Soft & Silky Whipped Body Butter Recipe

Oh, my!!  This is the one!  This is the real deal.  This is THE BEST whipped body butter recipe I’ve ever used.

It’s soft, silky, and extremely moisturizing— and all without being overly greasy.

After making this, you’ll never shell out all that money to buy body butter again, and I bet you’ll also never make plain old coconut oil (aka 3 ingredient) body butter again.

Why?  Because not only is this the best, softest, silkiest, most moisturizing body butter, it also costs so much less to make it yourself!

So what’s in this amazing whipped body butter?   What’s my recipe?

1/2 cup mango butter  (find my favorite here)

1/4 cup shea butter  (find my favorite here)

1/4 cup kokum butter (find my favorite here)

1/4 cup cocoa butter  (find my favorite here)

1/4 cup coconut oil (the kind that’s solid at temperatures below 76 degrees)  (you probably already have coconut oil in your pantry, but if not, find my favorite here)

1/4 cup sweet almond oil  (find my favorite here)

1 Tbsp arrowroot powder  (you can find this at most grocery stores in the spice aisle or find it here)

up to 30 drops of essential oil (optional)

Why Use Those Ingredients?

mango butter

• smooth and creamy (lighter consistency than even shea butter)
• very moisturing and soothing for the skin– great natural source of fatty acids
• light, subtle scent
• solid at room temperature, but melts at 87-90 degrees, so when you apply it to your skin it melts and absorbs in (exactly what you want in a body butter)

shea butter

• soft, smooth, and creamy
• high in vitamins A and E as well as essential fatty acids
• intense moisturizer for dry skin
• note:  unrefined shea is best, but be careful of which brand you buy.  Many brands of shea butter can have a strong unpleasant smell.  click here for the shea butter I buy.  It’s creamy, moisturizing, and has a nice, subtle scent.  Other brands of shea butter can have a strong, kind of “funny” smell, not this one.  If you’re not a fan of other shea butters, give this one a try.  I think you’ll love it!  I do.

kokum butter

• unlike shea and mango butter, kokum is a hard and flaky.  It’s a dryer butter, meaning it absorbs more quickly into your skin and leaves a dryer, less greasy feeling
• loaded with fatty acids and antioxidants
• supports skins elasticity

cocoa butter

• like kokum butter, cocoa butter is also a hard, brittle butter that adds a rich and creamy texture to this whipped body butter
• emollient and moisturizing
• velvety texture on skin
• delicious cocoa aroma (keep its heavenly chocolate scent in mind when choosing which essential oils to add to your whipped body butter)

coconut oil (solid kind that melts at 76 degrees)

• light oil — so it helps make a light and fluffy whipped body butter
• sinks in quickly to the skin
• but coconut oil is not the best at moisturizing– so I’ve combined it with the other butters and oils in this recipe to create a light, soft, silky, less greasy, AMAZING whipped body butter

sweet almond oil

• one of the gentlest oils
• extremely nourishing, rich in Vitamin D
• excellent emollient known for its ability to soften and recondition the skin

arrowroot powder

• helps to cut down on the greasy feel of the body butter
• adds to the silky texture

An Overview of How to Make Whipped Body Butter

Soft & silky whipped body butter is very easy to make.  Below I’ve given you step-by-step instructions of what to do along with lots of photos, but here’s an overview of the 5 simple steps to making whipped body butter.

1. measure out your butters and oils into a heat-safe glass bowl or measuring cup
2. melt your butter and oils
3. whisk in your essential oils and arrowroot powder
4. freeze for 20-30 minutes
5. whip until soft and fluffy (about 5 minutes)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Just exactly how do you make whipped body butter with essential oils?

 1)  Measure out the following ingredients into a glass bowl or Pyrex measuring cup (this will be the top of your double boiler)

1/2 cup mango butter  

1/4 cup shea butter 

1/4 cup kokum butter

1/4 cup cocoa butter 

note: cocoa butter is hard at room temperature, so you will need to chop it before you can measure it.

1/4 cup coconut oil (the kind that’s solid at temperatures below 76 degrees)

1/4 cup sweet almond oil

2)  melt your butter and oils

I use the double boiler method to do this, but you could also use a microwave if you’d like.

For the double boiler method, fill a saucepan with a couple inches of water and then place your heat-safe glass bowl or measuring cup (Pyrex works great!)  inside the pot.  Set your stovetop heat to medium and stir constantly.  Usually only takes a few minutes, but make sure everything is completely melted before you move on to the next step.

Microwaving is very similar. Use 50% power and make sure you take it out to stir every 30 seconds.

