Homemade Body Butter Recipe
I made my first batch of body butter today. I think my life has changed forever. Delightful, decadent and easy, I have wanted to try making it for a long time. I was convinced that it would be difficult and not work the way I wanted. Boy, was I wrong.
I love creamy body butters. Living in a climate that gets quite cold and dry in the winter, they are a must in my house. But two things have always bothered me. They can be quite expensive and also, full of ingredients that are less than desirable for your skin and health.
We often forget that our skin is the largest organ on our body and absorbs what we put on it. If you are using lotions and body butters with chemicals in them (fragrances, preservatives, color additives, etc.) be aware that your skin absorbs the chemicals, too. Not exactly desirable. I often just use almond oil on my skin after a shower but sometimes I want something a little more decadent. Body butters, made with pure oils and essential oils for fragrance are just the thing.
I called my friend Jen Vertanen, who writes the blog, “The Wholehearted Life”, knowing that she has spent years playing with recipes for home made soaps and lotions and asked her opinion on ingredients. She told me to use 75% solid to 25% liquid oil. Sounded easy enough.
I measured out shea butter (I use this shea butter: organic raw shea butter
I wanted to use rosemary as one of my scents. I didn’t have any rosemary essential oil so I added fresh rosemary as the oils were cooling. I also stirred in the almond oil at this point. Once the oil was cool, I strained out the rosemary, added peppermint (just a few drops, it is strong) and sweet orange essential oils and tried to whip the butter as instructed in other body recipes that I had researched. Nothing happened. I was about to give up and just let the oil harden when I had an idea.
I placed the oil mixture outside (it’s cold…it’s Minnesota) and let it partially set up. At that point, I tried whipping it again in the kitchen aid mixer and, success! A beautiful body butter, so simple to make, smelling delicious and with a texture that was like clouds of silk.
*Because of the popularity of this recipe on pinterest, I am getting many, many questions that are more suited for an expert. This is a raw food site, this was my first attempt at body butter, it worked better than I could have hoped for and if you make this recipe as stated, it will work great for you too!! I am sorry but I can’t answer the technical questions. Cheers!*
IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH YOUR BODY BUTTER WHIPPING: you probably rushed this step. It needs to be cooled significantly….like in the picture.
I have to admit, I am pretty excited at how easy it is to make. I used sweet orange, lemon and lavender in my second batch. Heavenly. You can just use the basic recipe and add your favorite essential oils. Just make sure they are skin friendly!
A few people have asked about jars. I use these: Weck Jars
TIPS: PLEASE READ!
- You can use what ever oils you wish, just make sure you keep the ratio 75% solid to 25% liquid. SO IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO ANY OF THE ABOVE LISTED OILS, JUST REPLACE THEM WITH AN OIL THAT YOU ARE NOT ALLERGIC TO. Just make sure you replace a solid for a solid and a liquid for a liquid.
- The chilling step is crucial. If you don’t chill it properly, it won’t whip or stay whipped. About 20 minutes in the freezer usually does the trick for this batch. Make sure you scrape down the sides before mixing.
- Since this recipe does not contain any water, it will not mold. You should keep in a cool place but it does not have to be refrigerated.
- I do not know the exact shelf life but I know it will keep at least a few months, plus.
- The body butter melts as it goes on and gets a little oily but absorbs beautifully, quickly and leaves your skin very soft.
- You can order the shea butter here: Raw Shea Butter
You can order the coconut oil here: Coconut Oil
You can order the almond oil here: Almond Oil
You can order the Weck Jars here: Weck Jars
Alternatively, coconut oil and almond oil are quite easy to locate at your local coop, Whole Foods or health food store.
- This recipe has been tested many times. If you don’t follow the recipe, you will not get the same results.
- Many people ask for exact amounts of essential oils. I start with at least 20 drops of what ever oil I want to use and just increase slowly until I am happy with how it smells. So…be free! Use your own creativity here.
