Homemade Body Butter Recipe

UPDATE: I’ve simplified this recipe even more so it’s a CINCH to make.

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.

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?

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.

About the Ingredients

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 oil is soothing to the skin and has a calming aroma – making it a perfect addition to any beauty or body care product.

Cost Breakdown

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

Grand total to yield 12 oz = $8.68

This is even cheaper when you get Lavender essential oil at wholesale prices (where to buy). 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.

Homemade Body Butter

This Homemade Body 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.

Ingredients

• 1 cup organic coconut oil
• 1/2 cup shea butter
• 10 drops Lavender essential oil (where to buy)

Directions

1. In a food processor, add coconut oil, shea butter and Lavender essential oil.
2. Pulse high until the body butter is a whipped-like consistency – usually about 2 minutes.
3. Use a spatula to remove and store in a Mason glass jar.