3)  whisk in your essential oils and 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder, making sure everything is blended and there are no lumps

4)  freeze for 20-30 minutes or refrigerate for 1-2 hours

You want the mixture to start to solidify but not completely harden, a consistency similar to soft wax or softened butter.  It should cool to a temperature of 55-65 degrees.

tip:  no room in the freezer or refrigerator?  In the winter, try covering the mixture and setting it outside to cool.

5)  transfer to a large bowl and whip until soft and fluffy (about 5 minutes)

whip with mixer until stiff enough to hold its shape.

tip:  you’ll need to use a power mixer for this (unless you have super hero arm strength), but either a hand mixer or a stand mixer (like the one in the photo below) will work.

tip:  if you forgot about you mixture and it stayed in the fridge/freezer/backyard for too long, no problem.  Just let your mixture sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes until it’s about 55-65 degrees and the consistency of soft butter, then you’re ready to start whipping.

tip:  If you are having trouble getting it to whip up, you might have to blend a bit and put back in fridge for 20 minutes or so to get cold enough again to get stiff enough.   If the mixture won’t whip or stay whipped, you need to chill it longer.

tip:  If the mixture has lumps in it after you’ve whipped it, let it set to soften a bit and then try again.

tip:  one signal that your whipped body butter is on the right path is that it will change color from  yellow to pale yellow to white (see the photos below)

when you’re done, your whipped body butter should be like this…

white

stand on its own (see how it stays up in peaks on the beater)

light, fluffy, soft, and silky texture

Now, it’s time to put your amazing creation in glass jars.

I have two favorite jars for body butters:

these adorable little jars are perfect for carrying body butter in my purse or taking on vacation.  They also make the cutest little thank you gifts!!

click here to find them

And for full-size gifts and what I use for myself at home, the glass jar in the photo below is my favorite!  I love that they have a super wide opening opening and aren’t very tall.  It makes it super easy to get out body butter (and use every last bit).

I’ve found the best deal on these jars at Walmart (in the canning section) and hardware stores.  But click here to see exactly what you’re looking for.

tip:  you can scoop the body butter into jars, but I find it’s easiest to fill a gallon-size plastic bag with the body butter, then snip off one corner of the bag, and pip it into the glass jars.  That helps keep me from getting body butter all over the outside of the jars.

tip:  when it’s time to clean up, wipe out the measuring cups and mixing bowls with paper towels until they are pretty much clean.  That will make washing the dishes a lot easier.

tip:  Store in a cool area and if your home gets above 75°F regularly, you may want to keep it in the refrigerator.

tip:  a little body butter goes a long way.  start with a pea-sized amount for each arm and a couple “peas” for each leg.  You can always use more if you need it.  But you’ll probably be surprised at how little you need.  Remember your homemade whipped body butter doesn’t have any fillers; it’s all butters and oils.

tip:  Whipped body butter is designed to melt into your skin as it goes on. It will be a little oily at first but it absorbs quickly and leaves your skin very soft.

Suggested Essential Oil Blends to Use in Your Whipped Body Butter

This recipe makes a fairly large batch of whipped body butter.  It starts with almost 2 full cups of butters and oils, so my suggested blends for essential oils call for up to 30 drops of essential oils (that’s a very low 0.1% dilution).  That’s what I prefer since (1) I’m using the whipped body butter in a fairly large amount all over my body on a daily basis and (2) my primary goal of the whipped body butter is not the therapeutic benefits of the essential oil.  You can, of course, adjust the amount of essential oil up or down to your preference.

• 25 drops peppermint (I LOVE the peppermint combined with the chocolate scent of the cocoa butter!)
• 30 drops orange OR tangerine (like the peppermint above, I think citrus smells amazing with the chocolate aroma of the cocoa butter)
• 15 drops eucalyptus and 15 drops spearmint
• 15 drops bergamot and 15 drops grapefruit
• 12 drops wild orange, 9 drops cedarwood, and 6 drops ylang ylang
• 10 drops patchouli and 20 drops tangerine
• 15 drops lavender and 15 drops lemon
• 10 drops helichrysum, 10 drops frankincense, 5 drops sandalwood, and 5 drops lavender

please be careful adding citrus essential oils (especially bergamot) in high amounts if your skin will be exposed to the sun.   click here to read more about phototoxicity and essential oils

What other essential oil combinations do you suggest?  Please share in the comments.  I always love to try new blends!

Ready to make this soft & silky whipped body butter?  Here’s where I get my ingredients for this recipe:

click here for where to get mango butter

click here for where to get shea butter

click here for where to get kokum butter

click here for where to get cocoa butter

click here for where to get coconut oil

click here for where to get sweet almond oil

click here for where to get arrowroot powder

Interested in more recipes, tips, and ideas for how to use essential oils?

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