How To Make Whipped Shea Butter and Coconut Oil Body Butter
Last Christmas my cousin asked me what was on my wish list. I told her I really wanted a lotion that would cure the old lady skin on my dry and over-washed hands. We had just been through four rounds of the stomach flu in four months, and I felt like I had washed them so often that they were incapable of ever being soft and smooth again. On Christmas eve, I received the best gift ever. A jar of whipped body butter. And I pretty much fell in love immediately.
When I first used it, I thought there was absolutely no way I would ever use up the entire jar.
Turns out I was wrong. I went through it way faster than I thought I would. I used it on my hands after washing, and on my body after showering, and even on my face.
She sent me the recipe, and I started making it myself. It’s a great gift, and a great addition to any beauty routine. It’s easy to make, and you can tailor the scent to whatever you like. I like using lavender and peppermint). Both oils have antibacterial and antiviral properties. Peppermint oil helps soothe skin irritations, and relieve itchy skin, and skin rashes. Lavender oil has antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, as well as soothing properties for the skin. I love the scent of the two mixed together, because it’s not overwhelming, not overly floral, but still a bright scent. My husband has been known to take a dip of the lotion for himself, and I hear from friends whom I’ve made it for, that their husbands like it as well.
Be prepared to love it. A little bit goes a long way, but it does have a greasy feeling when first put on. There is a definite “soak in” period needed. I like to slather it on after a shower, and then give it some time to soak in before getting dressed. I learned my lesson after I found some oil marks on my shirt one day. (They washed out with a pre-wash treatment of some dish soap though, so no harm done.) I also brought it with me last summer and used it after a day in the sun with not enough shade. The lavender and peppermint oil helped soothe my skin after the sunburn. I tend to have really sensitive skin, and have had absolutely no problem at all with this recipe. I hope you enjoy it too!
{Angie}
What to get:
1 cup of Shea Butter
½ cup of coconut oil
½ cup of almond oil (or any other organic liquid oil – jojoba or olive would work too)
Double boiler
Mixer
Measuring cups
Essential oils of your choice (we used lavender and peppermint)
Glass jar – these ones are great!
What to Do:
1. Melt Shea Butter and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler. My Shea Butter has a very earthy smell while melting, but the oil added in will eliminate that. It takes a bit of time to melt it down, so just keep stirring… Take it off the stove, and let it cool for 30 minutes.
2. Mix in the almond oil (or other liquid oil), and essential oils of choice. You can add as much or as little as you like depending on your preference of strength of smell.
3. Wait until the mix starts to partially solidify. (This part takes the longest……be patient. Go read a book, do the dishes, dream about how nice the body butter is going to feel on your chapped hands….whatever)
4. Whip it with a standing mixer, or hand mixer until it has a whipped, butter-like consistency. (This part also takes a bit of time…so I hope, for your sake, you have a standing mixer so that you can go do something else….)
5. Put it in a glass container with a lid, and enjoy it! If you are giving it away as a gift, use a little bit of washi tape to decorate the lid, and wrap it tied with a cute thrift store spoon.
used castor oil. Won’t whip up. How long does it take to use a handmixer?
I’ve never used castor oil, or a hand mixer. In my experience the standing mixer is nice because I can turn it on and walk away. Sometimes its taken as long as 8 minutes to whip into the consistency that I like. And sometimes its only taken 2-3. Hope that helps!
hello! I used a hand mixture for whipping and everything turned out fine. The only change I made was putting the whole bowl in the fridge for about an hour to speed up the cooling process.
I would like to make this for my clients in the salon, what’s the shelf life?
I’ve never had it go bad, but I’ve never had it last longer then a few months before I’ve opened and used it up. I go through this very quickly, because I use it a lot.
Shelf life is same as any oil stored in the market at least a year I’ve researched it.
Hiya, would a plastic container affect storage in any way? I noticed you and quite a few others use glass or mason jars. Any particular reason?
xo
The oils added for scent will not be affected by the glass. In a plastic container, there is the possibility of them reacting with it and affecting the container as well as the oils themselves.
Plastic and essential oils don’t get along. Breaks the plastic down. What is very good for skin isn’t always good for plastic.
Plastic works fine. That’s what I store mine in.
how many drops of lavender and peppermint oil did you use?
I started with 20 drops of each, and then added about 10 more of lavender because I wanted more of that scent to come through. But its up to your own smell preference. Have fun making this yummy and nourishing body butter!
I added the almond oil in the beginning with the coconut oil and shea butter. Will I have any issues?
This should be fine, it may be a bit thinner. 🙂
Can I use Honey? with the Shea butter and the Coconut oil. Will their any issue i.e. shelf life, chemical reaction, and etc.?
could you make it in a Food Processor as well as a stand mixer ( do have both)
I never done it in a food processor. I only use the standing mixer because I like it to get to a whipped consistency, and I’m not completely sure a food processor would get it to the consistency I like it to be.
