Deodorant

Yes, you read the title right. And yes, this blog is about edible vegan fare created in my kitchen. But this deodorant is made with all vegan, edible ingredients, and it's made right in my kitchen, so it deserves a spot in Resolution Kitchen just as much as the chocolate chip cookies and spinach chick pea stew do. I've been making this deodorant for years, and it's never failed me. It works just as well, if not better, than traditional deodorants, but without the aluminum, titanium dioxide and other undesirable ingredients.

There are only four ingredients. Baking soda acts as a deodorizer. I go through a lot of baking soda. In addition to deodorant, I use it as a cleaning agent to clean sinks and countertops. There's always an open box in the fridge, and a sprinkling of it in garbage cans and diaper pails. Cornstarch is used as an antiperspirant. The two powders are held together with coconut oil. I use an organic refined oil since I use it for cooking also, but unrefined would work just as well. The last ingredient just makes it smell nice. You can use just about any essential oil. I like to use tea tree oil (for the antibacterial properties) and lavender (just because it smells nice). These two oils aren't edible, so if you're interested in making the deodorant truly edible, orange, grapefruit, lemon, peppermint and lemongrass are edible oils that will make your pits smell good, too. Not that I recommend eating this even if it is edible. I absentmindedly licked my finger while making this and almost chocked. It definitely doesn't taste as good as it smells!

To make the deodorant, mix 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1/4 cup of cornstarch in a small bowl. Add one tablespoon of coconut oil and mix well. Since the coconut oil is on the solid side, you'll need to "press" all the ingredients together, almost like you're grinding something with a mortar and pestle. Add another teaspoon or so of oil if needed to make the mixture the consistency of deodorant. Add about 20 drops of essential oil and mix again. Transfer to a recycled container with a lid.

It should look like this when you're done.

A little bit of this stuff goes a long way, use sparingly.