Just because it doesn’t go in your mouth, doesn’t mean you aren’t ingesting it. No seriously. The skin is an ingesting organ. Whatever you slather on it eventually ends up in your blood stream and runs around your body, internally. What you roll, slide or spray over those pits should be made from pure goodness - that’s to say sans the nasty chemicals that have been linked to both cancer and Alzheimer’s.

While the safest and least wasteful route would be to ditch the deodorant alltogether, for some of us that is simply not an option. Instead, use this recipe for a do-it-yourself, all-natural deodorant that will keep you from reeking havoc on nostrils everywhere. In fact, you’ll smell quite delicious.  (P.s. I suggest using organic because it’s better for your skin, but if all you have oh hand are non-organic ingredients, that’s fine too!)

What You’ll Need:

1/4 cup organic corn starch

1/4 cup organic baking soda

2 tablespoons oraganic coconut oil

Essential oil blend of your choosing (tea tree, lavender and sandalwood makes for a sumptuous, antimicrobial trifecta)

Vitamin E 

An empty container to be filled with your new deodorant (an old, cleaned-out deodorant stick will work or anything else that seems appropriate)

What To Do:

1. Combine cornstarch with baking soda.

2. Add essential oils (what I liked most was 5 drops of tea tree, 5 drops of lavender, and 3 drops of sandalwood).

3. Add the coconut oil and a few drops of vitamin E oil.

4. Mush the ingredients together until they start to form a silky mass. Add more of the coconut oil or dry ingredients to adjust. Then you’re ready to start packing it into your container.

5. Let it set up for a day or two and you’re ready to use it!