DIY Spray Deodorant

[merovirginian]

I just wanted to share what I've found to be an effective homemade deodorant. My first batch/bottle was made in April, and I just made my second over the weekend.

I posted about this in another thread too:

Artisan deodorants or other options?

Do any of the artisan shaving soap brands also make underarm deodorants? I've always had a really hard time finding deodorant scents that I actually like. Now that i see there is a whole world of small businesses making amazing scents I wish there were a few making deodorants as well. Keep in...

www.badgerandblade.com

Up front, here's my simple recipe:
60 ml Everclear 151
5 ml Witch hazel
5 ml 'old' cologne

I wanted a mixture that would kill bacteria but be safe for skin. I had a spray deodorant from Nancy Boy products, and tried to model off that (i.e. reading the ingredient list). I chose ethanol because I read (on the internet, so, yeah) that it was better for repeated skin use than isopropyl. Better is a vague term, but I think better really meant 'less irritation'.

Lots of sites give ideas about how to use essential oils too. I chose old cologne for two reasons: (1) I have a decent amount of leftover cologne from the 90s, and (2) cologne was definitely made to be applied on skin.

About the ratios: I am no expert. I used this as my guide:

Effective Use of Alcohol for Aromatic Blending - Tisserand Institute

How to effectively use alcohol in formulating with essential oils is an important issue. How much alcohol do you need for solubilizing and preservation?

tisserandinstitute.org

In the future, I will probably use Everclear 190, which will give me the opportunity to add some other things (perhaps just more witch hazel, or perhaps some hops which Nancy Boy uses and appears to be beneficial). Why did I use Everclear 151? Because that's what I had (and still have) in the house. It makes a great simple hand sanitizer too (a teachable moment from COVID-times) (but nowhere as cheap as isopropyl now).

Anyway, if you want to make your own spray deodorant, if only as an option, I hope this helps. Happy spraying!

 

[merovirginian]

Also, here are the spray bottles I use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BRMQ1FY/

I also use them as cheap, refillable hand sanitizer spray bottles by putting isopropyl alcohol in them (we have them in our cars). Sorry Purell.

 

[FarmerTan]

Also, here are the spray bottles I use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BRMQ1FY/

I also use them as cheap, refillable hand sanitizer spray bottles by putting isopropyl alcohol in them (we have them in our cars). Sorry Purell.

I think I am going to try my hand at this! We use those bottles for air freshener that my wife makes with witch hazel and essential oils....

Thanks for the information my friend!

 

[Member357]

This sounds good, thank you. I've never seen Everclear in this country, so I kept things simple with gin and a couple of different essential oils, in this case patchouli, peppermint, and a smaller amount of lavender. Smells good, but it's early days. I need to see how my skin reacts over the course of a few days!

 

[merovirginian]

Update on this. So, my simple deodorant has worked supremely well. If something works, try to improve it, right?

I changed it up a little. Because I wanted to add some additional things while still keeping the alcohol percentage high enough, I'm now using Everclear 190 (yeah, felt a little sheepish buying it--I wonder what the cashier thought of me). Replaced regular witch hazel with witch hazel hyrdosol (which is just purer WH with almost nothing added) and added some hops extract.

First batch, lessons learned. I put hops in because it's supposed to be an anti-bacterial and odor fighter:

Deodorant effects of a supercritical hops extract: antibacterial activity against Corynebacterium xerosis and Staphylococcus epidermidis and efficacy testing of a hops/zinc ricinoleate stick in humans through the sensory evaluation of axillary deodor

The hops extract has good in vitro antibacterial properties and, in combination with zinc ricinoleate in an appropriate base, delivers in vivo odor reduction. The clinical efficacy is likely due to a combination of the base ingredients and the antibacterial actives.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Whether it is in the small amount I used, who knows. But, the lesson was that the hops smelled terrible. Yuck. I originally did not increase the amount of fragrance. So, I assume that the hops odor-fighter actually fought the fragrance. The overall result was ... totally fine, but not a strong scent and it did not last all day. The scent did not last mind you. Which is fine, the deodorant did its work--the pits smelled fine. However, I recently upped the fragrance and it made a big difference in the scent lasting all day again (still mild, it's deodorant, nothing extends or wafts beyond the underarm area, which is desired).

Here's my new formula:

75 ml Everclear 190
15 ml Witch Hazel Hydrosol
10 ml Fragrance (I use old cologne for now)
1/2 dropper of hops extract (about 0.7 ml or so).

By my calculations, this results in a deodorant a bit over 70% grain alcohol (ethanol).

Happy experimenting to any who want to.

 

[merovirginian]

Just one safety note. When I list 10 ml of fragrance, I am using cologne which is something already known to be safe for skin (I treat it as having 0% alcohol). If you are using essential oils, do not use anywhere near this amount. You must dilute them first.

According to my research, you should use no more than a 1% or 2% essential oil ratio to liquid. 1% is about 9 drops of essential oils per 30 ml. 2% would be 18 drops per 30 ml. From what I researched, 1% is fine for daily use on the face, 2% is fine for daily use on the body. I would probably start with a 1% ratio myself for the underarms, just to be safe. I could always add more.