Homemade Body Butter Recipe (2024)

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Nourish your skin with this luxurious Homemade Body Butter recipe. It’s so simple to make with just a few ingredients, and you can customize the scents.

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Homemade Body Butter Recipe (1)

You can easily make your own DIY homemade body butter recipe for way cheaper. In fact, my recipe yields about 12 oz (nearly double the amount the natural brand at the health food store) and less than half the price – even at 6.5 oz.

Plus, the ingredients are organic, simple and nourishing to the body to soothe skin that’s good enough to eat – really.

What is Body Butter Good for?

Body butteris a skin moisturizer that typically contains cocoabutter, sheabutter, coconut oil or another vegetable-based oil. It’s thicker than lotions and is extra effective at rejuvenating dry skin, whether used all over or only on problem patches, such as elbows and knees.

How to Make This Homemade Body Butter

This HomemadeBody Butter makes an excellent gift, so be sure to double or triple the recipe to give out to friends and family. Now if it’s hot outside, it may lose a bit of its whipped consistency. That’s okay, it’s still amazing – and you can put it in the fridge to harden it up and then whip it again in the food processor.

1. In a food processor, add 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1/2 cup shea butter (or mango butter, or even 1/4 cup of each), 1/4 cup jojoba oil and 10 drops Lavender essential oil (or essential oils of your choice to customize for your own scent).

2. Pulse high until the body butter is a whipped-like consistency, about 2 minutes.

3. Use a spatula to remove and store in a Mason glass jar.

Did you know that conventional body lotions and creams contain a number of toxic ingredients? Look up your body lotion in the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep Database for a rating on the ingredients. You’ll be surprised what you’ll find.

Why You May Want to Avoid Store-Bought Body Butter

Even many so-called natural brands have questionable ingredients and cost a small fortune at the stores.

Here’s the ingredients list in a popular brand of body butter:

Aqua (water, eau), helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, glycerin, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, cetyl alcohol, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, parfum (fragrance)*, sucrose stearate, mel (honey, miel), butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) butter, theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, tocopherol, lactic acid, magnesium aluminum silicate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, glyceryl laurate, sucrose polystearate, glycine soja (soybean) oil, xanthan gum, phenoxyethanol, geraniol, coumarin

Seems natural right? This company is using botanical names to make the ingredients sound natural, but a few of them are anything but natural.

First, there’s no indication what’s in the fragrance. This could be synthetic fragrances that can cause allergic reactions. There’s also soybean oil, which is highly refined and processed. All of the other ingredients rate between 1-3 (on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being low toxicity and 10 being high toxicity), according to the EWG.

But at $13.99 for just 6.5 oz you’d expect to get the best ingredients, right? Nope. There’s no indication any of these ingredients are organic, fair trade or GMO free. So what are you paying for?

Benefits of this Body Butter Recipe

Coconut oil is great for dry, scaly or itchy skin. It helps to naturally moisturize.

Shea butter is derived from the nuts of the shea tree, grown in Africa. It’s incredibly moisturizing and can help to protect skin from dryness.

Lavender essential oilissoothingto the skin and has a calming aroma – making it a perfect addition to any beauty or body care product.

An Inexpensive Body Butter Recipe

Organic coconut oil ($0.46/oz)
Organic shea butter ($0.75/oz)
Organic jojoba oil ($1.87/oz)
Lavender essential oil ($0.20/drop)

Grand total to yield 6 oz = $6.26 (compare that to the store-bought brand at $13.99 with preservatives and artificial fragrances)

This is even cheaper when you get Lavender essential oil at wholesale price.I chose to use organic ingredients. You can use raw or unrefined shea butter (not certified organic) to bring down the price or even substitute cocoa butter for shea butter to make it cheaper.

What If I Don’t Have Jojoba Oil?

Here’s a modification of the recipe if you don’t have jojoba oil:

  • 1 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup shea butter
  • 10 drops essential oils

Follow the rest of the directions in the recipe.

How to Use This Homemade Body Butter

Scoop out about a dime-size amount and rub in hands. Smooth over skin, including legs, arms, waist, and neck. Use more body butter as needed for luxuriously soft skin.

Homemade Body Butter Recipe (2)

Top Tips for This Body Butter

  • Don’t worry if your your skin feels greasy once you put the butter on, your skin will absorb it and it will be less greasy
  • Store in a mason jar, in a cold dark place, lasts around 6 months
  • Shea butter especially can vary in texture and color depending on the brand, but they will all work well
  • Using a spoon or spatula to dip rather than your fingers will extend the life of the body butter.

How to Get Started withEssential Oils

  • Sign up formyFREE essential oil email coursein order to learn the basics.
  • Check out my FREE online webinars all about essential oils and this beginner’s guide to essential oils.
  • Get my essential oils online course – complete with video tutorials, e-book and everything you need to get started with essential oils.
  • Find outhow to buy essential oils at wholesale, and get a starter kit for 60% off retail prices. It’s the best deal around and a great way to get started with essential oils. Plus lots of freebies just for you.

More DIY Recipes You Might Like

  • DIY Body Wash
  • Homemade Exfoliating Facial Scrub for Glowing Skin
  • DIY Coconut Brown Sugar Scrub

Did you try this DIY Homemade Body Butter? Don’t forget to comment below and PINthis post to save it for later. You can alsoFOLLOW MEonFacebook,InstagramandPinterest.

Want More DIY Recipes?

Check out my bookNatural Beauty Made Simple. It comes with 45 homemade skincare recipes with a set of printable labels and gift tags. You can download it instantly to your phone, computer or e-reader, so it’s portable and can go with you anywhere!

