*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!*
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: 100% Pure Unrefined Organic Raw SHEA BUTTER
and coconut oil for the solid, and melted them in my home-made double boiler. (If you don’t have a double boiler, make sure there is space for the steam to escape and you are using heat proof glass.)
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.
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
Body Butter
Makes 2 1/2 to 3 cups whipped butter.
- 1 cup Organic, raw shea butter
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup almond oil
1. Melt shea butter and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.
2. Stir in almond oil and essential oils of your choosing.*
3, Place oil mixture in freezer or outside to chill.
4. Wait until oils start to partially solidify (see photo) then whip until a butter-like consistency is achieved.
4. 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.
Tips:
1. You can use what ever oils you wish, just make sure you keep the ratio 75% solid to 25% liquid.
2. 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.
3. Since this recipe does not contain any water, it will not mould. You should keep in a cool place but it does not have to be refrigerated.
4. I do not know the exact shelf life but I know it will keep at least a few months, plus.
5. The body butter melts as it goes on and gets a little oily but absorbs beautifully, quickly and leaves your skin very soft.
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On the citrus oils…most cold pressed citrus oils will sensitize your skin to sunlight and UV light. There are some citrus oils that are FCF (furocumarin free) which are less light sensitizing. Distilled citrus oils are also less sun sensitizing.
Is your Shea Butter raw or refined? And who is the maker of the Shea Butter you used? Thanks, excited to try it out!’
I have a question about the shea butter. I have been looking at the different kinds and reading about the odor of shea butter in it’s raw form. Is it unpleasant? I know the refined shea butter is an option and everything I’ve read from people say it does not have that strong “smoky” odor, however, would it be good a good choice as we are trying to keep it as natural as possible.
I got organic shea butter at my local coop. It worked wonderfully and had no offensive smell. I have nothing to compare it to so I can’t help you here. Sorry! Cheers!
Hello! The pic you provide looks awesome!! I can’t wait to try it out and make a few for my sisters. Wondering if the body butter needs to be refrigerated? And how long does this body butter last/shelf life?
Thanks!
I can’t wait to try this. I’ve been threatening to make a homemade lotion with truely all natral ingredients for sometime but couldn’t think of what would hold up to consistency without being too think as I typically despise having to work with shea but your recipe looks smooth and creamy so I think I’ll try it…Gracias.
There are a few reasons why the body butter could be breaking for people. First, if you aren’t very careful with your measurements and get too much liquid oil, second, if you don’t whip it long enough to get it to emulsify enough and third, if you are keeping it in a warm place.
On the shea butter smell, if you get the unrefined kind, it has a slight nutty smell, but I wouldn’t consider it unpleasant at all. It’s not completely similar, but it reminded me of the smell cocoa butter.
I’m wondering if I can substitute cocoa butter instead of shea butter? I have the cocoa butter on hand and would like to use it if you think it will work? Thanks!
Regarding raw versus refined shea butter: raw shea butter has not been refined beyond the normal process of extracting the butter from the nuts. Refined shea butter is chemically processed/stripped to take away the inherent natural fragrance. Raw shea butter is ivory to pale yellow in color and has a distinct smoky odor from the roasting process that causes the nuts to release their oils. I find that this blends well with many essential oils and lends a deeper note to most blends. Many commercial products today use highly refined shea butter that is fairly devoid of nutritional content and full of harmful toxins released by the hexane gas process of refinement.
When making body butter make sure to clean your work area and wipe them down with a towel soaked in rubbing alcohol, this will greatly reduce your risk of contamination. I wear gloves when I make mine because your hands, as clean as they may be, are still full of bacteria that can transfer to the butter in the process, which COULD contaminate your product. Make sure to also alcohol wipe your containers, and preferably use a small spatula or scoop to remove your product from the jar to prolong it’s stable shelf life. Shea butter has a fairly stable shelf life and will last on it’s own for many months (year?) and retain it’s beneficial proerties. Hope some of that info helped!
I haven’t tried it with cocoa butter and I honestly don’t know how it will work. Cheers!
I have made this 4 times and each time it worked beautifully. If you read the directions above, Susan says you may have to chill it to set it up. I have jars of it in my bathroom that have been perfect for weeks.
Is it possible to over-whip this? I made today and being warm today, set the bowl in an ice bath the cool it while I was mixing (with a hand mixer). After it started to set up, I whipped it for a few more minutes and it looked great! But when I took the mixer out, it was pretty stiff. It does melt just fine and seems to be holding together well.
I could just be paranoid about doing it wrong too! LOL! I didn’t have any luck with being able to smell the essential oils I added either… about how much did you add to yours to be able to smell it? I’ve never done this before so was hoping for some guide to go by. Thanks!