Body Butter
MAKES 2 1/2 to 3 CUPS WHIPPED BUTTER
- 1 cup organic raw shea butter
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (solid)
- 1/2 cup almond oil (liquid)
- Melt shea butter and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.
- Stir in almond oil and essential oils of your choosing.*
- Place oil mixture in freezer or outside to chill.
- Wait until oils start to partially solidify (see photo) then whip until a butter-like consistency is achieved.
- Place in clean, glass jar and enjoy! A little goes a long way.
*Not all essential oils are skin friendly or child friendly. Please do your research before adding.
Billie wrote on April 7, 2013
What a lovely recipe and I’ve made my first batch today and would like to share my result. 50% shea butter; 25% cocoa butter; 25% sweet almond oil ; 1% mandarin essential oil. (All percentage measurements in grams) It whipped perfectly, however, it came out quite hard, not spreadable like butter, but more like shea butter at room temperature. I suspect I might hv used too much cocoa butter, and would adjust it accordingly in my second batch. Even though it’s a bit hard to apply, the cream leaves my skin lovely and soft. My whole family love the smell too! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Susan wrote on April 7, 2013
You actually did 75% hard oil and 25% soft. And cacao butter is very hard. That would explain what happened.
Amber Nicole wrote on April 7, 2013
yea it was super sunshine yellow
Amber Nicole wrote on April 7, 2013
Please help me, my body butter is yellow, idk know why i followed all the directions perfectly, but i don’t know what the problem is. But it’s really disappointing because the body butter pictured above is so white/cream and beautiful and i want mine that way too
Ka wrote on April 6, 2013
Where can I get raw shea butter? I tried whole foods but it’s not raw. I also like rose scent. I saw a rose aroma perfume oil at whole foods, can i use that? If not do you know how toake rose essential oil.
Amy Williams wrote on April 5, 2013
This might surprise you but I found out about this because of it’s versatile use for dry hair! It works so well on my daughter who is white and African American! She needs way more moisture in her hair than I do so this has been a leaning experience for me and my hushand! My question is have you ever tried to melt down your already made up batch and go through the cooling and whipping process? I didn’t like how it smelled in her hair with no essential oils so I got some coconut essential oil to add to it. Thanks!
AJ wrote on April 4, 2013
Hi Susan,
I was thinking of making one now and since winter is kind of gone now, want to know how many days we can keep this? Do I need to add any preservative? I also want to know in what case there is a need to add preservatives?
Thanks
Susan wrote on April 5, 2013
I have kept it for a couple of months but I usually go through it pretty fast. I don’t know how it will keep until next winter. I would think the essential oils would degrade a bit.
Amber wrote on April 2, 2013
Someone please help me. I have no idea what i did wrong, but my body butter came out horrible. I have a hand mixer, that i crank with my hand that i used, but the butter was yellow instead a cream/white color. I used 1cup of shea butter, 1/2 cup of extra virgin coconut oil from trader joes, and 1/2 cup of olive oil. I removed from heat for 20 minutes, then added tea tree oil, but that coconut oil scent was still over powering it, and i didnt like the smell. I then placed it in the freezer for 30 minutes, when i tried to whip it with my crank hand mixer, it was still sunshine yellow, and the coconut smell was still over powering. Someone PLEASE HELP, I REALLY WANT TO MAKE THIS RECEIPE WORK FOR ME
Susan wrote on April 7, 2013
What color was the shea butter that you used? Some are very yellow and shouldn’t be used.
Carolyn wrote on April 2, 2013
I finally made this last night, I used mango butter instead of coconut oil. It is kind of greasy and took a little while to soak in, but it did so beautifully! I added some fragrance oil but didn’t get much scent from it, will have to experiment more with that. Any ideas for getting a nice almond scent?
kim wrote on March 29, 2013
I find it is a little greasy Do you have a recipe for one that wouldn’t be as greasy? Love the texture and everything else about it.
Susan wrote on March 29, 2013
It does absorb quite quickly. This is my only body butter recipe as my main focus is raw food. 🙂