This is the point at which many people say "yuck". I understand the reaction, but honestly, this stuff works just as well as I remember any commercial deodorant working. It's not an anti-perspirant, and you do still have to maintain good hygiene, but you do that anyway, right? I run and ride my bike regularly, and I have not noticed any "smelliness" or issues with this stuff.

I experimented with many natural deodorant products and methods before finding this recipe online and modifying it. It works the best of anything I've tried so far, definitely better than commercially-available natural deodorants. I'm sure there are some good ones out there I haven't tried, but this works for me so I'm sticking with it.

Homemade Natural Deodorant

1/4 cup cornstarch (moisture absorber)
1/4 cup baking soda (natural deodorant)
10+ drops tea tree oil (I originally used 20 and eventually ended up with 40, see story below)
2 TBSP shea butter
3 TBSP almond oil
OR instead of the shea butter/almond oil, use 2+ TBSP coconut oil, which is what the original recipe suggests.

Mix cornstarch, baking soda, and tea tree oil. Melt shea butter in a heatproof glass bowl set inside a pan filled shallowly with water over medium heat. Stir in almond oil. Remove from heat and stir in cornstarch/baking soda/tee tree oil mixture.

I originally just used 2 TBSP shea butter to substitute for the coconut oil in the original recipe. However, shea butter is much harder than coconut oil and I ended up with this rock-solid stuff that was almost impossible to use. I re-melted it down and added the almond oil to make it more of a cream. I also added 20 more drops of tea tree oil as I'm not sure how heat-stable the essential oil is.

Next time I will try using just coconut oil.

Notes: Baking soda can be a skin irritant. If your skin is sensitive or you notice irritation after using this, you can try halving the amount of baking soda (says the original recipe). You also might not want to apply it directly after shaving your underarms.

You really only need a very small amount of this. It absorbs well and doesn't leave a white residue unless you use too much.