I’ve been making my own personal care products for a number of years, but only recently started trying out body butter. After a couple of trial runs, I have perfected the recipe!
If you’re wondering why bother making your own, there are a few considerations:
- You have complete control of the ingredients – which means no nasties! Read more about toxins in skin care here.
- It’s a lot cheaper!
- You can customise to your favourite scent.
- Great gift idea for Christmas!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of organic coconut oil
- 1/2 cup of organic shea butter
- 2 x tablespoons of jojoba oil (increase if you prefer a runnier consistency)
- 1 x tablespoon of beeswax beads
- 10-20 drops of your desired essential oils
Directions
- Place coconut oil and beeswax into a glass jar or jug (I use a Pyrex jug)
- Fill a saucepan up with 5cm of water
- Place jug inside saucepan and bring to the boil and then reduce to medium heat
- Stirring regularly, melt the beeswax and coconut oil
- Add shea butter and turn heat off (we want it to melt gently, but not heat)
- Place jug inside fridge to cool for 15 minutes
- Mix through jojoba oil and essential oils of choice
- Using a whisk or egg beater, whip the mixture until colour lightens and becomes fluffy
Scent Combinations
- I personally love a blend of lavender, frankincense and grapefruit
- You can make a hormonal blend with clary sage, lavender and geranium
- For a sense of grounding try frankincense, vetiver and ylang ylang
Cost
The recipe above nearly filled a 450ml jar, which is huge and lasts for ages because it’s so rich and creamy.
Depending on your choice of essential oils, the cost for this is between $15-$20.
If you are interested in making a larger quantity, I recommend buying 1kg of shea butter from ebay and buying a large jar of coconut oil. When buying ingredients in large quantities and use a recycled jar, you can reduce the cost price to about $12.
