Original post date: December 29, 2013 (Moving my content from one blog to another. It just feels right.)
Like many, I share the new American dream. You know the one? The one where I live in a beautiful cabin in the woods with Wi-Fi and an expensive coffee maker. I wear adorable Fair Isle sweaters and galoshes while I milk my goats and gather eggs from my chicken coop. I never go to Winco or Albertsons, cause girl, I grow my own damn tomatoes. They're organic. They're delicious. I even grow them during winter in the greenhouse my sexy husband made me. He has a beard (true). He writes poetry about how cute I am in my sweaters (false).
Anyhoo.
The dream is not quite realized, but I'm working on it. My latest revelation is... wait for it... get ready...
HOMEMADE DEODORANT!!!
It's natural. It's aluminum-free. I made it in my kitchen while drinking cheap wine. And best of all, it actually works! For real.
I put it to the test on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I figured if it could stand up to the rigors of frantic present-wrapping, Santa impersonations, late-night meltdowns, hours of cream-based casserole cooking, in-laws, and our Christmas day relay race through Western Washington, it was a winner.
And it is. A winner.
In fact, I think it works better than commercial deodorant.
Want to try it? Of course you do.
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda
Essential oil if you so desire
I globbed a quarter cup of coconut oil into my small glass jar. (This jar used to house Hot and Sweet Pepper Jelly which is probably one of my favorite things to eat with cream cheese.)
Be sure to write "deodorant" and draw a smiley face somewhere on the jar, lest you become confused and smear it on a cracker.
I put the lid on, threw it in a saucepan of water, and heated the water until the coconut oil melted. Then I threw in the cornstarch and baking soda and stirred until smooth. I added a few drops of peppermint and vanilla essential oils because I love to smell of candy canes. I gave it a couple hours to solidify and... that's it. Deodorant!
Now, I just dip my finger in the jar, smear a bit onto my underarms and I'm ready to milk a goat! Super easy.
Thanks to my extensive research (poking around Pinterest while nursing my baby), I know that some people can be sensitive to the baking soda. If that's the case, just reduce the amount a bit. I've personally had zero issues, but you never know. Maybe I'm just insensitive.
