i’m sharing my favourite potions for folx stuck at home and looking for cheap easy clean skincare options, along with recipes for herbal massage oil, face scrub, and antimicrobial soap. if you’re looking for more herbal recipes like this, check out the creative coven community and sign up for my weekly newsletter.

fun fact: i’m an anxious sweater. and a sweater in general. it’s become less of an extreme issue as i’ve gotten older (and also i care slightly less about pit stains than i did as a teenager), but ever since i was a baby, i’ve always been a sweater. i’m also pretty committed to reducing the amount of chemicals i smear across my body (with the exception of sunscreen because hello family history of sun-induced skin cancer), so i’ve tried basically every hippie deodorant on the drugstore shelves and plenty of small “artisanal” handcrafted ones as well. some have made me smell like a skunk (ahem, tom’s of maine…) while others have been okay. i’ve found amazing ones that disappear from shelves by the time i need to restock, tried the $5 test version of $35 pots you apply with your fingers (it worked great in every area but my budget), and have spent $12 on ones that i end up tossing after one use.

so, you could say i know my deodorants. and my anti-perspirants, which are a different matter. conventional options regularly employ the use of parabens, aluminum, fragrances, triclosan, and other not-so-fun toxins, but it’s so easy to be used to just swiping it on with its convenient stick (or aerosol spray) and keep running around, right? honestly, the moment where i realized just how fucked up my conventional deodorants were was when i moved back to winnipeg from london (where my anxiety sweat was off the charts) and realized that it wasn’t actually coming off when i showered. like, i’d go to shave my pits after washing my body and had deodorant caked on the blades. somehow i didn’t notice this while i lived in london, but once i had more space to breathe and reacquaint myself with my body, i was officially creeped out and on the hunt for natural deodorants again.

it’s been several years since i last used conventional deodorant, so my pits have been fully detoxed. if you find your skin isn’t loving this formula but you’ve been using conventional options right up until you try this, i recommend detoxing (don’t wear anything, just soap your pits clean as often as you feel necessary) for a couple of weeks. then try it and see where you’re at. also, if the idea of touching your pits is gross to you, follow my lead and apply it immediately after you shower. you’ll get used to it relatively quickly, and you’re using a very tiny amount that should absorb pretty easily.

ingredients:

3 tbsp. baking soda (replace this 1 tsp at a time with arrowroot powder if your skin is too sensitive)
5 tbsp. arrowroot powder (or cornstarch, but i haven’t tested that formula yet)
6 tbsp. shea butter (coconut oil can also work, but keep in mind that it can shift to liquid form pretty easily making everything a lot messier)
40ish drops of essential oil (i use lavender, but experiment with scents you like that are also gentle on the skin. keep in mind that every body chemistry will result in different end results, so if your first batch doesn’t turn out, try a different scent combo!)

use your fingers or a fork to mix the powders together, then work the shea butter in until it’s like a very crumbly dough. add in essential oils (if using them) and use a hand blender to mix until it’s a nice creamy texture. transfer to jars and you’re good to go! i like to store a little bit in a teeny jar to stash in my bag for on-the-go emergencies, and otherwise keep the other jars in my bathroom away from any direct sunlight.

apply it with your fingers to freshly washed pits. a little goes a very long way with this potion - i generally use slightly-smaller-than-a-pea per armpit, and i’m a pretty heavy sweater. the baking soda can irritate your skin if you use too much, so if your skin starts to tingle, ease off (and potentially wipe off to start again).

making: diy deodorant