With this book, you’ll learn how to:

  • Make your own organic beauty and skin care products for less than $25 a month!
  • Learn simple techniques to make your own skincare – without the fuss of complicated recipes or hard-to-find ingredients
  • Get tried-and-true recipes that work to nourish the skin and make it look more radiant than ever before
  • Create beautiful gifts for friends and family with the printable labels and gift tags I’ve included with this book

Homemade Body Butter Recipe (4)

Homemade Body Butter

Don't Mess With Mama

Nourish your skin with this luxurious Homemade Body Butter recipe. It's so simple to make with just a few ingredients, and you can customize the scents.

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Servings 12 oz

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a food processor, add coconut oil, shea butter, jojoba oil, and essential oils.

  • Pulse high until the body butter is a whipped-like consistency, about 2 minutes.

  • Use a spatula to remove and store in a Mason glass jar.

Notes

Here's a modification of the recipe if you don't have jojoba oil:

  • 1 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup shea butter
  • 10 drops essential oils

Follow the rest of the directions in the recipe.

Keyword body butter, body butter recipe, diy body butter

Tried this recipe?Mention @dontmesswithmama on Instagram

Photo credit: Shutterstock / maramorosz

Homemade Body Butter Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make truly body butter? ›

Instructions
  1. Melt the coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter and shea butter in a double boiler. ...
  2. Put the liquid in the freezer until it is firm. ...
  3. Add in your favorite essential oil.
  4. Whip the butter using a stand mixer or hand held mixer.
  5. Store in a glass mason jar with a lid.
Nov 21, 2021

What is the formula for body butter? ›

Basic Body Butter Formula:
Shea Butter50gms
Coconut oil25 gms
Sweet Almond oil25 gms
Essential oil10 to 12 drops
Apr 4, 2022

What is the best butter to oil ratio for body butter? ›

When formulating body butters, it is good to start with a generally recognized ratio and then experiment. Two key ratios that I use as a starting point when I am formulating are the 70:30 or 60:40 butter-to-liquid oil ratio.

How to make 3 ingredient body butter? ›

Ingredients
  1. 2 parts shea butter.
  2. 1 part coconut oil.
  3. 1 part almond oil (or jojoba or sunflower)
  4. Essential oils (optional)

Do you need a license to make body butter? ›

No, you don't need a license. Cosmetics don't need pre-approval before they enter the market; furthermore, it's perfectly legal to make them at home as long as you follow the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice).

How do you make body butter for beginners? ›

Double boiler method:

To the bowl, add the shea butter, cocoa butter, and oil of choice. Gently melt all the ingredients together using a spatula to stir them every now and then. Once melted, remove the bowl from the heat and place it in the fridge to cool for about 45 - 60 minutes.

How to make your own body butter to sell? ›

Instructions
  1. In a double boiler, melt shea butter and cocoa butter.
  2. Stir in almond oil and coconut oil.
  3. Stir until the coconut oil has melted.
  4. Remove from heat.
  5. Stir in fragrance (I use 15-20 drops of each. ...
  6. Let mixture set until solid.
  7. Using a hand mixer, mix until whipped and fluffy.
  8. Store in a jar at room temperature.
Apr 13, 2016

How do you make anti aging body butter? ›

In a double boiler or a saucepan over low heat, melt shea butter and coconut oil and stir until they are melted. Remove from heat for 10 minutes, then stir in extra virgin olive oil, vitamin E oil, and essential oils if using. Transfer to a glass bowl.

What is a good emulsifier for body butter? ›

Ritamulse SCG (Emulsimulse, ECOMulse), BTMS-50, or Emulsifying Wax NF will work instead of Glyceryl Stearate (and) PEG-100 Stearate, though they won't feel as nice. BTMS-25 and Olivem 1000 will also work, though I find they thicken up faster and it is harder to make a smooth emulsified body butter with them.

What is the best base for body butter? ›

If you want something less greasy, try grapeseed oil. Just remember that grapeseed oil might give your body butter a shelf life of about 3 months. Most other oils will give your body butter a shelf life of about a year. Coconut oil is the best known oil to be used as moisturizer.

How do you make body butter stay fluffy? ›

Our solution to keep our whipped shea butter soft and fluffy is to add a little bit of jojoba oil to the whipped shea (less than 10% of the mixture). Some people also use coconut oil for the same effect but we prefer jojoba as it has it's own beneficial effects.

How do you keep body butter fluffy? ›

Your un-whipped fat blend needs to be soft at room temperature; if it's too hard, your body butter won't stay soft and whippy. If your formulation features lots of brittle/hard solid ingredients try reducing the percentage of those for ingredients that are soft solids.

Why is my homemade body butter so greasy? ›

Different fats/butters/oils have different skin feels and absorb at different speeds. If your body butter is made entirely (or mostly) from heavy feeling, slow-to-absorb butters and oils (like shea butter or oat oil), that will make for a heavier, greasier end product.

What is a good substitute for coconut oil in body butter? ›

Babassu oil works as an effective replacement for refined or unrefined coconut oil, as they have a very similar consistency and melting temperature. Babassu also lacks the coconut aroma, which is a plus for folks looking to avoid tropical vibes in a certain recipe. Kokum butter is crumbly and not soft to the touch.

How do you use truly whipped body butter? ›

Scoop out a dollop of Unicorn Whipped Body Butter, and apply to the entire body after showering or bathing.

Do I need a preservative in homemade body butter? ›

Body butter

This is a simple mixture of butter and oil. Because there's no water and it will likely be applied to dry skin, don't worry about a preservative. As always, you can add one if you plan to sell it.

Do you use truly butter in the shower? ›

Did you know that the best time to moisturize is directly after taking a shower -- while your skin's still a little damp? Keep a tub of multi-colored butter in your bathroom so you can slather it on after bathing or showering.

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