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.
Aislinn wrote on February 21, 2014
Have you or anyone tried mixing some Vitamin E in this? 😀
Sounds heavenly, but I’d love to extend its shelf of life!
As where I’m from, it’s tropical all year round 😀
becky wrote on February 20, 2014
olivia- if you want the rose scent next time i would add rose oil and you shouldn’t have that problem
becky wrote on February 20, 2014
Olivia-it’s def. because you added water to an all oil mixture. it’s a basic emulsion, so the only way to fix it is to add more water. i would add it VERY slowly while whipping it, it will look worse before it looks better, but it should come back together. also, if you put it in a food processor it will help emulsify it more thoroughly than a kitchen aid. Like Norine said, it’s like making mayonnaise (also an emulsion) good luck!
Olivia wrote on February 19, 2014
Please can you help me 🙁 I whipped up shea butter, cocoa butter and various oils. I also added rose water and now the lot has curdled! Is there any way I can fix it? I don’t want to use any chemicals in ;my creams
Susan wrote on February 19, 2014
I think that because you introduced water to a recipe that called for all oil, that caused your problem. Maybe try melting everything again? I honestly am not sure what the fix is for that. Cheers!
Angela wrote on October 25, 2014
Hi Olivia! I am sorry to hear what happened. I’m sure you found a solution by now (October, lol), but I too love the smell of rose and am curious how you fixed your problem, if at all, and if you were unable to remedy the mixture, perhaps if you instead used Rose Essential Oil diluted in a carrier oil… I know that if you are only looking for the aroma of the rose, there is also Rose Absolute which is chemically derived from the flower but has a stronger scent and is a bit less expensive. The only thing I can imagine would counteract the water would be some sort of emulsifier or something with an absorbent quality(?) -perhaps a clay? But then this would not be a body butter… But rather than throwing everything away (after spending all that money!), I would add the whole lot to a soap recipe (with the accurate ratios of course!), -this may give you a little more room for error…
Norine wrote on February 17, 2014
when you make lotion, you have to let the melted oils like coconut and shea butter, cool to room temperature before you can whip or blend them together. They won’t mix together other wise. It’s like making mayonnaise. I use my food processor and it only takes a few minutes to blend up.
Susan wrote on February 19, 2014
Norine…yes, I agree. That is why the cooling step in the recipe is so important.
Jen wrote on February 17, 2014
question, how do you measure the solid shea butter? does it grate easily? I can’t wait to make this 🙂 Thank you!
Susan wrote on February 19, 2014
The shea butter isn’t super hard so you can pack it into the cup. Alternatively, melt it and them measure. 🙂
Edie wrote on February 16, 2014
I have made whipped body butter- but straight in the blender.
If you have a Vitamix or other high powered blender, this is very easy. Break up your shea butter or cocoa butter and spoon out the coconut oil into the blender. If yoou remember, get some vitamin e oil caplets and break them into there- they will act as a preservative. Add your oil (I use avocado oil) and your scents (I used rose extract, a few drops of jasmine and vanilla extract) and then blend- first on low, then up to up 7. Let it go for a few minutes, then place into clean, sterilized jars. I store mine in the fridge, and before using I stir it a bit with a spoon I use expressly for this purpose. This is fast and works really great!
Kelley wrote on February 15, 2014
This looks awesome!
Question: does the coconut oil give the body butter a coconut scent? I have never made anything with coconut oil, so I’m curious about the smell of it.
Bonnie wrote on February 15, 2014
Where do you buy raw Shea butter at?
Susan wrote on February 17, 2014
There is a link in the recipe. Cheers!