de-funk de pits

[TeresaT]

TMI...I haven't used deodorant in years becuz of the aluminum. I shower twice a day. If someone thinks I don’t smell like a bouquet of flowers, they need to back out of my personal space.

I have an autoimmune disease called Sjogren’s Syndrome. It attacks the moisture producing glands in my body. My eyes were the first to fall victim. They get so dry that my lids have actually stuck to and torn the corneal tissue. I cannot shower daily because my skin can not tolerate it. Showering twice a day is a luxury I can only remember from my teens and 20s. I shower every other day and own stock in baby wipes. I don’t use commercial deodorants because I don’t like the idea of having my sweat ducts plugged with chemicals to prevent a natural biological activity. Any moisture my body can produce is good as far as I’m concerned: spit, sweat, snot, tears. But I don’t want to funk up the neighborhood (though I have been known to get down and get funky on occasion).

I agree with you that if someone can smell me, they’re in my personal space and need to get out; but sometimes I want someone in my personal space and having some deodorant on gives me the boost of confidence enjoy that contact. I don’t invite many people into my personal space because I’m not a PDA kind of person. (Heck, I’m not a”DA” kind of person for that matter!) Having a deodorant that I can rely on if the need for a spontaneous display of emotions around anyone other than my dogs occurs is a good feeling. This deodorant is definitely that without a crap-ton of chemicals that I don’t need.

Jumping in on the deo conversation... there was a deo powder that was part of the Home Sweet Home swap January 2017, I've lost the majority of my notes during the moving process, but maybe it was someone in this thread that made it. That stuff is awesome! I only struggle during some of the summer months so I can predict when I will need to use the powder. I use a cotton ball (new one every time) to apply it put my deoderant over the top, and I am dry as a bone all day! I love that stuff. So if one of you made it, or know who made, or if there is a thread with the recipe (poop, just occurred to me it might even be in this thread) please point me in the right direction! I <3 that stuff and will be sad when I run out. Not to mention stinky.

I’m almost out and need to make a batch. If you don’t have the ingredients to make it, PM your details and I’ll mail you some to get you through the rest of the summer. I make 5 lbs at a time, so it’s no big deal.

Holy crow!! This thread is two years old!! I haven’t used commercial deodorant in two years. I had no idea it was that long ago. With that exciting bit of news, I’m off to bed. G’night y’all.

 

[Eepa]

I found this thread really interesting. The only natural deo that has really worked for me had Mg(OH)2 in it and I had plans to make my own at some point but couldn't find the darn thing anywhere. Your links didn't help either but they helped me found another supplier that does actually deliver to Finland. So yey! Even more yey is that the natural deo I last bought actually has Mg(OH)2 in it, I didn't remember that. So now I can try it with out having to buy anything new. =]

Also, sometimes you don't need to be too close to anyone to smell the funk. I, unfortunately, have a co-worker that I can tell _has been_ in the room or hall way several minutes after he has gone elsewhere as the odor will linger... That is some tactical grade BO let me tell you. =D

 

[beckster51]

I agree, Eepa! A lot of people that think they don't smell, really do smell. It depends on what you are accustomed to and many other factors such as what you eat. As I have gotten older, my "smeller" does not work as well as it did when I was young, and like Teresa said, I like having the confidence to know that I don't smell when close to others. I love that phrase - tactical BO - that's hilarious and accurate!

 

[DeeAnna]

I once had to spend a lot of time with a co-worker who had unusually strong foot odor. It was sometimes hard to stand 3-4 feet away from her because the odor was so strong. I often wondered if she had a medical condition that caused this problem, because she didn't have a strong odor otherwise.

Although I prefer to smell clean, I don't think I need to absolutely and always prevent or mask normal smells from my body. For example, I think the smell of clean sweat after a hard day's work is perfectly acceptable. A good friend is really offended by any slight whiff, and I could never quite figure out why she felt that way. Maybe the difference is she's a city girl, born and bred, and I grew up in the country? Dunno.