I’ll admit, I was getting aggrivated last night while I was trying to make this, but with the help of my uncle, I put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes, whipped it, put it back in for another 15 minutes, and finished whipping it and it was AWESOME! The only thing I don’t really like is it makes my skin feel really oily BUT after it completely dried my skin felt great! I can’t wait to make some more!!
I made this with friends today. Great recipe! The whipping was much better with freezer and kitchen aid, as opposed to icewater bath and dual mixture.
I’m wondering where a good place is to buy raw shea butter, i live in a small town, most people don’t know what i’m talking about
You can find it online. Cheers!
I noticed that you said to watch as some essential oils can cause skin sensetivity anything that I have read about essential oils tells me that once they are mixed they aren’t as bad as putting directly on your skin …thanks
No…they aren’t as bad but still can cause reactions. Cheers!
Hi Susan, I can not wait to try this body butter recipe. I just received my shea butter by mail and have been searching everywhere for recipes for skin moisturizers and hair cream. Your recipe is simple and to the point…all i need to really do is figure out what oils i wish to use! If all goes well I promised my 10 yr old daughter that we can make some and package some for gifts…maybe venture to lip balms, and making soaps using shea butter too
Anyways i am excited, my daughter is excited, and i just wanted to express how grateful i am that u have this recipe posted for all to see and use. So thanks again and god bless!
YIPPEE!!! I am very excited to try this… Thanks for posting
Hey there! I LOVE this recipie. I added lime essential oil. The result….deliciously tropical. The oil is pretty intense on my skin though. Is there anyway to tone that part down a bit?
Since it is made from all oils….that would be tough with this recipe. It does absorb very quickly. Cheers!
After whipping does the product look and feel like a whipped cream and stay that way or does it harden up? I’ve made whipped shea butter and it didn’t give me that creamy feel (like lotion) like a I wanted. I thought maybe I did something incorrect. Thanks for sharing!
I just made mine this evening. I changed it up and used half shea butter and half cocoa butter and I love it. I do think this one will be what I use in the winter time.
Thank you for your recipe!!
It stays nice and spreadable. Cheers!
I made this body butter several weeks ago. I have been making lotions and body butters for several monthes, but this is the most amazing. I absolutely love it. I think that the idea of getting it really cold before you start to whip it is the secret to other lotions that I have made also. This stuff just melts in your hands like butter. I used jasmine essential oil and the smell is absolutely divine. Thank you for sharing.
I was wondering how long will this last?, I would like to give as a gift. I was thinking the shelf life might be around 6mos.
Thanks,
Karen
I just made my first batch of body butter today, it came out perfect. Thank you for posting this recipe I have been trying more natural body products lately and this is fantastic.
Be watchful of your oils because not all fragrance oils are for skin. Majority are used in wax for candle making so it’s best to research what is best for bath and cosmetic products and what’s good for candle making. Shelf life is supposed to be 1 year if you have a preservative. I use actual fruits in mine so I have to make sure no bacteria grows in my product. I make sure preservative, emulsifier and emolients work well together and test on myself before selling to anyone else. It’s nice to have a 60 year old thank me for keeping her looking 40. Research takes a long time especially if you are looking to smooth out wrinkles and tighten skin. Careful with those oils. Some can be as expensive as $50 an ounce for the exotics.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but, plan on it. I made up my own recipe except I used coco butter instead of the shea butter, and it turned out dreamy!!! You can also add a few teaspoons of corn starch, this cuts down on the oilyness.
I really want to try this! Thanks for the recipe!
can you please tell me why everytime i make these butters they harden up and don’t stay whipped?
i’m so frustrated that they don’t stay all nice and creamy like they look after I whip with blender…they harden up within the hour? thanks
I have read that adding cornstarch will give a less greasy feel. The recipe I saw was about 1 tablespoon to the total of 14 oz oils. I have arrowroot powder that would work the same. How long does this body butter last? If I were to consider making for craft shows, etc, as i do my soap, how fresh should it be? As fresh as possible. Since no water is added, as what I’ve read, no preservatives are needed. Thank you.
Honestly, I can’t. I am not a lotion or soap maker. This was my first attempt at making body butter (as stated in the post). It works beautifully for me every time I make it. Even if I keep it in the fridge. If I knew more about it, I could probably help you. But my area of expertise is raw foods. Cheers!
I honestly can’t advise you as to selling it for craft shows, etc. It keeps quite a while…but as it uses oils, they will go bad at some point. I created this recipe for home use. Cheers!
Hi, like your blog! Can I clarify couple things with the recipe: your friend recommends 75%solid 25%oil(liquid), but your recipe is 50:50…
Also, you used coconut oil didn’t you rather than cocoa butter?
