DIY Body Butter

Lavender body butter is unrefined Baraka Shea Butter melted, cooled and whipped with a few drops of oil, plus up to 40 drops (2 g) of lavender essential oil for every 1 cup (240 ml) of butter if you like. Like our African black soap, kombo butter and baobab oil, it is made by hand by women's producer groups at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana.

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups (240-480 ml) Baraka Shea Butter
• 3-4 drops each of rosehip oil, seabuckthorn oil, coconut oil and Vitamin E oil
• Optional: lavender essential oil, up to 40 drops (2 g) for each 1 cup (240 ml) of shea butter

Directions

1. Melt the shea butter in a double boiler.
2. Place it in the fridge for 10 minutes until it has cooled.
3. Slowly whip it with a hand mixer, adding the rosehip oil, seabuckthorn oil, coconut oil and Vitamin E oil. Add the lavender essential oil last, if you are using it.
4. Pour it into a glass container and store it away from heat.

Storage

Keep the body butter in a closed glass container, away from heat and direct sun. Shea butter keeps 2+ years when stored properly. Use it yourself, or package it and give it to special people, because it makes an incredible gift.

Lavender body butter: how much to add

Add up to 40 drops (2 g) of lavender essential oil for each 1 cup (240 ml) of shea butter, and use up to 80 drops (4 g) for 2 cups (480 ml). That is about 20 drops per 0.04 oz (1 g). It keeps the butter under our recommended limit of 2% of the total weight for the body.

Stir the lavender in after the butter has cooled, as in step 3, so the scent is not lost to heat. For the face, our limit is 1%, so use half as much. Leave essential oils out of anything for babies or young children.

How to fix body butter that is too hard: re-melt and whip again

Melt the butter gently again, stir in a few more drops of liquid oil, chill it for 10 minutes and whip it again. Shea butter is solid at room temperature and melts on contact with skin, so a butter kept somewhere cool or chilled for too long will set firm.

Virgin coconut oil or shea oil both work as the liquid oil. Add a little at a time until the texture suits you.

Whipped coconut body butter: adding virgin coconut oil

For a whipped coconut body butter, use the same method and put a little more virgin coconut oil in with the shea butter. Virgin coconut oil is solid below about 75°F (24°C) and clear liquid above it, so it moves between the two as the room warms and cools. This is normal and does not affect quality. It also absorbs quickly rather than sitting on the skin.

Our Virgin Coconut Oil is a good fit here, because it is mechanically pressed from the fresh kernel with no solvent extraction or chemical refining.

Body butter ratio: how much butter to oil

This recipe is almost all butter, with 3-4 drops each of four oils for every 1-2 cups (240-480 ml) of shea butter. The butter does the work, and the drops add a little extra feel.

If you want a softer butter, add more liquid oil in small amounts and whip again. Keep the amounts you use written down, so you can repeat a batch you like.

Best body butter recipe: the simple whipped version

The best body butter recipe is the simplest one: unrefined shea butter, melted, cooled and whipped with a few drops of oil. Shea butter is traditionally used on dry skin, lips, hands, feet and hair.

Its natural colour runs from ivory through cream to pale yellow and varies between batches. A mild nutty smell is normal and is not a fault.

How to make mango body butter: a swap

Replace part of the shea butter with mango butter. Melt the two together and follow the directions above. We do not give set amounts for mango butter, so start with a small share and adjust to the texture you like.

Citrus body butter: use sweet orange

Use sweet orange essential oil at the same drop counts as the lavender above. Do not use lemon or bergamot essential oil in any leave-on recipe, because both are phototoxic.

How to make goat milk body butter: a note on water

The recipe on this page contains no milk, so we give no goat milk amount. If you add goat milk to a leave-on butter, remember this: Contains water, so make small batches, keep it cool and throw it out if it smells or looks off.

How much arrowroot powder to add to body butter: what to know

This recipe does not use arrowroot powder, so we do not give an amount. If you try it, stir it in a little at a time and stop when the butter feels the way you want. Make a small test batch first.

Rosewater cream recipe: a note on water

This page makes a body butter, not a cream, and it has no water in it. A rosewater cream does contain water. Contains water, so make small batches, keep it cool and throw it out if it smells or looks off.

Whipped shea cream: the same recipe

Whipped shea cream is the recipe above. Whipping melted and cooled shea butter makes it lighter and easier to spread. It stays a butter, because nothing water-based goes in.

This is DIY advice, not medical advice. See a doctor or pharmacist for a skin condition.

Quick answers

Whipped coconut body butter

This page makes a whipped body butter from melted Baraka Shea Butter, with 3-4 drops of coconut oil whipped in alongside rosehip, seabuckthorn and Vitamin E oils. Melt the shea, chill it in the fridge for 10 minutes, then whip it slowly with a hand-mixer while adding the oils. Coconut is only one of the oils in this recipe, not the main ingredient. More in Directions

Body butter ratio

The ratio on this page is 1-2 cups of Baraka Shea Butter to 3-4 drops each of rosehip oil, seabuckthorn oil, coconut oil and Vitamin E oil. The shea butter is the base and the oils are added in drops. More in Ingredients

Best body butter recipe

This page's recipe is a whipped shea body butter. Melt 1-2 cups of Baraka Shea Butter, cool it in the fridge for 10 minutes, then whip in 3-4 drops each of rosehip, seabuckthorn, coconut and Vitamin E oil. Pour it into a glass container and store it away from heat. More in Directions

Whipped shea cream

Yes. Melt 1-2 cups of Baraka Shea Butter in a double boiler, cool it in the fridge for 10 minutes, then whip it slowly with a hand-mixer, adding the oils as you go. Pour it into a glass container and store it away from heat. More in Directions