In any case, I have used underarm deodorant for most of my adult life. Underarm sweat is the source of most odor problems for most people by the end of a long day, especially if it's a stressful one. I don't react well, as I've mentioned before, to antiperspirants because they plug the sweat glands and that causes me trouble. But deo works well enough to control underarm odor for me, so using deo is a good compromise.

 

[beckster51]

I agree. Clean sweat smell is fine, but the "fermented" sweat smell, not so much. If I have "nervous" sweat it smells terrible, I assume due to the chemicals my body releases when I am apprehensive. I do wear deodorant most days, but if I am not going to do anything too taxing and will be indoors most of the day, I will skip it to let my pits breathe. I find under those circumstances I don't smell much. Again, it is the clean sweat smell and not much of it.

 

[amd]

I just looked up the Home Sweet Home comments threads and saw that Teresa had contributed her Un-talcum Powder to the swap. You can find her recipe here: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/un-talcum-powder.63705/
IrishLass

Thanks, IL, for bringing up the thread! I've been quite crunched for time (and still trying to catch up on some "current" reading on the forum). @TeresaT I'd just like to say how much I have missed your spunky personality around here. Thanks for the offer to send me more, but now that I know where the recipe is I should be good to go when I run out! I transferred my powder to a large container (I have a cat that will eat baggies) so I am making myself a note to stick to it so I remember where to go. I'm also going to grab a few notes from this thread regarding MG and Babassu, I'd like to give DIY deoderant another chance. Maybe this time in combination with the powder I'll have good results.

 

[soaring1]

Eek, I wish someone would tell my Mother's body that it does not need to produce a smell. She claims that as she does not shave her pits it wicks the moisture away from her body and therefore it produces no smell. There are some days in summer where I have to say something as the only way I can drive without my eyes watering is to have the car window open. Gag, wretch and double gag.

I started using the Mag/Babassu deodorant and love it.

 

[cmzaha]

I have an autoimmune disease called Sjogren’s Syndrome. It attacks the moisture producing glands in my body. My eyes were the first to fall victim. They get so dry that my lids have actually stuck to and torn the corneal tissue. I cannot shower daily because my skin can not tolerate it. Showering twice a day is a luxury I can only remember from my teens and 20s. I shower every other day and own stock in baby wipes. I don’t use commercial deodorants because I don’t like the idea of having my sweat ducts plugged with chemicals to prevent a natural biological activity. Any moisture my body can produce is good as far as I’m concerned: spit, sweat, snot, tears. But I don’t want to funk up the neighborhood (though I have been known to get down and get funky on occasion).
.

My youngest daughter also has Sjorgren's Syndrome and cannot tolerate showering daily. It is a very un-nice Syndrome. It affects her teeth horrifically. She is also epileptic and has Rheumatoid Arthritis. Autoimmune diseases are not nice. I can sure relate to what you go through after seeing what she goes through.

Your powder sounds great and thinking I will try making some.

I just poured a 2 oz test batch using
40% Babassu; 32.5% Mag Hydroxide; 12% BTMS 50; 12% Cetyl Alcohol; 3% Soft & Silky Emulisier ; .5% DB
Since I have a market today and will be in at least 10ºF temp it should be a good test. I will be using it and taking the roll up container with me today

 

[Dahila]

I just poured a 2 oz test batch using
40% Babassu; 32.5% Mag Hydroxide; 12% BTMS 50; 12% Cetyl Alcohol; 3% Soft & Silky Emulisier ; .5% DB
Since I have a market today and will be in at least 10ºF temp it should be a good test. I will be using it and taking the roll up container with me today

you have very similar percentage to mine, and with over 35 Celsius still is good, is just a bit druggy not enough not to have sales, Works perfect for stink that's for sure no staining clothes.

 

[cmzaha]

Update, it did not hold up in the heat, but the percentage of babassu to MH seems to work really well. It was very hot and humid yesterday.

 

[earlene]

Update, it did not hold up in the heat, but the percentage of babassu to MH seems to work really well. It was very hot and humid yesterday.

