DIY Whipped Body Butter

Do you ever feel like your skin is so parched, that body lotions just don’t seem enough to rehydrate it? Well, this is when I whip out (quite literally) my DIY whipped body butter recipe! It has only 4 ingredients, shea butter, safflower oil, vegetable glycerin, and arrowroot powder.

The arrowroot powder helps to reduce greasiness and the vegetable glycerin is optional but helps with soothing skin irritation and is a humectant, which means it helps to preserve moisture. I’ve also included of my favorite essential oil blend with lavender, patchouli, howood, and rosewood essential oil if you would like to add a lovely sensual scent!

The body butter is great for when your skin needs some intense hydration and nourishment. It forms a thick, protective layer over dry skin and helps it replenish itself.

My recipe is easy, cost-effective, and will leave your skin feeling as smooth as a baby’s butt!

Ingredients of the DIY whipped body butter

• Shea butter

  Oh, this can be magical for your skin. Highly concentrated in fatty acids and vitamins, shea butter is perfect to soften the skin. Its anti-inflammatory and healing properties help soothe and condition your skin.

• Safflower oil

Light in texture, it penetrates deep into the skin and helps fight acne problems. Safflower oil is highly concentrated in linoleic acid, which prevents the outer layer of the skin from flaking.

• Arrowroot powder

Whilst effectively absorbing excess oil and sebum, arrowroot powder also encourages natural healing and treats blemishes.

• Vegetable glycerin

  Helps soothe skin irritation and reduces the appearance of acne breakouts. It also protects the skin against infection and irritants.

Substitute Homemade Whipped Body Butter ingredients

It’s important to use ingredients that you know are compatible with your skin type.

If you don’t want to use shea butter, you can substitute it with cocoa butter or mango butter, as both are known to have great soothing properties.

You can also substitute safflower oil and grapeseed oil with sunflower oil, camellia seed oil or jojoba oil.

How to whip my DIY body butter

The process can be broken down into three steps: Melt it, freeze it, and then whip it with an electric mixer!

The process takes about 30 minutes with freezing time, but trust me; the end result is so worth it.

What is the difference between a body butter and a lotion?

Relatively, body butter is thicker than lotion, which makes it feel more luscious on the skin. It also has less water content, which allows it to take longer to penetrate into the skin, leaving the skin feeling extra hydrated for a longer period of time.  It also has a greasier feel than a body lotion, which makes it great for overly dry skin and tough spots such as elbows and knees.

For which type of skin is this body butter suitable?

Due to its deep hydration and moisturizing properties, this whipped body butter is most suitable for dry to normal skin types.

How long will my DIY whipped body butter last?

Simply put, it depends on the shelf life of the ingredients you use. Typically, if you preserve your body butter in an airtight glass jar and keep it in a cool place, it should last for about 6 months at least.

Just ensure you use clean hands, and do not put it under the sun or it may melt!

Do you need a preservative in your homemade body butter?

Since there’s no water content, there’s no need for a preservative. However, if you do wish to tweak the recipe and add hydrosols, I’d recommend you use grapefruit seed extract (GSE) as a natural preservative, to protect your body butter from water spoilage. When used on its own, GSE should be diluted to 1.5 – 3.0%. When used in skincare (like this one), GSE can be added to the water phase at levels of 0.1 – 1.0%.

How to make your body butter less greasy

Greasy body butter can definitely feel very uncomfortable on the skin. Here are a few tips to help it become less greasy:

1. It really helps if you choose a fast-absorbing carrier oil, such as camellia seed oil or safflower oil.
2. Adding natural ingredients that absorb grease can solve this issue. Arrowroot powder and tapioca powder can work well to minimize the amount of oil in your body butter. Preferably, you should opt for arrowroot powder, as it also has great benefits for the skin.
3. Using non-greasy butter such as shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter will help your body butter feel less heavy on your skin while providing deep hydration.

For more information on how to reduce greasiness in your diy whipped body butter, please take a look at my in-depth post on how to make body butter less greasy here.

DIY whipped body butter with essential oils

Which essential oils are good for a homemade body butter?

Amongst others, one of the significant reasons why you opt for DIY skincare products is the fact that they are cost-effective. I don’t recommend you invest in overly expensive essential oils for your body butter. Since you’ll be applying it all over your body, you’ll be adding a substantial amount of essential oil in the mixture.

Therefore, avoid using essential oils such as rose otto or orange blossom for your body butter, as they’re priced highly and also more rare to find.

My favorite Body Butter essential oil blend

• Patchouli (pogostemon cablin leaf oil): Helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles, blemishes, or problem skin areas. It also treats issues such as cracked skin and acne.
• Lavender (lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil): Not only is it a great stress reliever, but lavender oil can also help reduce inflammation, kill bacteria, and unclog pores.
• Palmarosa (cymbopogon martini oil): Known for its healing properties, palmarosa oil is great for hydrating and nourishing the skin. It also balances sebum production and heals acne breakouts.
• Ho Wood (cinnamomum camphora (camphor) wood oil): Deeply hydrates dry/sensitive skin, encourages skin regeneration, and also relaxes emotions.

Other homemade body butter recipes to try

I’ve also added links to some other my body butter recipes that I personally love.  First is my coconut oil body butter recipe.

This is a tried and tested, easy recipe for coconut oil body butter. Coconut oil can be great for your skin, especially if you were blessed (not) with dry skin. It’s known for its moisturizing properties, which help keep the skin nourished.

Ingredients include organic coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and sunflower oil.

Second favorite body butter recipe is my homemade mango body butter. Before we move on, let’s get one thing straight: mango butter does not smell like mangoes. Disappointing, I know!

But it’s the only slightly disappointing thing about this mango body butter recipe. Mango butter can moisturize the skin almost instantly and is perfect for dry or sunburned skins. So if you’re one who loves to suntan, this one’s for you.

Ingredients include mango butter, shea butter, arrowroot powder, and safflower oil.

How to make your DIY body butter fluffy?

Here are a few tips that’ll ensure that your DIY Whipped Body Butter not only feels great but looks great.

• This is no joke. You HAVE to make sure that you follow this exact ratio – 40% solid butter: 60% liquid oil. This ratio is tried and tested and promises that your body butter will come out as fluffy as a cloud if you follow the instructions.
• Make sure you don’t over mix the butter, as it’ll become hard like butter. It’ll still be good enough to use as it’ll melt on contact with skin. However, fluffy body butter has a more luxurious feel to it.
• It’s best if you use an electric mixer. When you see the body butter forming peaks with the whip, that’s when you know you have to stop mixing.
• Making the perfect body butter with the perfect consistency and texture is a process – If you don’t like the consistency of your body butter, there’s nothing to worry about. Simply melt it, add more soft oil such as safflower oil, re-freeze it, and re-whip it!