Homemade Lotion with Shea Butter: Do You Need a Preservative?

Yes, if it contains water. Homemade lotion is oil and water held together by an emulsifier and protected by a broad-spectrum preservative. The easy route is water-free: whip shea butter with a light oil. Baraka's shea butter and shea oil are made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana.

How do you make homemade lotion?

You mix oils and butters with water, then add an emulsifier to hold the two together and a broad-spectrum preservative to keep the water from spoiling. That is a true lotion. It is light and pourable, and it takes more care than most people expect. If you want something simpler, a water-free whipped butter gives you an everyday moisturiser with no emulsifier or preservative at all.

The method for a true lotion follows the same outline every time:

1. Weigh everything on a scale. Lotions are sensitive to small errors, and cups are not accurate enough.
2. Wash and sanitise the bowls, spoons, blender and jars before you start.
3. Melt the oil phase together: shea butter, liquid oils and the emulsifier, as the emulsifier's supplier directs.
4. Warm the water phase separately.
5. Combine the two phases and blend until the mixture thickens as it cools.
6. Add the broad-spectrum preservative at the stage the supplier gives, and use it at the supplier's rate.
7. Pour the lotion into a clean jar or pump bottle.

Emulsifiers and preservatives differ from one product to the next, so we give no amounts here. Follow the supplier's rate and instructions for each one, every time.

Shea butter works well in the oil phase of a lotion. It is solid at room temperature and melts on contact with skin, so it gives a lotion body without making it stiff. Shea oil and baobab oil are both liquid at room temperature and can make up the lighter part of the oil phase.

How do you make shea butter lotion?

There are two ways. A true shea butter lotion uses the method above, with shea butter in the oil phase, an emulsifier and a preservative. A water-free shea butter "lotion" is a whipped blend of shea butter and light oils, and it is the one we suggest starting with. It needs only a scale, a bowl and a mixer.

Baraka's shea butter is unrefined, strained and filtered only, which makes it a good base for the recipe below. 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.

Water-free whipped shea lotion

This makes about 8 oz (227 g), enough to fill a small jar or two.

• Shea butter: 6 oz (170 g)
• Shea oil: 1 1/2 oz (43 g)
• Baobab oil: 1/2 oz (14 g)

You will also need a heatproof bowl, a saucepan, a hand mixer and a clean, dry jar with a lid.

1. Weigh the shea butter into the heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, or use very low heat.
2. Stir until the butter has just melted, then lift the bowl off the heat. Keep the heat low, because you only need it liquid.
3. Stir in the shea oil and the baobab oil.
4. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes, until the edges are firm and the centre is still soft.
5. Whip with the hand mixer for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides, until the mixture is pale, fluffy and holds soft peaks.
6. Spoon it into the jar with a clean, dry spoon and put the lid on.

To use it, scoop out a small amount, warm it between your palms and rub it into your skin. A little goes a long way. In a warm room the whip will soften, which is normal. It firms up again in a cooler place.

The ratio is easy to adjust. For a softer, silkier whip, use a little more shea oil next time. For a firmer one, use a little less. The two liquid oils are chosen for their feel. Shea oil is lighter on the skin than the whole butter and absorbs more readily, and it is made by hand at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana, like the butter. Baobab oil absorbs quickly without the heaviness of a richer oil, so it keeps the finished whip from feeling too dense.

If you would rather follow a set whipped recipe than work out your own ratios, the Ultimate Whipped Recipe Kit is a good place to start.

Keep the jar in a cool place, away from heat and direct sun. Shea butter keeps 2+ years when stored properly, so it is the whip's own ingredient that sets the pace, not a ticking clock. Always scoop with a clean, dry spoon or clean, dry fingers. Water in the jar is the one thing a water-free product cannot cope with.

Does homemade lotion need a preservative?

Yes, if it contains water. A true lotion is part water, and water lets mould and bacteria grow. Without a broad-spectrum preservative, a homemade lotion can spoil within days, often before you can see or smell a change. Water-free products such as body butter, whipped butter, lotion bars and body oils need no preservative.

Any recipe that includes water, aloe gel, rosewater or milk counts as a water-based recipe. If you make one without a preservative, treat it with real caution. Contains water, so make small batches, keep it cool and throw it out if it smells or looks off. A preservative-free water-based lotion should be a small batch you use up quickly, not something you keep on the shelf.

