Blog

The following post is from Micaela of Mindful Momma:

Living in the Upper Midwest, I am used to the dry skin that long winters and too much time in artificially heated air bring on. My bathroom cabinets are filled with lotions and potions geared to combat dry skin, but I’ve found that there’s nothing like a creamy body butter to give my skin that drink of moisture that it desperately needs. Body butter is richer than regular lotions and typically contains a high percentage of oils to moisturize skin. But when you buy body butter from the drugstore or department store, who knows what’s really in there? Check out the ingredients, and you’ll see a list of chemicals you can hardly pronounce.

That’s where making your own moisturizer comes in. Homemade body butter is super easy, and the whipped formula makes it just as luxurious as something you would find in a high-end store. Even better, this recipe contains only 3 ingredients – plus essential oils if you prefer a scented cream – so you know exactly what you are putting on your skin.

This body butter would also make a great addition to your DIY  Mother’s Day gift basket!

Ingredients

1/2 cup unrefined shea butter (I purchase shea butter in bulk from my local co-op but you can buy it online through mountainroseherbs.com or on Amazon.com.)

1/4 cup cocoa butter (available in a jar or as disks. Just be sure your kids don’t think they are candy!)

1/4 cup sweet almond oil

10 to 24 drops essential oil of your choice 

Recipe makes about 1 cup of body butter.

Instructions

Bring water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler.  Measure out the shea butter (you have to pack into the measuring cup like you would brown sugar) and place in the top of the double boiler.  Add the cocoa butter disks or chunks from your jar of cocoa butter (cocoa butter is a solid so you have to dig it out of the jar). Allow both ingredients to melt together.

Next, add the sweet almond oil. Mix together and turn off the heat on the double boiler. Now you can add the essential oils. My favorite is a blend of sandalwood, sweet orange and geranium that I call my tranquility blend. Let the mixture cool until it has started to set up but is not yet solid. This could take a couple of hours if you leave it at room temperature. Or you can speed up the process by putting it in the refrigerator for about an hour. It should look slightly opaque – as you see in this photo:

Now for the fun part! Get out your mixer (hand or stand) and start whipping. You will see it change from a thick, yellowish, lemon curd-like mixture into a fluffy whipped cream right before your eyes in only a few minutes.

Finally, spoon the cream into a  jar. A repurposed jelly jar works just fine if the body butter is for yourself, but you may want to upgrade to a nicer jar if you are giving it as a gift. The jar you see in this photo is from Organized Living.

Note: Body Butter can be stored at room temperature but, in the summer months, it may liquefy depending on how warm it gets. In that case, you might want to store it in the refrigerator. Since this product contains no preservatives, the shelf life is approximately 3 months.

Learn how to create your own recipes.

Do you have a favorite homemade body care product?