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.
Candice wrote on January 9, 2014
I tried this recipe for the first time yesterday and it was also my first venture into homemade body butter. What a great, simple recipe!! I also froze mine a bit too long, but simply put my oven at its lowest temp, melted a little bit and, voila! I was able to whip it to the right consistency.
I was also concerned about the smell from the shea butter. It just seems you need to add many, many drops of essential oil (I added almost 40–20 of sweet orange, 20 of chamomile) to overpower that smell.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Jo wrote on January 9, 2014
Thanks for sharing your recipe!! I know I’ll be trying this out soon…
As for some of questions mentioned in the comments I might have a clue..
For essential oils are used for fragrances here, which means the whole thing needs to be cool enough not to vaporize away the scents.
Coconut oils are solid at room temperature (around 20-25 degrees, C) but they tend to melt at a lower temp jcompared to other solid ‘oils.’ In summer, coconut oils are pretty much liquid.
Just trying to help out!
phoenixnicki wrote on January 8, 2014
I read that you can add a few drops of tea tree oil to keep it from going bad. I just tried this and the smell is intense but if it works, I will be happy.
Susan wrote on January 9, 2014
I have not had any problems with this recipe going bad, even after months. Usually the introduction of water will cause that.
Jen wrote on January 8, 2014
Thank you for the beautiful recipe. Mine turned out wonderful (with a little tweaking). First, I overlooked the first cooling step and I thought it was taking a while to start to solidify. It finally started to get opaque, and then I tried to whip it and it still hadn’t been left long enough outside (the extreme cold the last few days in the midwest has served some purpose for me!). I put it back outside and then I whipeed again and it started to get creamy. But I think I let it whip too long and it started to get softer so I put it back outside and rewhipped it and it became so nice and thick. I probably used closer to equal parts shea butter and coconut oil, along with almond oil. I thought maybe using more coconut oil was causing it not to be creamy enough, but after putting it back outside the final time it became pretty much like your photo. Next time, I think I will try to use closer to your proportions with more shea butter. I added some rose essential oil and also a bit of ylang- ylang essential which I had from a number of years ago (seemed fine). This is a wonderful, simple, and so healthy recipe. It feels great on the skin, and it feels so satisfying to make. Thank you again for this and everything else you share on your blog.
dana smith wrote on January 7, 2014
So, this could NOT be easier!!! I didn’t even bother with a double boiler, just put a glass jar in the pan with a little water and heated it up until the solids melted. The consistency is heavenly. Here is my problem…and I hope you are still out there even though your original post is from 2 years ago…anyway, I cannot get mine to smell like anything other than shea butter! I am using the same shea butter you used. I also used dried rosemary leaves…a ton of them…then added peppermint and lemon essential oils. I added all the scents after I removed it from the heat…probably 2 drops of peppermint and 5 drops of lemon. Then I added roughly that same amount after it had cooled. Still smells like shea, and I don’t really like the smell:(. Do you know of a different product or maybe different brand of shea butter I can use? I really love making my own lotions and creams but would like to smell good! Thanks!
Nilar wrote on January 6, 2014
hello I did it today..I used Olive butter instead of shea butter. It was fine. Now it is remelting again as I keep it in my bed room. Does it because of room temperature? This is the first time. I wanna do that again to give presents to my friends
Susan wrote on January 6, 2014
I am guessing that olive butter is very soft? I don’t know how it compares to shea butter.
Trish F wrote on January 6, 2014
Coconut oil is solid at temperatures below 75/76 degrees above that it will liquify. If it is in a liquid state, simply put it in the fridge for a little while to allow it to solidify to measure it out for this formula .
Mary wrote on January 6, 2014
Things we consume, our bodies have the protection of our liver. Products we put on our bodies that are absorbed through our skin, do not. Just sayin…..
Mary wrote on January 6, 2014
I don’t know where you are in Minnesota, but “Joyful” African food store on White Bear Avenue sells shea butter. She sells it very reasonably priced. I’ve found this to be a wonderful resource.