Kombo Muscle Balm with Red Palm and Essential Oils

A coconut oil balm is a balm made with virgin coconut oil, which is solid below about 75°F (24°C), liquid above it, and absorbs quickly rather than sitting on the skin. The balm on this page does not use coconut oil. It is built from kombo butter, shea butter, cocoa butter and red palm oil.

The Kombo Butter Muscle Balm is a whipped balm of those four ingredients in equal parts, melted, cooled and whipped, with optional essential oil. Baraka's unrefined shea butter and kombo butter are made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana. In Ghana, kombo butter is traditionally used as a massage butter.

Balm with essential oils: how much to add

Essential oil is optional in this balm. Add it as you start to whip, at no more than 1% of the total weight for the body and face. Baraka's recommended limit for the lips is 0.5%. Use none in anything for babies or young children. These are recommended limits, not a guarantee of safety.

Count about 20 drops per gram. The personal batch uses 0.34 fl oz (10 ml), about 200 drops, which weighs about 0.35 oz (10 g) and is roughly 1% of the total weight. Peppermint or another essential oil of your choice works well. Do not apply to the face of babies or young children. This balm is for the body, so keep it off the face and lips unless you cut the amount to those limits.

Kombo butter is 25% of the base here, inside the 20 to 30% range we blend with shea butter. Patch test before first use: dab a little on the inside of your arm and wait 24 hours. Never use kombo butter in anything for babies.

Frankincense balm recipe: using frankincense in this balm

To make a frankincense balm, follow the recipe below and choose frankincense essential oil as your optional essential oil. Stay within the limits above and add the drops as you start to whip. Do not make it for a baby or young child, because no essential oils go in baby recipes.

Leave bergamot and lemon essential oils out of any leave-on balm, because they are phototoxic. Sweet orange can stand in at the same number of drops.

Coconut oil balm: what it is and how it differs from this recipe

A coconut oil balm uses virgin coconut oil as its softer, quick-absorbing fat. Virgin coconut oil is pressed from the fresh kernel of the coconut. It is unrefined, unbleached and undeodorised, mechanically pressed with no solvent extraction, and it keeps its fresh coconut aroma. It is white when solid and colourless to pale yellow when liquid.

Coconut oil solidifies and liquefies with the temperature of the room. This is normal and does not affect quality. It is also highly saturated, so it keeps far longer than most oils and needs no added antioxidant.

This page gives no coconut oil amounts. If you want to experiment, change one ingredient at a time and make a small batch first. You can find virgin coconut oil in our shop if you want to try it in your own balm.

Ingredients

This is the personal batch. It makes about 5 jars of 8 1/2 fl oz (250 ml). Feel free to use more of some butters and less of others.

• 8.8 oz (250 g) kombo butter
• 8.8 oz (250 g) shea butter
• 8.8 oz (250 g) cocoa butter
• 8.8 oz (250 g) red palm oil
• Optional: 0.9 oz (25 g) cocoa powder
• Optional: 0.9 oz (25 g) moringa powder
• Optional: essential oil, 0.34 fl oz (10 ml), about 200 drops (not included in the kit)

Essential oils make up 1% or less of this recipe.

Red palm oil is pressed from the orange flesh of the palm fruit, not the kernel inside it. It is not palm kernel oil, which is a different material. It keeps its natural colour, and it has a savoury, earthy smell that carries into the finished balm.

Directions

1. Weigh out the butters and oils and melt them in a double boiler.
2. Strain the melted mixture into a cooling dish that you can also use for whipping.
3. Leave it to cool. You can put it in the fridge, but stir often, or it will be hard on the outside and still liquid in the centre.
4. As you start to mix, add the cocoa powder, moringa powder or essential oil, if using.
5. Whip until light and fluffy. More whipping gives a softer balm with more air in it, so you will need more containers.
6. Spoon the balm into containers, or pipe it in by filling a bag, pressing out the air and snipping a corner off.
7. Put covers on, label and use, or give away.

Buy the ingredients now

This recipe uses five Baraka ingredients. One click takes all five straight to checkout.

• Baraka Kombo Butter, 17.6 oz (500 g): enough for two batches
• Baraka Raw Shea Butter, 17.6 oz (500 g): enough for two batches
• Baraka Cocoa Butter, 17.6 oz (500 g): enough for two batches
• Baraka Red Palm Oil, 17.6 oz (500 g): enough for two batches
• Baraka Moringa Powder, 4.4 oz (125 g): enough for five batches
• Cocoa Powder isn't sold in the USA, so it isn't in the button.

Buy all five now

Essential oil is not a Baraka product; use your usual supplier.

Cautions

The colour of red palm oil transfers strongly. It can stain sheets, clothes and surfaces. If you have light hair, try a small area first and do not leave it on your hair for long.

Storage

Keep the balm in closed containers, away from heat and direct sun. Shea butter keeps 2+ years when stored properly. Cocoa butter may develop a pale surface bloom after a change in temperature. This is a change in crystal structure, not spoilage, and it disappears on melting.

Quick answers

Balm with essential oils

For Baraka's Kombo Muscle Balm, melt equal amounts of kombo butter, shea butter, cocoa butter and red palm oil in a double boiler, strain into a cooling dish and let it cool. Add the essential oil as you start to mix, then whip until light and fluffy. The personal batch, 31.3 oz (888 g), uses 0.34 fl oz (10 ml) of essential oil, such as peppermint or another oil of your choice. Do not apply to the face of babies or young children. More in HOW TO MAKE OUR KOMBO MUSCLE BALM WITH RED PALM BODY BUTTER

Frankincense balm recipe

Use frankincense as the essential oil in the Baraka Kombo Muscle Balm. Melt equal parts kombo butter, shea butter, cocoa butter and red palm oil, strain, let cool, and add the frankincense as you start to whip. For the personal batch, 31.3 oz (888 g), use 0.34 fl oz (10 ml) of essential oil, which is roughly 200 drops at about 20 drops to the ml. More in HOW TO MAKE OUR KOMBO MUSCLE BALM WITH RED PALM BODY BUTTER