How to - Super Soft Body Butter


If you're looking for a deliciously soft, creamy, body butter to dip into, this how-to is for you. There are only 3 basic ingredients, so not only is this skin-loving and easy to make, it is also kind to your pocketbook.

I used pure avocado oil to make this batch, but you can choose almond, jojoba, apricot seed, macadamia – or can even combine oils to your hearts desire.

As for butters: as long as you choose butters from the listed categories (link below), perfect silky soft texture is your to be had.



The Secret To Super Softness

To create a super smooth, dip-able softness, your butters and oils need to be formulated using these proportions:
  • 40% hard butter
  • 10% soft butter
  • 50% oil


LisaLise's Super Soft Avocado Body Butter

Here's what I used to make a modest portion size – about 60 ml.
  • 20 grams cocoa butter
  • 5 grams 'aloe butter' (this is a mix of shea and oil with added powdered aloe - you can replace this with pure shea, coconut oil or palm oil)
  • 25 grams avocado oil
  • 3 drops vitamin e 


METHOD

  1. Weigh out your ingredients 
  2. Add your ingredients to a heatproof container 
  3. Melt slowly over low heat, stirring occasionally 
  4. Pour into container 
  5. Let set in refrigerator for 15-30 minutes 
  6. Enjoy! 

Tip:
 Always weigh your oil. Oil is lighter than water and doesn't 'translate' from ml to grams the way water does. To weigh oil, place a container on the scale, set the scale to 0, then add oil until the desired weight is reached.


Microwave Heating Method

Although I have never used a microwave for making cosmetics before (yes, really), I thought I'd give it a try with this batch. It worked quite well. As a matter of fact, it gave me a perfect result.

Here's how I did it:
Use the lowest heat setting
Heat for 1 minute intervals, stirring between each period
When fully melted, stir, then pour into container


Tip: Use a heatproof glass container when heating in the microwave




Above: Here's a peek at the container right after I poured it up.

Below: Here's the mixture after it set (approx 15 minutes in the refrigerator)



That Soft Consistency

The softness of this body butter makes it ideal for a cream pot, or you may even find it does well in a serum dispenser. It's just solid enough to 'hold together' at room temperature making it easily spreadable and skin-melt-in perfect.

When I write room temperature, I am referring to 19°-22° C / 66° - 71° F.

Note: climate and humidity are factors that must be considered when making body butter! If you live in a warm climate you will need to increase the percentage of hard butter and lower the percentage of oil accordingly.

If you generally prefer a firmer set, use 45-50% hard butter and lower the oil amount accordingly.

Tip: This butter is too soft to be 'living' in your purse unless you package it in a dispenser with a firm cap.



Stay Tuned

Next time we make body butter around here, we'll be working exclusively with wax and oil.



More Body Butter Fun on this Blog

The Basics of Body Butter
Plant Butters - Hardness and Melting Points
10 Uses for Body Butter
2 Ingredient Body Butter

Comments

Kim said…
Would you consider sal butter a hard or soft butter? Would soy lecithin be included in the liquid oil phase? For a soft butter, could babassu oil work?
LisaLise said…
Hi Kim - sal is a semi-hard butter - somewhere between cocoa butter and shea. If you're adding soy lecithin, it would be in the oil phase. I haven't tried babassu oil in a body butter yet but have a post coming up on how it does in a whipped butter. But I can't think why you wouldn't be able to use babassu oil in a soft butter.
IshaRa said…
This looks lovely. How don you make aloe butter?
LisaLise said…
Helo IshaRa - I bought the 'aloe butter' as a product from one of my suppliers. I imagine it is shea butter and aloe powder mixed together but couldn't say for sure if that's how it is made.