was mild on sensitive skin, eats the odour producing bacteria, and completely stays outside the skin. So tick, tick ,tick.
I made a formulation up myself, using the structures I had been given by the Cosmetic Chemists, and Magnesium Hydroxide. The first batch did not include any essential oils, as I wanted to see if it really worked. In the first week, I took myself out on a 25 mile bike ride, a 5 kilometre run and I took the dog out for a walk with too many clothes on. It was winter time so no one really noticed.
I can honestly say it worked. So I went back to the Cosmetic Chemists and discussed everything with them, and asked them if they could certify this new formulation free of charge, seeing as I could not hand-on-heart make and sell their deodorants. They said yes!!! This was a real weight off my mind and my pocket.
I then moved onto looking at essential oil blends that could be used in a deodorant. I’m not so inventive when it comes to this so I firstly added the same blend of oils that I use in the Body Butters, knowing that these aromas are truly yummy. I knew these would work.
Then I ventured into aromatherapy, looking at essential oils that are skin safe, popular and gorgeous. Lots of friends helped guide me in this area and quite a few votes were given to Bergamot and Orange. On their own, each was nice but blended together they really are a lovely light zesty/floral aroma, that is just nice to have as a deodorant. I also wanted a calming sense, so I veered towards Lavender (a classic favourite) however on its own, it was too heavy, so I blended it with Geranium, again after lots of suggestions from friends. Wow, this one was a game changer for me. I then wanted to look at a more minty blend and I think I’ve nailed it by using Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Pine and Tea Tree. Only time will tell as to which ones are right for people to use. You will be my guide.
So, I have now created a stiff cream like deodorant that I have named as a Gentle Deodorant Balm, as I know that it shouldn’t aggravate sensitive skin. It is easy to apply. You can use your fingers to apply a pea sized amount straight onto the skin in your armpit, or if your a a bit finicky like me, use the back of a wooden ice-cream spoon to scoop it out of the tin and apply it. The back of the spoon is the exact same shape as the armpit, and the gentle deodorant balm just glides on and soaks into the skin beautifully because of the gorgeous Organic Mango Butter and Organic Coconut Oil.
The full range are available in two different sizes, 15g sample/travel size, and 45g standard size. The sample size lasts approximately three weeks, giving you plenty of time to see if the aroma is right for you before going up to the bigger standard size, which lasts approximately two months.