Getting Butters to Behave

I've been working with butters for what feels like forever, and the more I work with them, the more there is to learn. There's just no way around it – butters are a tricky bunch.

Divas

Each butter has its own temperature and humidity requirements along with all sorts of flighty reactions that like to pop up and surprise you. To have a prayer at getting them to behave consistently, each one has to be catered to individually – which is challenging when you're combining them with ingredients that have completely different requirements.

Even if you can recreate consistent conditions for them, they still manage to come up with new ways to throw you for a loop; one may go grainy, another won't stiffen up, a third will stiffen up too much, or too fast. Some will change scent, texture and feel from one delivery to the next. One will be a perfect angel in an emulsion but an absolute devil in a melt-and-pour environment.

I've compared notes with others that work with butters many times and have discovered there are so many variables involved that it is next to impossible to draw up any kind of fail-safe guideline on how to work with them. They are all products of nature and – regardless of what I may desire – seem to be quite happy continuing to behave as divas – every last one of them.

Why They're Worth it

Apart from having loads to offer in the way of nourishment for skin and hair, butters can double up as texturizers for some formulas. Most butters are extremely well tolerated and can be used on the most sensitive of skins.

And when butters do decide to behave, it's pure unadulterated joy. The product melts in, moisturizes beautifully, feels like silk, and smells absolutely divine.

All this to tell you that I've been working with a new butter over the past few months and will be sharing a bit of info on that soon.

Meantime, if you've gotten curious about getting to know cocoa butter, please visit this post.
The fabulous skin and hair loving qualities of shea butter is revealed in this post.

Now excuse me while I get back to batch 35.