Pit-Goo

I've always enjoyed tinkering with making my own "stuff". I've played around with lotions and potions of various kinds. One thing I'd never even thought about though, was deodorant. Yes, I cringed every time I reached for a stick of natural, aluminum-free deodorant, but I just figured that was the (high) price I had to pay not to stink. For a while I used the crystal mineral spray and that worked pretty well until I had Raphael. After that my hormones changed or something and it just wasn't doing the trick. So I did a little research and tried this recipe. I found it online somewhere, and would give credit where credit is due but I couldn't find it again when I tried. I used this one because I had all of the ingredients in the house and it's very, very simple.

Mix together:

1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 T Baking Soda

1 T Corn Starch

6 Drops each Tea Tree and Lavender Essential Oils

Store in a jar and apply with a fingertip.

Surprisingly, this works very well. I've been wanting to post about it for a while, but thought I should give it enough time to be sure it still worked. I'm happy to say that I've been using it for several weeks and it really has done the trick, even when our temperatures were in the high 90s. Erik and one of my good friends have also been using it and have found it effective.

When it came time for me to make a second batch I added some cocoa butter to make it a little more of a creamy consistency and not so soup-y. (Or goopy. Erik likes to refer to this as "Pit-Goo". He has a real way with words.) Here is Pit-Goo, version two. It's a bigger batch, but you could make a smaller amount to see if it works for you.

In a small saucepan over low heat melt:

1oz Cocoa Butter

Remove from heat and add:

1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 C Baking Soda

1/4 C Corn Starch

20 Drops each Tea Tree and Lavender Essential Oil

Let the mixture cool in the saucepan and stir it occasionally so the baking soda and cornstarch are suspended as it cools. Spoon into a jar or small container and apply with a fingertip. 

I'm very happy to say that both of these recipes have worked very well for us. They are both simple and inexpensive. And I don't know about you, but it makes me feel good to be able to make something that I always thought I had to be dependent on someone else for! Or, as Deb said in her post about making laundry detergent, it's nice to "get off the grid". 

If you decide to try it, let me know. And I hope you all have a great weekend!