Discover the art of making luxurious whipped body butter with this heavenly DIY recipe that will leave your skin nourished and glowing. Achieve ultimate hydration and moisture with just a handful of simple, all-natural ingredients. Shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, and essential oils work harmoniously to combat dryness and give your skin the tender care it deserves, especially during chilly winter months.
DIY whipped body butters are perfect for combating dry skin in the winter months.
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The best part? This whipped body butter recipe is not only effortless to make, but also fully customizable to suit your unique preferences. By handpicking high-quality ingredients and overseeing the entire process, you can ensure that your body butter remains free from any harsh chemicals or additives.
What Is Body Butter?
Prepare to be amazed by just how easy it is to create your very own body butter! But first, what exactly is body butter? If you haven’t delved into this indulgent skincare product before, you’re in for a delightful surprise! Imagine a rich, velvety butter specially formulated for your skin’s delight. The process couldn’t be simpler – just melt and whip a combination of luscious butters and oils together.
Advantages of body butter over a lotion
Simple Ingredients: One of the best things about a body butter is that it is made completely of butters and oils that we are all familiar with. There is no need for a preservative or an emulsifier. Making this the perfect beginner DIY project.
Long Shelf Life: Body butters typically have a longer shelf life because you are going to go off the shelf life of you butters and oils. Unlike a lotion that we have to worry about the effectiveness of the preservative.
Disadvantages of a body butter
Greasiness: Since body butters are composed of oils and butters, they are heavier than a lotion. The best way to reduce the greasiness is to apply to damp skin, right after getting out of the shower.
Expensive: Unlike a lotion that is mostly compromised of water, body butters are made of oils and butters which can be more expensive.
What butters are best for body butter?
I used a combination of shea and cocoa butter for the base of my body butter. They are used for their deep moisturizing properties, their ability to nourish skin with the vitamins and antioxidants and the delightful natural fragrance of cocoa butter.
Since both of these butters are solid at room temperature, we need to add an oil that is liquid at room temperature to soften the butters up and make them spreadable and able to be whipped. For my liquid oil (aka carrier oil), you can use hazelnut oil, jojoba oil, olive oil or sweet almond oil. (see below for the benefits of each of the oils.
What Oil to Use:
Hazelnut Oil: Hazelnut oil is extracted from hazelnuts with a press. It has a high oleic acid content which helps to lock in moisture. It is safe for those with sensitive skin.
Jojoba Oil: Known for its similarity to the skin’s natural sebum. Jojoba oil soothes, moisturizes and it is suitable for various skin types including oily and acne-prone skin.
Olive Oil: Olive oil contains vitamin e, anti-oxidants and is moisturizing. It is relatively inexpensive and an oil that most people already have at home.
Sweet Almond Oil: Sweet almond oil is made from pressed almonds. It is rich in essential fatty acids, that help to maintain moisture of our skin.
What butters to use:
Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is amazing in a body butter. The only downside is that it can make it a greasier body butter than other butters.
Shea Butter: Shea butter is an excellent moisturizer. There are 2 main types of shea butter, refined and unrefined. The unrefined shea butter has an earthy scent to it. The refined shea butter does not have much of a scent.
Cocoa Butter: Cocoa butter is a harder brittle butter. When substituting, go with another brittle butter. It is rich in fatty acids and has an emollient properties. It can have a chocolatey scent, which I love! If you want to avoid this scent, try refined cocoa butter.
Fragrance
If you are using essential oils, be sure that you take in to consideration that some essential oils can cause photosensitivity, making our skin more sensitive to UV radiation. Some essential oils that should be used at night because of the photosensitivity are:
Bergamot
Lemon
Lime
Grapefruit
I am going with a fragrance oil in this recipe. When deciding the amount of fragrance oil or essential oil that you can use in you body butter, check the manufactures recommendations.
I am using Autumn Equinox Fragrance Oil, it is packed with notes of fresh mint, chamomile, and beeswax, combined with herbal and grassy scents, oak, oakmoss, and cinnamon. Invite the warmth and comfort of autumn inside!
Preventing Graininess
When using Shea Butter your products can get grainy. This is cause from the butter not cooling down fast enough. To ensure that we do not have a grainy body butter, we simply pop the melted oils in the freezer for a bit. This not only prevents grainy butters but it also speeds up the cooling time for our oils.
Frequently asked questions:
How to make the body butter soft and fluffy?
The butters are heated and then added to the carrier oil. This mixture is then chilled and mixed with a hand mixer. When the ‘butter’ is being whipped with the mixer, it is incorporating air into it. This is what makes the butter soft and fluffy.
How do I make the body butter less greasy?
You can add a small amount (same amount 1 Tablespoon) of arrowroot powder, tapioca starch or cornstarch to the body butter while you are making it.
I have found that applying the body butter directly after getting out of the shower and letting it soak in for a few minutes makes it feel less greasy.
What does homemade body butter smell like?
This is completely dependent on the ingredients that you use. For example, if you use unrefined shea butter and no fragrance or essential oil it will smell a little earthy. If you use refined shea butter and fragrance oil, it will smell like whatever fragrance you use.
What can I use in place of jojoba oil?
You can substitute the jojoba oil for any carrier oil that you have on hand. I recommend sweet almond oil, fractionated coconut oil or olive oil.
What can I use in place of cocoa butter oil?
You can swap the cocoa butter out for coconut oil or shea butter. The only thing to keep in mind is that the coconut oil will make it a bit more greasy.
What can I use in place of shea butter?
The shea butter can easily be swapped out for mango butter or kokum butter. They are both about the same consistency.
What is the shelf life of this body butter?
The shelf life goes off the ingredient that has the shortest shelf life. To learn more about Determining The Shelf Life click here.
Do I need to use a preservative?
You do not need to use any preservative in this body butter because it is an anhydrous product. That means that the body butter does not contain any water, it is completely oil-based. You can add Vitamin E oil to extend the life of your oils and butters, but this is not a preservative.
Labeling Your Body Butter
You can elevate the visual appeal of your handmade body butter easily by adding a customized label on it!
Download your free printable labels HERE.
How To Make Whipped Body Butter
Melt the oil oil butter butter in a double boiler over a low to medium heat. I like to use a heat safe bowl in a pot of water. (I place a silicone mat on the bottom of the pan to prevent the glass from breaking).
Whipped Body Butter DIY Recipe – Hydrating For Skin
Equipment
- Scale
Ingredients
- 49% | 2.94 ounce Shea Butter
- 19% | 1.14 ounce Cocoa Butter
- 28% | 1.68 ounce Hazelnut Oil
- 1% | 0.06 ounce Vitamin E Oil
- 1% | 0.06 ounce Arrowroot Powder
- 2% | 0.12 ounce Autumn Equinox Fragrance Oil
Instructions
- Weigh all of your ingredients with a scale.
- Add shea butter, cocoa butter and hazelnut oil in a heat safe container.
- Place on a double boiler and melt completely. I used a saucepan with a silicone mat on the bottom. You just add a bit of water to the bottom and heat on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Remove melted oils from heat. Wipe the side of the container to remove all the water that it on it.
- Pour heated oils into a mixing container. You are going to want to use a container that is deeper so you can whisk in it.
- Place in freezer until the sides are solid and the middle is opaque. If you are not sure you can take it out and try to whip it. Just put it back in the freezer if it is not solidified enough.
- After you have the body butter mixed up into a white fluffy consistency, add arrowroot powder, fragrance oil and Vitamin E oil.
- Whisk the mixture again until it is light and fluffy.
- Package and enjoy!