Thanks,
Coconut oil is a solid oil. So, you have 1 cup shea butter (solid), 1/2 cup coconut oil (solid) and 1/2 cup almond oil (liquid). 75% solid, 25% liquid. And I used coconut oil, not coconut butter. Coconut oil is solid at room temp.
Emulsifier beads
I have a helpful tip for your viewers. Because you are blending two solid oils together, plus one liquid oil, you still need a binder to hold all those goodies together. An emulsifier helps everything blend together and stay that way. I just made my 1st all natural homemade lotion/cream a few days ago, using a recipe from (Wikihow.com), and I must say that I am quite impressed. It turned out pretty well, and I started using it on my children. It was pretty rich, creamy, had a pretty pink color from the teas(rosehip & hibiscus flower tea)for the red base + (organic green tea) for it’s antioxidants properties, plus butters and oils. It was much better than that Burt’s bees lotion (Vanilla Flame) that I was using, which left the skin feeling like it had a film over it, and the ankles ashy. You know us ladies cannot have the back of heels out, looking ashy and dry. The shea butter mixed with other good oils will definitely do the trick. You can also order your emulsifier(beads) which are white little beads, from (Mountain Rose Herbs.com). That’s where I ordered mine. Have fun with it, and don’t be afraid to tweek with the recipes a bit, off of Wikihow.com. Hope this was helpful to you all. Be blessed !
I love your recipe! I switched out the almond oil which has a 3-6 month shelf life for jojoba oil which has a 9-12 month shelf life, and I added a few drops of primrose essential oil. Also, unrefined shea butter and coconut oil does not spoil. Their healing properties are very powerful within the first year and a half. After that, they are still usable but not as beneficial. There is no need to store them in a freezer or refrigerator. Treat them like you treat your moisturizers and lotions. Keep them in a cool dry place. If you have ever encountered spoiled unrefined shea butter or coconut oil, then it was not unrefined to begin with. One last thing, if using oils with a short shelf life tea tree essential oil acts as a natural preservative, for this recipe a few drops would do.
I’ve been making my own body butter(just for personal use and a few gifts) since about 2000, so I’m well acquainted, and swear by it! In the beginning, and right up until I got my food processor, I was doing as one of the posters mentioned, melting the shea and coconut, and then alternating with the putting in the freezer and whipping with a whisk, which made it come out more like a balm than a whipped product. Now all I do is be sure the shea butter, coconut oil, and vegetable glycerin(acts as a humectant)are all room temperature before I start. I just add all this stuff to my food processor along with some drops of lavender essential oil and process until it’s well-whipped. Similar to the mixer(which I don’t have)the food processor aerates everything and almost doubles the volume of the shea butter and coconut oil, making it really creamy and easy to spread. In fact, with this, it works great on face too. I use the unrefined shea butter from Shea Butter Hut, if anyone is interested. Excellent quality and customer service too. They often have good deals on bulk shea butter. I keep one of my jars of shea butter cream out to use(a 4oz. once), and keep the rest of the batch in a 16-oz. jar in the fridge.
I use this stuff a lot, or just straight coconut oil for my body – I’m never tempted by commercial lotions or creams any more, and increasingly leaning this way for face too, as so many highly-touted creams don’t work and have questionable stuff in them to boot.
I just tried this same recipe and took just a little to put on my feet. OMG it was way too much. You definitely only need to use a little of it that’s for sure. I picked out this recipe actually to use in my hair. I have used a little in a small section after misting it and it looks so much better. I am african-american and have read all the stuff about how great these things are for my natural hair. So ladies, it isn’t just for your skin if you have dry hair just apply as a leave in conditioner and voila…success…
Ladies please preserve your mixes with Vit E oil 1400 iu’s or more and you mixes will last a long time. Butters and oil will melt in the heat so keep them in a cool place. Neem and tea tree oil will preserve also. A mix will set hard if not enought oils are put in. To spread use EVOO, almond oil or some kind of carrier oil.
Hi Susan! Awesome! I just wanted to add that citrus essential oils (i.e. lemon, lime, bergamot, sweet and bitter orange, grapefruit) are phototoxic and can cause serious burns (even second degree)…and can stay on the skin anywhere from 8 hours minimum to 120 hours…they are really for inhalation only or therapeutic use…your recipes are great, but wasn’t sure if you knew this. Happy crafting!
Great recipe! I love body butters and all ingredients you have used are fantascit and easy to get. Will definitely make that lovely butter, probably even tonight! Thanks for sharing.
So, the whole idea with this recipe was to create something easy, pure and quick for a body butter for personal use. If it isn’t getting solid, you need to chill it. If it got too hard, you didn’t put in enough liquid oil. Simple, quick…
Can I hand whip this or do I really need a kitchen aid?
With a whisk? Hand-held beaters? Might be hard to incorporate air in it like you would need to.
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