Deodorant Frugality

I hate waste!

It seemed to me that part of every stick of deodorant was being wasted. And, like I said, I didn't like that, actually I said hate but now I'm thinking that waste doesn't deserve such strong feelings. So I decided to do something about it. This Instructable is about how I use all of the deodorant I buy.

My idea comes from leaving deodorant in a hot car. Talk about waste! The deodorant melts away leaving big smelly spot on your seat or carpet. But that told me that deodorant melts easily.

Step 1: Save the Waste and Choose Your Receiving Stick

So I saved all those little extra bits of deodorant with the idea to melt them into a new stick. It turns out that stick deodorant also dries out and shrinks. That leaves a gap around the edge. So one must use a less than empty stick to receive the molten deodorant. Otherwise it just runs through the crack and all over the counter. You don't have to do that because I have already done it!

Step 2: Make Room for the Molten Deodorant

Take your less than empty stick and back it down as far as possible leaving plenty of room for your molten deodorant. NOTE: I have refined my process. I now take this less than empty stick and put it in the freezer. Cold deodorant does better when we pour in the hot deodorant later.

Step 3: Remove the Inserts

It used to be that if you turn a stick far enough the insert would fall out. Lately, they have changed the design so that there is clip at the top. For the new design, you must take a knife and pry the insert out. The clip is not very strong, it doesn't take much force to pry one out.

Step 4: Load the Inserts in a Cup

I used a plastic cup for this demonstration. A microwavable glass would probably be better. The liquid can get hot enough to melt a plastic cup. As one can see in my after picture for the cup. I show this here as a cautionary note. The deodorant melts very easily and gets hot very fast. DO NOT MICROWAVE FOR LONG.

Step 5: Microwave the Inserts

I microwave in small periods. For my microwave I choose 11 seconds ( I'm too lazy to hit 1 and 0 for 10 seconds). NOTE: I am now doing 5 seconds or less after the initial 11 seconds. It took me 3 times until I was happy with the melt. And as I showed before that melted the plastic cup. The above pictures show the partial melt and then the final melt. Note the inserts are bare and there is a pool of molten deodorant in the bottom of the cup. NOTE. More of my refined method. Now I remove the inserts. I use a tool for that (you can burn your fingers if you don't) tweezers, needle nose pliers or even a bent paper clip will work. Now I wait for the liquid to cool until it just starts to form a skin on the surface showing that it is close to re-congealing. Now when we pour it into the cold receiving stick the deodorant will harden quickly and not leak through.

Step 6: Pour the Molten Deodorant Into the Prepared Container

Now one can pour the molten deodorant into the prepared container. (The one that we put into the freezer earlier) NOTE: I have refined my process. Now I remove the inserts and let the deodorant cool until it is close to solidifying before doing the pour.

And it will melt some of the existing deodorant in the receiving container. If it is too hot or there is not enough deodorant in the receiving container, you can get deodorant on the counter. I am confident now and didn't use a paper towel. But you might want to do this over a paper towel.

Note: The above does not happen with my new process. If you follow the new steps it will not melt through.

Step 7: Allow to Cool

Allow the liquid to cool and solidify. One can speed the process along in the refrigerator or freezer. Be patient, if you try to turn the stick up and it isn't hardened it can be messy.

Step 8: Finally Your New Stick of Deodorant

Feel the pride of turning waste into usable deodorant!