DIY Whipped Body Butter: Easy, Natural, Non-Greasy
An easy DIY whipped body butter recipe that is creamy, fluffy, all-natural, and non greasy. It will melt right into your skin to soothe, soften and moisturize dry or irritated skin.
Equipment
- Double boiler (or create a DIY double-boiler by nesting a smaller pot inside a slightly larger pot)
- Measuring cups
- Stand mixer or hand mixer for whipping
- Final storage container(s) of choice, such a glass jars with lids or glass flip-top containers. For gifts, we like to use 4-ounce amber jars or pretty cobalt blue ones.
- Optional: plastic bag or piping bag to help fill jars
Ingredients
Base Ingredients (melt together)
- 1/2 cup shea butter (4 oz)
- 1/2 cup cocoa butter (4 oz) *see substitution notes below
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (4 oz) solid at room temperature
- 1/2 cup liquid carrier oil (4 oz) such as jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, olive oil, or other oil choice (including herbal oils like calendula, rosehip
or lavender-infused oil). Lightweight "dry" oils like jojoba, argan, or grapeseed will make body butter less greasy
Optional (add later during whipping)
- 1-2 tsp arrowroot powder or tapioca starch - to make body butter less greasy
- 10-25 drops essential oils of choice, such as lavender, chamomile, sweet orange or peppermint
Instructions
- Combine the shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil and other liquid oil of choice in a double boiler. (Do not add the optional arrowroot powder or essential oils yet!) Add enough water to the lower pot so that it’s touching the bottom of the upper pot.
- Heat the ingredients on the stovetop (uncovered) over medium heat until everything is fully melted and combined.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool until it’s semi-firm but not hard to the touch. The surface should be solidified, but still soft enough that you can easily press your finger into it. (You can speed this up in the refrigerator or freezer, but be careful not to over-chill until it's totally hard.)
- Once the mixture has cooled to semi-firm, transfer it to a stand mixer (or mixing bowl to use a hand mixer) and add the optional arrowroot powder and essential oils at this time.
- Now whip the body butter using a stand mixer or hand beater on high for approximately 5 minutes (starting on low speed just to incorporate the powder). Stop to stir the sides once or twice while whipping. The mixture will quickly turn from yellow to white and double in size as you whip it to introduce air.
- Transfer the finished whipped body butter into storage containers of choice, such as glass jars with a tight-fitting lid.You can either gently spoon and press the body butter into the containers, or transfer it to a piping bag (or ziplock bag) to squeeze it into the containers.
- Store homemade body butter in cool, dry location that isn’t prone to temperature swings - where it should stay good for up to a year or longer. If your home is warm, you may want to store it in the refrigerator so it doesn’t melt, which will also extend the shelf life.
- **You can also choose to NOT whip this recipe and leave it more firm like a balm - see notes and tips below.
Notes
*Substitution notes: You can also make body butter using half shea and half mango butter (or shea butter alone), but shea and mango butter are much softer than cocoa butter. Therefore, I recommend reducing the amount of oil in this recipe by 2 to 3 Tbsp if you aren't using cocoa butter.
**If you do NOT want to whip the body butter, add the optional arrowroot powder and essential oils to the mixture once it's melted, but after it's removed from the heat. Then simply pour into storage containers of choice and cool. Yield will be about 2 cups.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!