natural skincare

It can be tricky to find the right natural deodorant that really works. After making our own homemade deodorant for years, we have recently moved to making this tallow deodorant and have found a new favorite!

When it comes to skincare, we love tallow! Slowly we have been transitioning our home skincare products to being tallow based and this tallow deodorant is our latest addition.

We keep our skin care routine super basic but tallow magnesium lotion, tallow shampoo bars, sunscreen, and tallow balm are constantly being used in our house.

Will Tallow Deodorant Work for You?

If you are switching directly from using a conventional, store-bought deodorant, making the change to this tallow deodorant or any natural deodorant may leave an unpleasantly stinky result. 

This is because the ingredients that are used in most standard deodorants contain a long list of chemicals and additives that unnaturally block the body’s ability to sweat. Ingredients that have been known to cause a wide range of health problems from cancer and dementia to hormone and endocrine disruptions.

This list includes: 

• Aluminum
• Phthalates
• Propylene glycol (aka antifreeze)
• Parabens
• Formaldehyde

How to Detox Your Pits

If that describes you, no need to be concerned. There are very gentle ways to detox your pits that can make that transition from conventional to natural deodorants like this tallow deodorant go much more smoothly.

This is important because your body needs to clear out these ingredients that are likely clogging those pores in your armpits. By pulling these chemicals out of the armpit tissue, it allows the body to adjust much more easily to the new natural deodorant ingredients.

To detox your pits, simply mix about 1 tbsp of bentonite clay with 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar and 1 or 2 tsp of water. Rub this mixture on your armpits and let sit for 15-20 minutes before washing off. Repeat this daily until you notice underarm odor has greatly reduced or gone away and you are adjusting well to natural deodorant.

Why Tallow for Deodorant and Skincare?

There are so many benefits to using tallow on the skin. We began by switching our lotion to tallow balm and were so pleased with how it felt and what it did for our skin that we haven’t looked back. Tallow has been used both internally and externally for hundreds of years and with good reason – its benefits are hard to beat! 

• High in vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12
• Rich in minerals
• Contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) with natural anti-inflammatory properties
• Palmitoleic acid is a powerful antimicrobial agent that is also a basic building block of our skin
• Palmitic acid helps to improve the function of the skin’s protective barrier
• Stearic acid helps to repair damaged skin and improves the skins flexibility and suppleness

Other Effective Ingredients in Tallow Deodorant

Another reason we love this deodorant is how simple it is to make. It uses only a few basic ingredients that we always have on hand.

Arrowroot Starch or Tapioca Flour

Arrowroot or tapioca starch are very absorptive in nature and work really well to pull out odors. Cornstarch is often used instead but it is challenging to find non-GMO cornstarch and can cause more sensitivities in people.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is the classic deodorizer and it is no different in this tallow deodorant. It works to remove smells while also having that drying effect.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial and antifungal while also being soothing to skin.

Beeswax

Beeswax is used to help give the deodorant a firmer texture and hold everything together so the oils don’t separate.

Essential Oils (Optional)

We generally make our tallow deodorant unscented. But essential oils are a great option to naturally provide some fragrance without being nearly as harsh and toxic and synthetic fragrances. Geranium, tea tree, and lavender are some of my favorite more gentle and beneficial essential oil options.

How to apply?

While deodorant sticks have become the norm in our culture, we have found that we actually prefer to just keep our deodorant in a small jar and apply with our fingers. This option, for us, tends to be less messy with no crumbling or malfunctioning deodorant sticks and gives us better control over how much deodorant we are using.

However, if deodorant sticks are your preference, you could totally buy applicators like this and pour your homemade deodorant into the stick container instead of a jar. If you are going this route, I would recommend increasing the amount of beeswax you use to 2 tbsp to give the deodorant a firmer texture more suitable to the stick.

Tallow Deodorant Recipe

One of the intimidating things about making your own skincare items is the belief that it is going to be hard. But this often couldn’t be further from the truth. Typically, most skin care items, this tallow deodorant included, are simply made by measuring out a handful of ingredients, melting them together, and pouring them into your container of choice. Easy Peasy!

Yield: 

½ cup

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Tallow*
1 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tbsp Tapioca Starch or Arrowroot flour
1 Tbsp of Beeswax**
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
10-15 drops of Essential Oils (Optional)

Directions:

• Measure out all ingredients and place in a heat safe glass container. I like to use a 1-cup Pyrex measuring cup for this.
• Place container inside and small saucepan of water, like a double boiler.
• Place over low-medium heat, stirring mixture occasionally until everything is completely melted (10-15 minutes).
• Pour contents into a 4 oz glass jar or container of choice***.

*When rendering tallow for skin care uses, it’s important to use the wet method of rendering to avoid the beefy smell. This is the tutorial we follow to render tallow to use in all of your skin care items.

**If you are making a stick deodorant or want a firmer texture, increase the beeswax to 2 tbsp.

***If you find that the oils separate to the top, just stir together either before deodorant sets up or after.

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Looking to add more tallow-based skin care items? Check out this tallow magnesium lotion and tallow sunscreen!

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