Whipped Peppermint Body Butter

I love creamy lotions. Unfortunately I live in an area where the climate can be beyond cold and dry in the winter.  As a matter of fact, it is going to be so cold on Monday that the governor has required that all MN schools close for the day.  Sigh.  

Good quality lotions can often be very expensive and full of chemicals!

Body butters, made with pure therapeutic grade essential oils are amazing.   Don’t use cheap, store bought essential oils.  You will defeat the purpose of making your own natural products!

I have researched many recipes on Facebook, Pinterest and on people’s blogs and decided to experiment.  Needless to say my first experience wasn’t a huge success.  Mine quickly hardened to a solid and had chunks!  The instructions I found were sketchy at best for a first timer.  So I will attempt to make them a bit more complete.

Ingredients

• Shea Butter – this butter has a very earthy smell.  You measure it like you measure brown sugar.  Pack it into a dry measuring cup.  You can use any butter like this, Shea, Cocoa or?  Raw Shea Butter is gray looking, be sure to get organic and butters without scents.  Lakewinds has it in bulk, WholeFoods has it in jars.
• Coconut Oil – this is also considered a solid and is measure has a consistency like shortening.  Pack into a dry measuring cup.
• Almond Oil – You can use any liquid oil for this, olive, jojoba, almond…
• Essential Oils* – It takes A LOT of oil to get the scent in the body butter.  I used Peppermint** as it is strong.  I would use 20-30 drops.

There is no right or wrong answers here, it is all personal taste.

Here is the key – you need a ratio of 75% solid to 25% liquid.  Shea Butter and Coconut Oil are solids, Almond and Essential Oils are liquid.

*Not all essential oils are good to put on the skin.  Many are used solely to make things smell nice.  Make sure you get therapeutic grade essential oils like Young Living.  I can direct you where to get them.  www.youngliving.org/lhanken

**You can use any oils but if you use a citrus oil be sure to stay out of the sun as they can make you photosensitive!

Luxurious Peppermint Body Butter

• 1 cup organic raw shea butter 

• 1/2 cup organic coconut oil
   
• 1/2 cup almond oil
   
• 15-20 drops of Peppermint Oil – more to personal taste – Order Here 

1.       Melt shea butter and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler.   Don’t have a double boiler?  A glass bowel over water in a traditional sauce pan works. 

2.      Remove from heat and let at room temperature for 30 minutes

3.      Measure and add in almond oil and essential oils of your choosing.*

4.      Place oil mixture in freezer to chill.  This step is the most crucial!

5.      Wait until oils start to partially solidify.  This is where I had trouble, if you let it chill too long, it solidifies!  You want just the edges to start to get solid but the rest to remain cool but liquid.

6.      Scrape down the sides that have hardened slightly

7.      Use a hand mixer or your stand mixer to whip to butter like consistency.

8.      Place in a wide mouth (especially if you have big hands) jar.

This body butter feels a bit greasy when you first put it on but it soaks into the skin right away!

This recipe makes about 2 ½ cups

Tips: 

If it doesn’t whip up, it was not chilled long enough.  Put it back in the freezer to chill a while longer.

If it hardens too much, your butter will have chunks.  If that happens but it back in the double boiler, melt it all up and chill again.

Do NOT keep this is a hot car – it will liquefy!

Blessings! * Enjoy!