Hello, can I cut out the coconut oil & just add more almond oil or olive oil?
You can but it will change the consistency.
Coconut oil is the best oil to use as it absorbs into the skin better. Using mute olive oil will make the product more greasy. But if that’s what you want. Don’t think it’ll be as thick and fluffy
What if I do not whip? Would it be a bit thicker in texture ? Looking to make more of a salve.
Yes.
I just made it I love it it turned out perfect
Can I just do coconut oil and shea butter? If so, what would the ration be?
Thanks,
Patricia
I’m replying to your message Patricia Loewy so I can be included in any responses from Nicole. I have the SAME question as you do!! I don’t understand why all recipes I’ve found have a 3rd oil mixed in. I don’t understand what the use of it is and what the ratios would be if I just used coconut oil and shea butter. I’m hoping someone has a good response for this!
Hi. I used the almond oil because of the moisturizing properties. If you wanted a quicker absorption, grapeseed oil will absorb faster, and you will have less of a dry time. (lol!) I am not sure what the whipped consistency will be if you only use the solids (shea and coconut), but if you are looking for an inexpensive alternative to the liquid oil, olive oil will work too. Hope that helps!
I always use just 2 parts shea butter to 1 part coconut oil, then just a little lavender or eucalyptus for scent. It is a soft buttery consistency and I don’t even whip in with a mixer. I pour into plastic containers on and let cool on the counter until it turns solid.
I do 5# shea to 2.5# coconut and I use a large crock pot. Throw it in, turn on low setting, come back in 2 hrs, throw a wisk thru it and you are done. I am not going to stand and stir with a double boiler. I make it June and Dec, so I can tell you it keeps for at least 6 months.
Hi. In general, the ratio of solid (shea butter/coconut oil) to liquid (almond oil, grapeseed, olive, etc) is 75% solid to 25% liquid. And although the recipe that I provided for this tutorial isn’t exactly that, you can play around with it as long as you have something close. I imagine with using just the coconut oil and shea butter, it wont have the same whipped consistency, since coconut oil is solid at room temp…unless of course you live in a hotter climate. I hope this helps!
I just made this. I used 75/25 ratio. 3/4 cup minus 1 Tbsp Coconut oil & 3/4 cup Shea butter & 1 Tbsp Coconut butter to make 1 1/2 cup (solid ingredients). I used 1/3 cup mixture of Almond oil, Avocado oil and small amount of Olive oil (liquid ingredients). 20-30 drops of both lavender & peppermint oil. I followed the recipe. It did not whipped beautifully like pictures. It is like loose merengue. No peaks. Maybe I shouldn’t add Olive oil. Maybe I didn’t leave it in freezer long enough… (I even place that bowl on bowl of ice while I was whisking it (hand mixer)). However, I pour it in glass jar, I’ll start to using this asap. (Soon as what’s on mixing whisks and spatula are gone. Hey it wasn’t cheap to gather all these ingredients). By the way, coconut butter’s scent overwhelms my lavender/peppermint oil. Next time I will not add coconut butter.
I let the ingredients cool for 30 minutes then put it in my KitchenAid mixer and let it whip. Nothing happened, so i put it in the refrigerator for a while. I hope it will work out. I have an amazing body butter recipe that I created from using a basic recipe from a class i took, however I use distilled water. Although I also use a few antifungal ingredients the shelf life is short. I hope this works. Thank you for the recipe
Most of the time, the mixture has to cool down quite a bit in order to whip up. Hope it worked out for you!
Dear Angie, can I use this mixture for a new born baby. Also what alternatives to I have for Lavender or Peppermint oil as I do not have an idea of where to buy it from her in Nigeria. Many thanks.
I would make it without the essential oils, and just test the unscented version on a small area of the baby’s skin to make sure there isn’t a reaction.
Be very careful using oils on a new born. I’d research and research some more and be even more careful than they say.
I do a similar variation and add a castor oil as well as a little bit of beeswax so it stays soft but slightly solidified.
Hi. I am wondering if avacado oil will work with the coconut oil and she’s butter?
Sorry shea butter
I haven’t tried that combo, but if you are just replacing the other liquid oil with the same amount of avocado oil, I don’t see that it would affect the final consistency.
My melted mixture never really solidified enough to whip. I put it in the fridge and it started to thicken, but it became runny again as soon as I brought it out and started whipping again. Could it be because my house is warmer than yours? I live in Texas and keep my house at about 74 degrees when it’s warm out. Should I remake it without the addition of the liquid oil?
