Poor Baking Soda!
No one ever looks back once they have ditched their commercial deodorants for more natural deodorant alternative brands. Baking soda is a reasonably common ingredient in DIY natural and store purchased natural deodorants. This is because it is an effective deodoriser. But baking soda gets a pretty bad wrap as an ingredient when it comes to natural deodorants.
In this article we will tell you why baking soda is not for everyone in a natural deodorant. We will recommend a few baking soda free natural deodorants and provide you with a DIY activated charcoal deodorant recipe without baking soda that you can make at home.
What is the problem with baking soda in natural deodorants?
For some people, baking soda causes increased skin sensitivity after a short period of time. And this sensitivity extends to your armpits. After some people have applied a natural deodorant containing baking soda, they experience a burning sensation, a rash or even cracked skin in their armpits.
And baking soda is one ingredient in natural deodorants that often gets blamed for causing these skin problems. This is because of its alkaline PH. It has an average pH of 8.3.
Other natural deodorant ingredients such as Aloe Vera has a pH of around 4.5 to 5. So, if a natural deodorant contains a lot of baking soda, it can most certainly cause skin issues for you. This is especially true after you have shaved your armpits.
So let’s take a look at your options when it comes to finding a natural deodorant without baking soda.
Decided to source a natural deodorant without baking soda? Here’s some inspiration for you:
1.Organic Deodorant Cream by LittleSeedFarm
We love this brand. Little Seed Farm has a huge social media presence and takes followers right into the paddocks where their goats live. The packaging is kind of awesome and so is the fact that this organic deodorant cream is baking soda free.
2. k’pure Naturals Baking Soda-Free Deodorant
Another activated charcoal gem that is baking soda free is the k’Pure Naturals All Natural Deodorant. They’ve replaced the baking soda with magnesium and voila, you get natural absorption of moisture and odor from the magnesium rather than baking soda.
What about other natural deodorants without baking soda that don’t contain activated charcoal?
Yes. We know. We can’t talk about activated charcoal deodorant products ALL day long (but we would if we could!). Here are some other natural deodorants that don’t contain activated charcoal. But they don’t contain baking soda either which is great news for those of you who have sensitive pits:
Meow Meow Tweet Baking Soda Free Grapefruit Deodorant Cream
Bare Bones Deodorant for Sensitive Skin
Schmidts Sensitive Skin Deodorant Sticks range
A DIY Activated Charcoal Deodorant without Baking Soda Recipe:
And for those of you who love to put your own natural deodorant mixes together, here is DIY activated charcoal deodorant recipe that doesn’t contain any baking soda:
Activated Charcoal Deodorant with magnesium
Activated charcoal powder – 1 teaspoon
Arrowroot powder – 1/2 cup
Coconut oil (liquid) – 1/4 cup
Magnesium oil – 2 tablespoons
Witch Hazel – 1 tablespoon
Directions for making your own DIY activated charcoal deodorant
Step 1: Place the activated charcoal and arrowroot into a bowl
Step 2: Make a well in the center
Step 3: Add the magnesium oil, witch hazel, and coconut oil
Step 4: Mix with a hand mixer until I have a thick paste
Step 5: Add essential oils (if using) and mix again
Step 6: Pour your deodorant into clean jars
Further Reading
Antiperspirants/Deodorants and Breast Cancer from the National Cancer Institute
New Research Indicates Aluminium in Deodorant linked to Breast Cancer
For a comprehensive range of other activated charcoal deodorants click here
If you want to see 6 Top Activated Charcoal Deodorants then click here
For our favorite men’s natural deodorant range click here
If all of this talk about activated charcoal and natural deodorants is making you giddy and you want more, subscribe and join the Charcoal and Body community.
Blog post image credit: Little Seed Farm