DIY: Making Your Own Cleaning ..and Other Products: Deodorant

This blog has challenged me to explore new areas of recycling/greening that I might not have taken on otherwise.  Since I started using baking soda and vinegar to wash my hair and as cleaning products in my house, I've become more interested in reducing a/o eliminating the chemicals I purchase through various products - toothpaste, dishwasher soap, prewash treatments - a la "spray&wash".  For the next couple of posts, I'm going to document some of the products I've made - and their success or failure and ideas for improvement.

My Homemade Deodorant (next to a small bottle)

A friend of mine asked me how to recycle a deodorant tube.  I think you can just put it in the bin, but then I offered to try to make some deodorant.  He was game, so I started looking through recipes.  I knew that I would need something that wouldn't melt in the container in DC summers - but that would work.

After some research and reading through pros and cons (staining clothes, melting in the container, not working etc), I found this recipe. It uses all natural ingredients - baking powder, beeswax, cocoa butter, etc.  It was easy to make and I was able to refill my friend's tube, and I had this leftover for me.  After a few days of use, he reported that it works fine..though I may have gone a bit overboard on the beeswax (which makes it hard). (Maybe I should use a tad less beeswax in the winter/spring).  Let me know how it works!