Carly's Non-Greasy, Quick n' Easy, DIY Whipped Body Butter Recipe!

Are you interested in making your own lotion or body butter to cut down on your bill at Bath and Body Works, but are frustrated by how every recipe seems to call for 27 different types of oils, specialty equipment, and niche organic products you can't find in your local Fry's?

If that sounds oddly specific, it might be because I had several failed attempts and half-a-year-long bout of frustration about this very issue. But let my efforts not be in vain, and check out my finished product that I was able to cobble together from several different recipes! Finally, I have the silky smooth, fluffy, ultra-soft, nice-smelling, chemically-free body butter of my dreams....and you can, too! 

***Adapted from What Great Grandma Ate and Mama Instinct's Recipes, and my own trial and error***.

Here's how my finished product came out! Super fluffy, right?

I promised myself I would never be one of those bloggers who makes you read a 25 page story about their life before giving you the recipe, so let's get on with it! 

Carly's Non-Greasy, Quick n' Easy, DIY
Whipped Body Butter Recipe!

TOTAL TIME TO MAKE: about two hours,
but an hour of that is the lotion cooling off in the fridge.

Disclaimer: This is probably not entirely organic, and so if you're looking to entirely remove chemicals from your life, ignore my product links -- I tend to buy fair-trade but inexpensively due to being in university, and plan to transition to full organic later in life when I have more disposable income. Also, these are not affiliate links and do not provide me any $$, I just wanted to share exactly what I used & what products that have worked well for me.

This recipe will make approximately one 8oz Mason jar worth of lotion, which considering how little you need to use per application, should last you several months. This recipe contains no water, so as long as you keep it sealed well, you shouldn't have to worry about mold either.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1/2 cup of shea butter (This is the shea butter I use, one container like that lasted me about half a year of DIY-ing and also just using it to rub it on my dry skin.) I want to try this recipe again and sub out the shea butter for cocoa butter, I think that would work great too!
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil (This is the coconut oil I've been using; absolutely fantastic for facial moisturizer and general lotion, and of course for DIY recipes. I bought a 2 pack for $9 from Walmart about 9 months ago and have still at least 3/4 of one container left).
• 1/4 cup of jojoba oil (Most recipes call for olive oil here, but in my experience, olive oil does NOT sink in well and leaves your skin feeling uber-greasy, which turns a lot of people off of DIY lotion. Jojoba oil is supposed to be the best liquid oil for sinking into your skin, and I have been very pleased with the non-greasiness of this lotion. Here's the jojoba oil I use, though its much cheaper to buy directly at a Trader Joe's store [and better for the environment too]).
• A double boiler, or if you're a broke college student like me, a glass bowl that you can heat over a pan of water on the stove
• A hand mixer (this can be a significant financial investment, so I wish I had an alternative to offer you, but if you want your body butter to be fluffy and 'whipped' you absolutely need a hand mixer -- I know from experience, unfortunately. I managed to snag this one for $25 on sale on Amazon, does the trick nicely).
• About 4 teaspoons of cornstarch to help reduce greasiness (if you're looking for the organic option, most people recommend arrowroot powder, but I'm all about doing what I have with what's lying around 😸. Be cautious with how much you add; too much cornstarch/arrowroot powder will dry out your skin, which is the direct opposite of what you want with your body butter! )
• OPTIONAL: Essential oils for adding scent (You'll need about 30+ drops to have any noticeable smell on your lotion, though I'm sure this depends on the quality and strength of oil you use. I have been using some I received as a gift, so I can't provide a link. Since I made this butter in December, I added 15 drops of vanilla and 15 drops of peppermint.....soooo wintery and good! Let your imagination run wild here with smell combinations!)
• OPTIONAL: 1 teaspoon of Vitamin E Oil (I added it because I had some lying around, and many in the natural living/DIY community praise Vitamin E oil for it's skin regeneration and anti-aging properties. While the research is conflicted on its benefits, many people report great improvements to their skin from using it, so I added some. Here is the kind I use - again, much cheaper to buy it in store than through Amazon).
• OPTIONAL: A friend or helpful kiddo to help you out (because everything is always more fun with friends, crafting included! Just make sure to share your finished product as payment 😉.)

TOTAL COST OF INGREDIENTS: Assuming you already have a mixer and something you can use as a double boiler, you will spend about $20 on ingredients (notwithstanding whatever essential oils you chose or had on hand). It costs $17 to get 6.5oz of body butter from Bath and Body Works -- so making it on your own not only costs less, but is also wayyy more fun and allows you to customize it for your skin type or scent preference, and you will have a lot of leftover ingredients for more batches or other DIY projects! Additionally, if making this for a gift, people would much rather receive homemade lotion than something you purchased. Way to come out on top!

Got all of that together? Let's get started! From this point on, I mostly followed What Great Grandma Ate's instructions, with a few tweaks here and there and my own commentary thrown in.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Melt your shea butter and coconut oil in your double boiler/glass bowl over a pan of water, stirring it enough that it doesn't stick to the bottom of your glass bowl. Be sure not to get any water in your mixture; that will make your lotion mold.

• Once melted, remove the mixture from heat for 10 minutes to allow it to cool.

• Once cooled, stir in your jojoba oil. Add in your Vitamin E oil and your essential oils now, if desired. Stir everything together well.

• Let the mixture sit in the fridge for approximately one hour, making sure it has set and solidified a fair amount (though not completely).

• Mix in the cornstarch now, making sure to add a little at a time and to mix it completely before adding more. Putting too much will dry out your skin, so be cautious! You can test the mixture on your skin at every interval to see if it is too greasy or not, but be advised that it will whip up a lot and decrease in greasiness once it has reached its final form, so it can be hard to judge.

• Using a hand mixer, whip the mixture until it reaches a fluffy consistency. You think you've whipped it long enough? You probably haven't. This is where having a friend to help out comes in handy -- my roommates and I took turns mixing it on the highest speed so our hands didn't get tired, and after about 20-25 minutes we had finally reached our desired consistency.

• Spoon your mixture into a clean glass jar and allow it to set up over night so it can become even fluffier and look like the picture above.

• Enjoy the fruits of your labor! This is excellent to use as massage lotion on your significant other, to rub into your dry bits (elbows, knees, etc), to put on your legs after shaving, or just to put on your hands to feel luxurious. Since there is no water in this recipe, you should be able to keep this lotion for months without concern, but please do be sure to store it in a tightly sealed, clean container, and avoid keeping it in a humid place like a bathroom.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope my recipe and experiences can help you on your DIY journey! If you have any questions, comments, or your own advice to share, please leave a comment down below and I will get back to you as soon as I can 💖. If you want to make sure you're notified of my new posts, please click the pink SUBSCRIBE button at the top of this page. Talk to you soon!

Peace and holiday well-wishes,

Carly