That was this recipe (below)? So did your deo in the roll-up tube melt? And how much? Did it soften, but remain inside the tube, or did it running out the bottom? I'm just curious, because I bought some BTMS50 but haven't tried it yet. I wasn't planning on adding an emulsifier, just the BTMS50 and maybe cetyl alcohol. But I'd have to refresh my memory on what ingredients it was I was going to try with (or none with) the BTMS50.

I just poured a 2 oz test batch using
40% Babassu; 32.5% Mag Hydroxide; 12% BTMS 50; 12% Cetyl Alcohol; 3% Soft & Silky Emulisier ; .5% DB
Since I have a market today and will be in at least 10ºF temp it should be a good test. I will be using it and taking the roll up container with me today

I'll be headed across country the next few days in and then staying in Mendocino County for another 8 days, so expect my deo will be subjected to high heats of travel again.

 

[cmzaha]

That was this recipe (below)? So did your deo in the roll-up tube melt? And how much? Did it soften, but remain inside the tube, or did it running out the bottom? I'm just curious, because I bought some BTMS50 but haven't tried it yet. I wasn't planning on adding an emulsifier, just the BTMS50 and maybe cetyl alcohol. But I'd have to refresh my memory on what ingredients it was I was going to try with (or none with) the BTMS50.



I'll be headed across country the next few days in and then staying in Mendocino County for another 8 days, so expect my deo will be subjected to high heats of travel again.

It became very mushy in the tube, so I put it back in my cooler. Sorry not much great help, but I am guessing it would have thinned out even more than it did if I had left it out on the table. It was soft enough it would no longer roll up. Will claify I was not trying to sell it just testing if it would stand up to the heat. In my opinion it would not.

I melted the emulsifier and cetyl alcohol first then added in the BTMS50 to just melt without overheating and it still picked up a very fishy which is common with BTMS50, dang BTMS50 and it's fishy scent. I scented it with my DB and it seemed to intensify the fishy . I am not sure it is possible to keep it from melting in the hot weather we are having. I just poured another based on DeeAnna's recipe with a little tweak so will see how it does.

Edit to add...I have had the one from yesterday sitting on the kitchen counter for a couple of hrs after taking out of the cooler I had it in yesterday. I will say it is not liquifying just more squishy but staying in the tube. My kitchen at the moment is 95º F

 

[Moose Wrangler]

The primary recipe in this thread uses magnesium hydroxide. I already have magnesium chloride here at home so I'm curious if that could be subbed. I didn't find anything that popped out when I checked out Google.

Any chance anyone can tell me the difference between how magnesium hydroxide and magnesium chloride would work? I've seen magnesium chloride used in multiple diy deodorant recipes so I know some others use it. Chemically, I'm not sure how it impacts the deodorants effectiveness compared to magnesium hydroxide.

 

[BattleGnome]

@moosewrangler - several of us have used milk of magnesia with no issues, I think that’s magnesium chloride. The hydroxide choice was one based on purity. If I’m remembering right magnesium hydroxide is easy to get in a pure form while other forms of magnesium weren’t as pure or at least had less magnesium content. Someone else was asking about magnesium chloride because they already used it, or was that you in a different thread?

@cmzaha, was it more of a paste than a solid? That’s where mine ends up with 10% steric acid. Easy to use but definitely wouldn’t work in a tube

 

[earlene]

MOM ingredients:
Suspension
Each mL of suspension contains 80 mg of magnesium hydroxide. Nonmedicinal ingredients: carboxymethylcellulose, cherry flavour (cherry only), citric acid, D&C Red No. 28 (cherry only), ethanol, glycerin, menthol, microcrystalline cellulose, mineral oil, peppermint flavouring (mint only), sodium saccharin, sodium citrate, sodium hypochlorite, sucrose, water, and xanthan gum.

So, not MgCl2. I will update with some links I found with a search here on SMF for Magnesium Chloride after I sort through them.

BattleGnome's 2016 thread on magnesium 'oil' as deo (not MgCl2, though):
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/another-deodorant-thread-magnesium-oil.61097/

A few threads with MgCl2 in the results were about magnesium soaps, so I won't list them as they were not at all pertinent to the deo question.

