I've always been drawn to the idea of making your own beauty products, as it seemed to combine two of my interests -- skincare and healthier alternatives. So I've dabbled with DIY products in the past, though I feel generally more confident about this particular outcome.
A few months ago, I started this sort of journey to improve my health, looking at things like diet, sun exposure, time in nature, mental health, etc. (as I wrote here). Essentially, my interest was in eliminating toxic chemicals and hormonal disruptors from my environment as much as possible.
And let me just say, doing that is impossible. A quick online research reveals that endocrine disruptors are in everything, from the air we breathe, to our make-up products, to everything in our day-to-day use. It was disheartening, reading that, but also pointedly discouraging -- if you can't cut them out completely anyway, why try?
Well, that's exactly the point. While I may not be able to cut out these disruptors completely, I do see a point in trying to reduce them. So aside from changing my diet and my daily habits, I've also tried to (as much as possible in a city) cut down exposure to disruptive chemicals. I'm wearing make-up more rarely (though I wasn't a pancake make-up sort of person anyway).
I've also (for now) forsaken dying my hair. I haven't dyed it for a little over a year now, but before 2022, I had every shade under the sun. For a long time, I've been a blonde, but I've also had dark black and brown combos, bleach blonde, blue, green, purple, pink, red, and so on and so forth. I've been doing my hair for years, and it wasn't an easy realization that that may also contribute to my endocrine problems.
Funnily enough, looking for "safe" alternatives was pretty damn sobering, with only one brand in Romania actually free of such disruptors. It was a plant/root mix, and needless to say, it didn't go very far. However, I care less and less, so that's good.
But back to the deodorant.
Deodorant, I feel, manages to slip under the radar, when it comes to health concerns. And yet, it's stuffed with endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, and toxic chemicals that are messing up your health. And we expose ourselves to these agents every single day. I also think we've been brainwashed into overly-sanitizing our existence. I think we overwash because we feel we have to, and we over-spray ourselves with toxic deodorants and such sanitizers, when in actuality, we wouldn't sweat that much on an average day.
Unless it's summer, or you engage in extenuating physical work (or do rigorous workouts), you probably don't sweat to the point where it's offensive to the entire bus. Mind you, a lot of bus people seem to take this mentality a little too seriously.
So I decided to make my own deodorant. I looked a bit online, and in the end decided on using:
Baking soda
Shea butter
Coconut oil
Tea Tree oil
Orange essential oil (most people seem to prefer lavender, but I can't stand the smell)
So off I went.
First, I scooped 4-5 tablespoons of coconut oil and shea butter into a glass jar, which I then set to dissolve in a hot-water pan (thus creating a double boiler, essentially). Once the butter and the oil had melted and been properly stirred into one another, I added the baking soda, and the essential oils, and kept on the stove for a few more minutes.
I think I'll also add an extra spoonful of baking soda, once it's completely cooled and ready for use. Baking soda can be used on its own very effectively, though many people find that a bit abrasive, and harsh on the skin, and develop irritations. I'm hoping the coconut oil and shea butter additions will balance that out.
However, on the sweat front, baking soda is great for annihilating strong odors, which is why it's used in many home cleaning products. It counters the smell, while killing off bacteria (together with the tea tree oil, which is also a good toner). All in all, I'm very happy with the recipe, and with what turned out.
One recipe I found also called for arrowroot starch, except there was a mix-up at the store, so I was left without. Still, I threw in a pinch of flour for consistency (I think) after the video was done, and taa-daa:
Next up, probably DIY toothpaste, as that one's a big cause for concern for me, too. That's also be baking soda-based, I think, but I've yet to find a good recipe, as past experiments were unsuccessful for me.
The more I read into what constitutes healthy living, the more I'm struck by how far we are from that ideal, and how seemingly innocent our toxic habits have been made to appear. I think it's very tempting, particularly for young people, to shrug off all these chemicals and harmful preservatives as a "necessary evil". After all, when you're young, you think you can afford toxic care products and foods without breaking a sweat. Yeah, not really. Those people you see looking amazing, and enjoying great health at 80 probably didn't wake up at 78 and completely change lifestyle. By then, the damage is already done.
