Luke 16:10, "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones."
You have heard the saying "don't sweat the small stuff". You can't let small issues keep you from a big vision that God has given you.
But I think that there are times where you should sweat the small stuff. A small rudder steers a humongous ship. A few degrees change and the ship will completely miss its mark.
You should sweat the small stuff in your marriage. Your reactions, your looks, your patience, your wording.
You should sweat the small stuff in your job. Keep your desk clean, be on time.
You should sweat the small stuff in your finances. Stick to your budget, track every purchase.
Now, what does that have to do with homemade deodorant you say? Well sweating is not bad, it's actually good for you and has benefits for the body. However, let's just say it..it's stinky and body odor is not a good smell, ha ha. But, trying to prevent it and cover it up with chemicals is a dangerous way to fix it.
Sweating is very cleansing for your body. Various cultures throughout time have embraced this fact as demonstrated by the prevalent uses of sweat lodges, bath houses and steam rooms in numerous traditions. When you sweat, your body undergoes a series of processes that allow for the release of toxins and an increase in metabolism.
Eating a good diet and drinking enough water can really cut down the odor, but sometimes you need something else. Sure, the conventional antiperspirants work great, if you don’t mind infusing your armpits with cancer causing aluminum, but for those of us who have sought a more natural option, you may have noticed that the pickings are rather slim. There are a lot of natural deodorants out there, it’s just that, well… most of them don’t work well.
Try making your own deodorant if you haven’t already… you’ll not only save money and avoid chemicals, but I’ve found the homemade versions work better too!
The Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter (or a mix of all three equal to 1 part)
- 1/2 cup + 1 tsp beeswax
- Optional: Vitamin E oil to preserve. I added 1 tsp vitamin E oil for this recipe)
- 3 tablespoons baking soda (Omit this if you have sensitive skin and just use extra arrowroot)
- 1/2 cup organic arrowroot powder
- 2-3 capsules of high quality probiotics that don’t need to be refrigerated
- Optional: Essential oils of choice – I used about 20 drops of lavender essential oil
How to Make:
Combine coconut oil, shea (or other) butter, and beeswax in a double boiler, Combine in a quart size glass mason jar with a lid and place this in a small saucepan of water until melted (like a double boiler). This will save your bowls and you can just designate this jar for these type of projects and not even need to wash it out…Turn the burner on and bring water to a boil. Stir ingredients constantly until they are melted and smooth:
Remove from heat and add the vitamin E oil, baking soda, arrowroot powder, probiotics, and essential oils. Make sure the mixture is not hot to the touch (warm is ok) so that the heat doesn’t kill the probiotics.
Gently stir by hand until all ingredients are incorporated.
If you will be making these into bars, pour into muffin tins or other molds while still liquid. If you will be putting into an old deodorant container to use like stick deodorant, let the mixture harden for about 15-20 minutes at room temperature to harden and when it is about the consistency of peanut butter, use a spoon to scoop into the deodorant tube and pack down to fill. Then, leave the cap off overnight to completely harden before using.
Most of the items that I couldn't find locally, I ordered off amazon.
