Have I mentioned I’m not a fan of winter…have I? Winter always wreaks my skin; this winter it is still dry but it is SO much better than it has been in the past years, and I’m going to share my secret with you. In this prior post I discussed cleaning up my beauty routine just as we are cleaning up what we eat. This is something I came across while learning about cleaner beauty and I love it.
I have tweaked this recipe every time I have made it and I’ve finally gotten it close to perfect. Different oils and butters work better for different people. Making your own products is really no different than trying a new product bought at the store, except you can control and learn what you like and don’t like about it. This is best applied right after showering, without toweling off-I actually apply in the shower so I don’t drip water everywhere.
- Weigh the solid butters out using a kitchen scale or you can estimate if you don’t have a scale, approximately 5 tbsp for 100 g and 1 light tbsp for the 15 g (though Kokum is very dry and is really hard to scoop out into spoon form). The solid butters get melted in a double boiler or you can melt them over low heat just in the pan (though the double boiler method is recommended). Your target measurement once melted is slightly over 1 cup.
- Once melted, pour into large glass bowl and allow to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then add in the oils; these oils all together should equal about 1/4 cup. Next add in the essential oils, these will provide the fragrance for you body butter…my additions are light so P will use it too. You can add more for a stronger fragrance but don’t go too crazy because essential oils can be irritating, the general rule is no more than 25-30 drops (do not put 30 drops of rosemary, it is a stronger essential oil).
- Place bowl in freezer or refrigerator and allow it to re-solidify, but try not to let it become completely solid, you should still be able to make an indent with your finger. This step affects the texture of the final product…too solid/cold it is crumbly and too soft it is clumpy. Place bowl on counter and beat with a hand-mixer (you can use your kitchen-aid but I have a dedicated mixer for this). Once mixed to your liking, scoop into glass jar or container (I like to use this jar). You are fine to use your regular kitchen utensils when making this…just stick with glass or metal and make sure they are CLEAN before use and place in dishwasher after.
- I buy all of my supplies from Mountain Rose. They are highly recommended from almost every website that features make-it yourself products. You can also find almost everything to get you started from Whole Foods or order from Amazon.
You by no means need to buy all of these oils to try this out. You can use any variation you want just make sure to follow the 25% rule: 25% liquid oils to 75% solid butters. To keep it simple, use sunflower or grape seed oil for the oils and shea or cocoa, and mango butter for the solids. Different oils are lighter/thicker, some absorb faster than others. Experiment with your oils and butters and see what works for you. One final note: Coconut oil does not act as a solid butter and if used, melt with solids but reduce the liquid oils by the amount of coconut oil used.
Here are some other resources from around the web to provide you some alternative recipes and a bit more information:
Not into making your own? Check out better for you products in my Spring Clean Your Beauty Routine series.
