Pit Stick

Let’s talk about armpits.

It isn’t easy to find a deodorant that is safe AND actually works. We recently spent an evening making a safe alternative to some of the deodorants, and especially anti-antiperspirants, on the market. It was surprisingly simple and I’ve been using it for over a month now. I really love it. And the best part, it works!

I’m not typically an armpit shaver. Every once in a while, it’ll get burly enough that I take a razor to it, but generally I’m applying deodorant atop of some hair. Some might argue that deodorant doesn’t work unless you have a cleanly-shaven pit. Others argue that your cleanly shaven pit with a schmear of deodorant can increase the likelihood of breast cancer. Some argue that using any deodorant at all can increase your chances of breast cancer. Aluminum is generally the ingredient that most of the population tends to be wary of. But, what are some of these other ingredients I can’t pronounce?

If you can make a safe pit stick, and make handfuls of them at a time to have on hand, that’s probably your best bet. I purchased a pile of these containers awhile back and had been hanging onto them for… Deodorant Making Night, everyone’s favorite night!

The Pit Stick recipe we used overlapped much with some of my salve recipes. You only need a few ingredients from your kitchen and you might have them on hand already.

I like this guy. You’ll need both the arrowroot powder and baking soda. You’ll also need some virgin coconut oil. I like to get the massive container at Costco.

Finally you’ll need some beeswax. I have a favorite local source, so I’ll leave that up to you. I can almost guarantee that you’ll be able to find some at a local health food store, and that brings me to the hope that finding beeswax is a forever thing. I’ve been worrying about the beepocolypse like a mad woman, but that is for another post.

I keep a tiny crockpot just for beeswax. I let it harden in the crock between uses and simply plug it in an hour or so before I begin a project like this (low heat setting).

Empty glass jars are handy for this project, empty peanut butter or jelly jars are perfect. I put them in a pot with a inch or two of water (like a double-boiler) and just put it on warm. This recipe will almost exactly fill one empty deodorant container.

• 3 Tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 Tablespoons of melted beeswax
• 2 Tablespoons of baking soda
• 2 Tablespoons of arrowroot powder/starch
• essential oils (save until the very end, see below)

Add the top 4 ingredients to your glass jar and warm in the water pot. On low heat, stir with a wooden chopstick. When everything is melted and creamy you can pour the contents into your deodorant container. Let your concoction cool for a minute and add your essential oils. Keep your deodorant container on a flat surface and let it sit overnight to solidify.

I don’t care much for the smell of tea tree in my pits, so I use peppermint and lavender essential oils in my pit stick. You only need a couple drops of each oil. If you use too much peppermint you’re in for a wild ride. Make sure you have a good quality essential oil to keep your pit stick safe.

After your deodorant cools, give it a twist and apply to your shaven or hairy pits and smile, because you are using something safe on/for your body and you made it!