We often forget that our skin is the largest organ on our body and absorbs what we put on it. When you use lotions or body butters with chemicals in them (preservatives, color additives etc.) your skin absorbs the chemicals too. I often use shea butter on my skin after a shower but I love using something just as nourishing and a little easier to apply during winter. I have been making my own body butters for over a year now and I’ve never been happier with my skin. Not only are body butters easy to make, they are much more moisturizing than lotion because they are not made with water.
Unlike water, oils keep the skin hydrated for a much longer period of time. Whether you scent it with essential oils or leave it plain with the nutty scent of the butters, everyone out there could use a good moisturizing body butter during the winter. Body butters are amazing and the best part is, they make a really great holiday gift. So instead of buying overpriced, chemical laden body butters with questionable ingredients, why not have a go at making your own?!
What you will need:
• 1/2 cup Organic Raw Cocoa Butter
• 1/2 cup Unrefined Shea Butter (or another kind of butter such as Mango butter)
• 1/2 cup Organic Coconut Oil
• 2 tbspn of castor or olive oil
• Optional: 15-20 drops of essential oil (I use Rosemary)
• Optional: 3tspn of vitamin E oil
How to make Body Butter:
1. Combine all ingredients (except essential oils) in a glass bowl sitting on a pot of boiling water (this is my method since I do not have a double boiler).
2. Once everything is melted remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.
3. Stir in vitamin E oil. If you want your body butter scented this is when you would add essential oils.
4. Place oil mixture in fridge or freezer to harden.
5. When it looks like the butter is half way hardened, mix with a cutlery or hand mixer for 7-10 minutes until light and fluffy (do not use a blender or food processor since it will melt the oil so much it won’t whip).
6. Scoop mixture into a glass container and seal tightly with a lid.
7. Enjoy!
I’ve found it feels a little more oily than the store bought stuff at first but it soaks in quickly and is great after the shower!
Also what most blogs out there fail to mention, when it comes to making your own body butter, is that there is actually a secret to melting the butters so that they don't get grainy later. When I started making body butters, I noticed that when it got cold, my butters started to get a weird gritty feeling. Now this is not because the products have gone bad, in fact it is still usable, it's merely because I didn't know that I had to leave the butters on the heat for 20 minutes to process it. If you perform this step when making anything with butters/coconut oil, you will find that it will not turn gritty on you later.
Oh and if your home stays particularly hot, the mixture will soften or melt. If it does simply put back in the fridge and re-whip if needed.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Sola
Xo
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
No comments
Post a Comment