Salt Crystal Deo Spray

All Natural Deo Spray

I've spoken about my allergies to aerosol sprays and as we all know they're no friend of the environment either. As the summer heat has started ramping up I began to feel the need for a good deodorant. I dislike antiperspirants on principle; because sweating is one of the ways in which toxins are excreted from the lymph nodes, and so have always used a deo roll-on; however, since I started turning to DIY, chemical-free products in other areas I thought it would be nice if I could stop shoveling chemicals into my armpits as well.   

At this point I should mention the search got disheartening because all the DIY deodorants use either coconut oil or witch hazel as their medium. Coconut oil is all well and good, but I had no desire to risk an oily residue on my clothes; and witch hazel is not at all easily available in Mumbai. When I asked for witch hazel I got looks that suggested I was asking for eye of newt and toe of frog, or some such (I guess because of the name witch hazel...?)

Anyway, I discarded all the recipes that asked for witch hazel, also discarded for now the ones that need magnesium oil and finally landed on this recipe which I decided to try.

The Ingredients

Himalayan Salt - Himalayan salt can be absorbed through the skin and dermal absorption is a great way of providing your body with minerals that are contained in the salt. Himalayan salt is also a great detoxifier, and therefore good for spraying over lymph nodes as it draws out the toxin. Of late Himalayan salt has been used in a number of deodorant sprays called crystal deodorants.

Baking Soda - Baking soda is a great way to keep yourself odor-free throughout the day since it reacts with the acidic sweat that your body releases and transforms it into crystals whilst releasing odorless carbon dioxide. It also balances the pH levels of the skin.

Boiled Water - The water is obviously the medium of delivery. Boiling it intensely kills any harmful organisms that it may contain and increases the shelf life of your deodorant. The heat of the water also enables the salts to dissolve, since with these quantities what you are creating is a highly saturated solution.

Essential Oil - This is an optional add on the deodorant. I used Bergamot since I like the light citrus-sy smell and don't have to worry about its suntanning properties because I don't sun my armpits (who does by the way? I mean do you walk around waving your arms in the air all day?) 

The Trial

The making of this DIY deodorant is really very simple. I put the water into a saucepan and turned the gas down low rather than using a double-boiler which I personally find a rather tedious process. I added the salts before the water came to a boil and stood there stirring them in to dissolve them. 

I found that the salts were not dissolving completely and were leaving a residue on the sides of the saucepan. I therefore opted to add another 1oz of water to the mix. Although I did not feel the need the boil the water for five minutes as stated in the recipe I did boil it till all the salts were thoroughly dissolved. 

Once this was done I placed it, still in the saucepan under the fan to cool. When the solution had cooled to almost room temperature, I poured it into my spray bottle and then added 4 drops of Bergamot essential oil. 

Gave the whole thing a good shake, and voila! Deodorant!

I used the deodorant after my shower and found that the scent was light and pleasing. After it had been on a while I noticed that although the perfume got a little fainter there was no stink. I went (travelling my rickshaw through the evening rush hour) and returned home three hours later at which point a cautious sniff informed me that I was still odor-free.

I didn't shower again before bed, nor did I feel the need for a shower the following morning, although by this time there was no perfume left, my pits were still nice and non-stinky. I reapplied in the morning and got through an entire day, odor-free!

Conclusions

Pros

• The recipe uses easily available ingredients
• The instructions are simple and easy to follow
• The making is not tedious or time consuming
• The deodorant works well and does not irritate the skin. I had my doubts initially since Indian weather is notoriously hotter than America or the UK, where most of these recipes originate.
• Since the ingredients are all natural it is better for you than a store-bought product
• There is no residue on the armpits that can stain clothes or leave you with embarrasing patches.

Cons

• The article calls for a 3 week 'detox period' where you're asked to not wear deodorant (which I didn't do), this would be difficult, especially with Indian weather
• The article warns that if the detox is not done there might be some skin irritation. Although I have not experienced this, there is no saying that someone else may not do so.
• The recipe needed to be adjusted slightly (IMHO)

My Recommendations

If you're trying to get rid of chemicals then this is definitely something that you should try. Experiment with essential oils until you find a one or a combination that suits you.