That was all I found, so apparently MgCl2 hasn't been discussed much here on SMF, or my search parameters are not specific enough.

In any case, I do seem to recall concerns others have expressed about absorption of magnesium transdermally and the possible side effects thereof. So to address that concern, should it arise again (since MgCl2 is a more bio-available form that magnesium hydroxide), I include this link that concludes that there have insufficient studies to form a reasonably conclusion as to the efficacy of transdermal application of MgCl2:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579607/

 

[Gaisy59]

It became very mushy in the tube, so I put it back in my cooler. Sorry not much great help, but I am guessing it would have thinned out even more than it did if I had left it out on the table. It was soft enough it would no longer roll up. Will claify I was not trying to sell it just testing if it would stand up to the heat. In my opinion it would not.

I melted the emulsifier and cetyl alcohol first then added in the BTMS50 to just melt without overheating and it still picked up a very fishy which is common with BTMS50, dang BTMS50 and it's fishy scent. I scented it with my DB and it seemed to intensify the fishy . I am not sure it is possible to keep it from melting in the hot weather we are having. I just poured another based on DeeAnna's recipe with a little tweak so will see how it does.

Edit to add...I have had the one from yesterday sitting on the kitchen counter for a couple of hrs after taking out of the cooler I had it in yesterday. I will say it is not liquifying just more squishy but staying in the tube. My kitchen at the moment is 95º F

Hmmmm would it be better if you had the rock hard babassu for hot summertime use instead of the softer one? A few posts back i mentioned that i had ordered one from New Directions which did not melt even in + 34 celsius.

 

[earlene]

Hmmmm would it be better if you had the rock hard babassu for hot summertime use instead of the softer one? A few posts back i mentioned that i had ordered one from New Directions which did not melt even in + 34 celsius.

I don't know which babassu Carolyn has, but mine, which is hard and not soft until I melt it will not work as you suggest. I've posted about this in past with my deo, but when I travel a simple 50:50 Magnesium hydroxide:babassu will soften when exposed to high heats of summer travel, especially in my car trunk, but also in the cabin of my car if not in the cooler with my food. That's why I added beeswax, and later trying other waxes to increase the melting point.

 

[Moose Wrangler]

BattleGnome and Earlene,

Thanks for the info/thoughts. I tried it out because I saw other posts elsewhere about it. I can't compare to the magnesium hydroxide but I can say I wouldn't recommend the magnesium chloride. I ended up removing it because it caused an ever so slight burning sensation. No one wants that from their deodorant!

Maybe it was the amount or the scent I put in the recipe. No idea, but not excited to try it again. I'll pick up some magnesium hydroxide and give it a try.

 

[earlene]

Be careful with the scent. Check the safe usage for all fragrances you use. Remember that deodorant is a category 2, so that's the percentage amount you can safely use (up to that amount, but less is okay) for a given fragrance.

Read this for descriptions of the categories: https://soapmakingrules.com/2017/11/30/how-to-read-ifra-rates-fragrance-oils/

Read this for an example of where to find the IFRA safe usage recomendations for an FO at this supplier (you need to click on the IFRA link for any particular FO to see the amount.):
https://arizona-mad-oils.com/pages/msds-ifras-fragrances

 

[SoaperForLife]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that it's not so much what goes in your deodorant recipe as it is your length of time away from conventional deodorants. I have been using my own formulation for over a year now and others before that and the only time that I still caught a whiff of body odor was after my weekly horseback riding lesson. Just recently I noticed that there wasn't any odor after that either and today I tried a different formulation with cocoa butter (test). The cocoa butter actually separated from the active ingredient in my formulation but yet I'm out in the sun and heat today moving manure with a wheelbarrow and working in the garden and I don't smell anything. To me, this is very similar to how things went when I was using a cold-process soap shampoo bar. In the beginning I needed to use a vinegar rinse or my hair felt yucky but as time went on, I no longer needed the vinegar rinse and could go several days without shampooing. I attribute the yucky feeling to the residue left behind from commercial products and once that was gone, well life got much better. It would be interesting to know how long everyone has been using something other than the commercial deodorant and how things are working out for them now...