Who doesn’t love a good body butter? Today it’s not hard to find people who swear by body butters, whether they are homemade or store-bought. Why? Well, because they’re awesome. Bodybuilders have been known to reduce scars, stretch marks, and increase skin elasticity and suppleness.
Your skin is the largest organ in our bodies. Your pores absorb everything that touches your skin– so why not give it the nutrients and minerals that it needs to look at its best?
Common ingredients for body butter include shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and essential oils. We’ve rounded up some of the best body butter recipes that we could find all for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
Recipe 1. White Cocoa-Shea Body Butter Recipe
Yes, it smells like chocolate. This recipe is easy to make and you’ll love the scent!
- 1/8 cup shea butter
- 1/8 cup cocoa butter
- 1/8 cup coconut oil
- 1/8 cup sweet almond oil
- 5-10 drops essential oil
Recipe 2. Shea-Almond Body Butter Recipe
Here’s an alternate version of the above recipe, which doesn’t smell like coco. But it works just as well!
- 1/2 cup shea butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup sweet almond oil
- Essential oil: 10-20 drops
How to make them:
- Mix all ingredients except essential oils in a small saucepan or double boiler.
- Mix the ingredients gently over low heat. Stir until they are dissolved.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly on the stove.
- Mix the essential oils once the mixture appears opaque. Once it is fully set, you can add them to the mixture and whip it with a stand or hand mixer until the body butter is stiff and really fluffy (about 1-2 mins).
- Allow the body butter to set before whipping. It’s ready for whipping when you can insert your finger right into the middle and the dent stays there.
Your whipped body butter can be stored at room temperature. It may melt if the house is extremely warm. If this happens, you can simply whip it again and re-store it.
Recipe 3. Coco-Jojoba Body Butter Recipe
- 1/3 cup cocoa butter
- 1/3 cup coconut oils
- 1/3 cup shea butter
- 1/3 cup jojoba oil/sweet almond oil
- 2 teaspoons of arrowroot powder (optional)
- 15-30 drops essential oils (optional)
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients, except essential oils, into a double boiler/glass bowl.
- Turn heat to medium and continue stirring until all ingredients have melted. Let cool slightly on the stove.
- Transfer to the refrigerator and allow to cool for 1 hour, or until it starts to harden but is still slightly soft.
- Whip for 10 minutes using a hand mixer until fluffy. Mix in essential oils and continue whipping for one more minute.
- Store the butter in a glass container/mason jar.
Recipe 4. Shea-Aloe Body Butter Recipe
This DIY body butter recipe is non-greasy and absorbs quickly
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons Shea butter
- 3 tablespoons Grapeseed oil
- 3 tablespoons Aloe Vera Gel
- 1-2 teaspoons Organic Arrowroot Powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Vitamin E Oil
- 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil (optional)
Directions:
Place the shea butter in a bowl. Use a hand mixer to mix the shea butter until it becomes fluffy. Next, add the grapeseed oil as well as vitamin E oil. Mix all ingredients together for a while until they’re well combined.
Mix in the arrowroot powder one at a time. Then, use the hand mixer to mix the cream until it is no longer grainy. Next, add the Aloe Vera gel. It should feel like a soft, fluffy lotion.
Store in an airtight container.
Best Body Butter Ingredients
This body butter can be made in your kitchen using a few natural ingredients such as shea butter and cocoa butter, olive oil, coconut oil, coconut oil, and your favorite essential oils.
Shea Butter
Shea butter seals in moisture and is great for dry skin. Shea butter contains linoleic, stearic, palmitic, and oleic fatty acids, ingredients that retain and balance oils on your skin. It also contains vitamins A, E, and F, as well as several antioxidants that promote healthy skin cell growth and blood circulation.
Cocoa Butter
Another great moisturizer is cocoa butter. It’s rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and fatty acids. Cocoa butter is great for sensitive skin. It can even reduce the appearance of blemishes. Note that it will melt if you heat it, and then it will blend beautifully into your body butter.
Coconut Oil
Because coconut oil is so versatile and great for everyday use. It’s great for cooking, removing makeup, and even as a body butter. Coconut oil is high in skin-friendly saturated oils. It leaves your skin silky smooth and helps seal in moisture.
Olive Oil
Another powerhouse ingredient is olive oil. It is delicious in food and moisturizes skin. It has anti-inflammatory oleocanthal, as well as oleuropein, a substance that protects LDL cholesterol (which is bad) from oxidation. It contains vitamin E, K, is rich in oleic acid–a very healthy fat.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are used for their scent for the most part. They can be fairly strong, so be sure to use actually count the drops when adding them to your body butter. Common essential oils to consider include Vanilla, Peppermint, Tea Tree, Sweet orange, and Rose essential oil.
How Do I Fix Grainy Shea Butter?
Shea butter and its natural state can be a bit grainy and hard. However, adding a few ingredients and mixing it up will have it soft as butter and no time. Here are a few steps to make your shea butter softer for your body butter recipe:
Heat the grainy shea butter and let it cool. To melt shea butter, use a double boiler or heat it on the stove top. It’s best not to use a microwave.
Stir it once it has melted whip it using a mixer, blender, or by hand. Be ready to use a bit of elbow grease if you do it by hand, is this method can take anywhere from five to 15 minutes. Be sure that the shea butter has cooled before you whip it. You can also cool it quickly in a bowl with ice water or in the freezer to speed up cooling.
Ways to Thicken Body Butter Recipes
You can thicken homemade body butter with different ingredients. Let’s take a look at a few ways to consider.
Beeswax
To thicken your body butter, you can use beeswax or candelilla wax to make it more firm. To make an emulsified butter recipe, you can use an emulsifying oil. These waxes can be hard at room temperature so they will thicken your butter and form a barrier over your skin.
If you feel the final product is too soft, you can add more shea butter to it. To thicken your body butter you’ll need to first melt the butter and then add the other ingredients. Next, mix the melted ingredients together. Lastly, You’ll need to whip the mixture once it cools down again.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch can also be used to thicken homemade body butters. Cornstarch is a natural ingredient that can quickly and easily thicken natural skincare products as well as body moisturizers–just like food. It can also be used to emulsify ingredients.
How long does body butter stay good?
Most store-bought body butters last between 6 months and 1 year. Each ingredient used in homemade body butter has a different shelf-life. Some oils and butters used in homemade body moisturizers can be kept for only 3-6 months.
Can Homemade Body Butter Go Bad?
Unfortunately, it can go rancid within a few weeks. To prevent this, make sure you use only fresh ingredients. Rancid oil could cause your body butter to smell strange. If it smells bad or turns dark brown or yellow, throw it out.
Body butter can also be contaminated by bacteria and microbes. Because there is no preservative, bacteria and microbes can multiply and cause damage to your batch– which means that it will typically go rancid faster than store-bought body butter. Toss your body butter if you notice any spots, or if the color or smell is off.
How to extend the shelf life of a homemade body butter?
You can increase the shelf life of homemade body butter recipes by adding an antioxidant to your recipe. Vitamin E oil, a common antioxidant, extends the shelf-life of carrier oils to prevent rancidity. And luckily for you, it’s easy to find and super cheap to purchase online or at a local store such as Walgreens or Target.