Okay so, I live in Texas and my situation was similar to yours. I used Shea butter, coconut oil, castor oil and lavender. At first I let the mixture cool on the counter for about 30 minutes. I then moved the mixture to the fridge for about another 20 to 30 minutes (the rim of the mixture was solidified but the middle was still semi-solid/liquidy if that makes sense). I used a hand mixer for about 3 to 5 minutes but nothing was happening or so I thought. I tried varying speeds on my hand mixer hoping to form some whipped peaks but nothing was happening, the mixture was still in a thick liquid state but no where near whipped. I gave up and decided to put it back in the fridge and see if it needed to solidify more but an odd thing happened. I stopped the hand mixer and was distracted for maybe a minute, not long at all, and when I picked up the bowl of mixture to put it back in the fridge the damn thing had solidified. I mean it was still soft to the touch but I turned the bowl to the side and it didn’t move. I turned back on the hand mixer and the mixture whipped up nicely. It was the oddest friggen thing but hey it worked. I used the same measurements but instead of almond oil I used castor oil. I only used lavender oil and I did everything in a glass Pyrex bowl. Finally, in case you are wondering, my thermostat is set to 77.
Unfractionated coconut oil begins to melt at 72 degrees F, so a warmer house will affect its consistency both while it is being made and during storage.
Hello! I accidentally made this without a double boiler…just warmed it in a regular pan. Is it usable or did it lose important properties heating this way? Wondering if I should start over. Thank you!
It should be fine!
Love the recipes and helpful advice. I’m kind of new using essential oils and love to make homemade lotions and creams.
I just made a small batch, first time trying this. It was awsome!
What I did differently: I poured the melted oil/butter from the glass bowl, in which they were melted, into the metal pot I used as the bottom of the double boiler. Dried the pot carefully first.
Then I put the pot in an ice water bath. It cooled in 5 minutes. I whipped the mixture in the pot while in the ice water.
It whipped up it with my hand mixer with the whipping attachments It whipped into perfectly smooth fluffy butter in led than 5 minutes.
I would like this tp be a more solid butter than I can spoon out of the jar. Do you know if I need to alter the recipe or can I just stir and pour in jars to cool?
I haven’t tried adding beeswax to this particular recipe, but I know that would help solidify it a bit more. If you pour directly into a jar without whipping its just more dense, and not as light and fluffy. I’m sure its lovely that was as well.
Hi! Thank you for this recipe. I just made this and it came out great! I usually make my own “lotion”, but never pay attention to ratios and don’t cool it before whipping. I usually end up with a semi soft oily mixture that works fine, but isn’t as appealing. This time I have a lovely, luxurious cream and I’m so excited to use it! Great instructions! I’ve already sampled it, as I had to wipe it off of my hand mixer and spatula. Couldn’t let that go to waste. 🙂
I’m so glad it worked out for you! And yes, usually when I’m done my hands, arms and any other exposed skin has been wiped down. Definitely can’t waste it!
Made this and gave some of it to my sister who has dry skin and battling a rash. She was amazed how this body butter has helped her in all ways. Her rash is not completely gone but doing much better. One thing that I would do different is to add Arrowroot flour starch to the carrier oil/almond oil as I felt the final product a little too greasy. Not certain how much I would need for this particular recipe though. Will make this recipe again! Thank you Angie.
So glad you liked it!
Angie, I changed your recipe a bit. For the 1 cup of Shea Butter I used 1/2 cup Shea Butter and 1/2 cup Cocoa Butter. Also added 2 teaspoons of Arrowroot to decrease the greasiness. Experimenting… However, it looks fine, but as soon as you put it in your hand it melts. Also gets liquidy when in my glove box in the car. Think I need to harden it up some. Ideas? Beeswax or?. Would appreciate you input! Love your original recipe.
Hi Veronica! From other lotions I’ve made, beeswax would help it keep its shape and consistency a little bit longer. I usually keep my jar in the bathroom, so I don’t know how it would react in a glove box. Coconut oil usually turns to liquid around 76-78 degrees, so I imagine that a glove box might get warmer then that.
Glad you like the original recipe. It works the best of any that I have ever tried!
I made this today using avocado oil since I did not have almond, frankincense and lavender. It turned out fantastic! I am anxious to see after a couple weeks how my skin looks! Thanks for the “recipe”!
Hello ladies,
Well I just made this heavenly and uber luxe shea/coconut body butter with tea tree & peppermint essential oils. OMG, it’s lovely and beautiful to look at, thank you so much for this recipe – I will be making this for a longtime.
Now with that said, the end result is wonderful but the hardest part is the time it takes for the mixture to solidify, wow! I left it overnight on my windowsill. By the morning it was ready to be whipped, in 5-10 mins it was lovely.
Here’s to blissful skin!
This is beautiful. My mother read this article, and tried to make coconut oil butter and it works. It really helps to save money and you can make a natural body butter without any chemical mixture. I’ll have to remember this great idea.
Mine is a bit grainy, what have I done wrong?
I followed the recipe except replaced Argan oil for the almond. I used a hand mixer after setting in the freezer for about half an hour- slightly solid. I added peppermint and cassia oils- about 10 drops each. It came out perfect. Thanks!
Hi,
Just making you reciepe and I was wondering if I could mix Lavender, Frankincense, and Rosemary togeather?