A few common ideas do not fix the problem:

• Keeping the lotion in the refrigerator slows spoilage but is not a safe substitute for a preservative.
• Adding essential oils is not the same as using a broad-spectrum preservative.
• Using clean equipment is essential, but it does not make a water-based lotion keep on its own.

If you want a lotion that lasts, choose a broad-spectrum preservative from a cosmetic ingredient supplier and follow the supplier's rate. We name no brands and give no dosage here, because the right rate depends on the product you buy. If a recipe asks you to guess the amount, find a different recipe.

What is the difference between lotion and body butter?

A lotion contains water and a body butter does not. A lotion is oil and water blended with an emulsifier, so it is light and pourable and needs a preservative. A body butter made from butters and oils alone is thicker and richer, and it needs no preservative because there is no water in it.

• Water: lotion contains it; a water-free body butter does not.
• Texture: lotion pours or pumps and spreads quickly; body butter is soft and spoonable, and a whipped one is fluffy.
• Feel: lotion feels lighter; body butter feels richer and stays on the skin a little longer.
• What you need to make it: lotion needs an emulsifier and a preservative; body butter needs only butters and oils, a bowl and a mixer.
• Keeping: lotion depends on its preservative and its supplier's instructions; a water-free body butter depends on its oils and on keeping water out of the jar.

Some shop-bought body butters are really thick creams that contain water, so check the ingredient list. If water (or aqua) is near the top, it is a cream or lotion and has a preservative in it. The recipe above has no water, so it counts as a body butter, even though it is light enough to use like a lotion.

Water-free options: body butter, whipped butter, lotion bars and body oils

If you like homemade moisturisers but not preservatives, these four options stay simple:

• Body butter: shea butter, sometimes with cocoa butter, melted with a liquid oil and cooled. It is rich and spoonable.
• Whipped butter: the same idea, whipped with a mixer until light and fluffy, as in the recipe above.
• Lotion bars: a solid bar of butter, wax and oil that you rub over your skin. It melts at skin temperature and is easy to carry.
• Body oils: liquid oils such as shea oil or baobab oil used on their own or mixed. They are quick to make and absorb fast.

Cocoa butter is useful in the firmer ones. It is hard and brittle at room temperature and melts close to body temperature, so it helps a bar or a thick butter hold its shape. It 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.

Kombo butter is another option for a blend. It is traditionally used as a massage butter in Ghana, and it is softer than cocoa butter and firmer than shea. If you try it, patch test first on the inside of your arm for 24 hours, blend it at 20 to 30% with shea butter, and never use it in anything for babies.

More lotion recipes to try

If you want a true water-based lotion, we have several recipes that use a preservative at the supplier's rate:

• Shea Butter and Coconut Oil Body Lotion
• Baobab Oil Shea Butter Moisturizing Lotion
• Shea Kombo Body Lotion
• Lightweight Spring Body Lotion

For quick shea butter lotions, the 10-minute DIY shea butter lotions are a good place to begin. Whichever recipe you pick, check how it handles the water. If it contains water, follow the supplier's rate for its preservative and the small-batch advice above.

About Baraka shea butter and shea oil

Baraka's shea butter and shea oil are made by hand by women's producer groups at the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Upper West Region, Ghana. Wayne Dunn has worked directly with the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre for over 15 years. Shea is the seed of a fruit, and the butter you use in the recipe above is that seed's fat, strained and filtered only.

Tested periodically by the Ghana Standards Authority in ISO-accredited laboratories. We offer 14-day no-questions-asked returns (US & Canada).

Quick answers

How do you make homemade lotion?

A true lotion is made by blending melted oils and butters with warm water and an emulsifier, then adding a broad-spectrum preservative at the supplier's rate. A simpler option is a water-free whipped shea butter, which needs no emulsifier or preservative. Weigh every ingredient and use clean equipment either way.

How do you make shea butter lotion?

For a water-free version, melt 6 oz (170 g) of shea butter, stir in 1 1/2 oz (43 g) of shea oil and 1/2 oz (14 g) of baobab oil, chill until the edges firm up, then whip until fluffy. For a true lotion with water, you also need an emulsifier and a preservative used at the supplier's rate.

Does homemade lotion need a preservative?

Yes, if it contains water, because water allows mould and bacteria to grow and an unpreserved lotion can spoil within days. Use a broad-spectrum preservative at the supplier's rate. Water-free products such as body butter, whipped butter, lotion bars and body oils need none.

What is the difference between lotion and body butter?

A lotion contains water, is blended with an emulsifier and needs a preservative. A body butter made from butters and oils alone has no water, is thicker and richer, and needs no preservative.