5 Best DIY Skincare Recipes Using Natural Butters
Natural, organic butters are a popular, not-so-new thing you can find in many moisturizers these days. They provide a gentle, non-harmful nourishment and more than effective way to protect your skin and make it soft and smooth.
Especially these days, when many popular cosmetic products are full of toxins and harmful chemicals, more and more women are trying to find an alternative. We still want our skin to be healthy and beautiful, but we also want not to pay for it with our health.
Here’s why making your own skincare products with nourishing butters is one of the best solutions you can find…
Benefits of Using Natural Butters for Your Skin and Hair
- All skin friendly butters, such as shea, mango, kokum or tucuma, are amazing skin moisturizers.
- Not only do they supply the skin with moisturizing fatty acids, they also prevent future drying out.
- Butters coat the skin in a protective layer, reinforce the skin’s lipid barrier and provide protection against harmful elements.
- They are calming and soothing, perfect for sensitive, irritated or inflamed skin.
- Most natural butters are rich in antioxidants. They fight against free radicals and prevent premature aging signs.
- They support firmness and elasticity of the skin and help it to heal faster.
- You can even use natural butters to improve some severe skin conditions, such as eczema, dermatitis, stretch marks and acne scars.
- All in all, butters can help you get a skin that is soft, smooth, healthy, supple and youthful.
5 Best DIY Products with Natural Butters
DIY Whipped Body Butter
There’s something very satisfying about making your own body moisturizer. Not only you can know exactly what goes on your skin, but you can get amazing results every single time. You will need:
- ½ cup shea butter
- 3 tablespoons mango butter
- 3 tablespoons sweet almond oil
- essential oil of your choice – optional
First, break up the shea and mango butter into smaller pieces. Put the butters and sweet almond oil into a double boiler (if you don’t have one, you can simply put a bowl over a pot of simmering water). Let the ingredients slowly warm up and melt.
When you get a liquid mixture, remove from the heat. If you want, you can add your favorite essential oil and stir. Let it cool down a bit, then whip the mixture well with a whisk or hand mixer. When your body butter is light and fluffy, transfer it to a glass container. Apply after every shower, while your skin is still warm and slightly damp.
DIY Lip Balm with Kokum and Cocoa Butter
Making your own lip balm is a very easy, straightforward process. And you’ll be happier with the results more than with anything you can buy in a store. The skin on your lips is very thin and fragile. It requires protective nourishment and extra care, and these butters provide that!
- 2 tablespoons kokum butter
- 2 tablespoons cocoa butter
- 1 tablespoon jojoba oil
- 2 teaspoons beeswax
- an essential oil you prefer – optional
In a double boiler on a low heat, put the kokum butter, cocoa butter and beeswax. Let everything melt slowly. When you get a liquid mixture, remove from the heat and add jojoba oil and any essential oil that you like.
Pour the mixture into small, clean glass or metal containers. Leave them to cool down completely. As soon as they solidify, you can use them as you would any other lip balm.
All-Natural Deodorant with Mango Butter
Some women choose to switch to natural deodorant while pregnant, others prefer to use it all the time. In either case, this recipe is fast, easy to make and most importantly – efficient. You will need:
- 2 tablespoons mango butter
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- essential oils (optional)
To make your own natural deodorant, put the mango butter and coconut oil on a low heat and wait for them to completely melt. Then remove the mixture from the heat, add the baking soda, arrowroot and essential oils and mix.
Transfer the mixture to some old deodorant stick containers. Make sure the containers are completely clean – you can wipe the inside with rubbing alcohol. That way, you will prolong the shelf life of your products. Leave your new all-natural deodorant to cool down and completely solidify before use.
DIY deodorant for smelly armpits (a common one)
2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil ( 34 G )
2 1/2 tbsp shea butter ( 34 G) 1 1/2 tbsp baking soda ( 22 G )
1/4 cup arrowroot starch (33 G )
10 - 15 drops of essential oils
DIY deodorant without baking soda (for sensitive skin)
¾ cup arrowroot powder (96 G)
¼ cup coconut oil ( 54 G)
¼ cup shea butter (53 G)
1 (or 1/2) tbsp bentonite clay (USE non-metallic utensils, when working with bentonite clay)
10-15 drops essential oil
DIY deodorant without coconut oil
⅓ cup arrowroot powder (45 G)
¼ shea butter (53 G)
10-15 drops essential oil OPTIONAL: 1 tbsp baking soda
DIY deodorant spray (ideal for hot weather)
30 ml (~2 tbsp) ethanol alcohol (vodka or gin) - It needs to be at least 50% ABV (100 proof)
15 ml (~1 tsp) apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
10 - 15 drops essential oil (optional)
Best DIY Shea Butter Soap
This shea butter soap is gentle and moisturizing, but still has really good cleansing properties. It is a great choice for anyone with sensitive skin, or just if you want to make sure fewer harmful chemicals are coming in contact with your skin.
- 180 g shea butter
- 450 g olive oil
- 180 g coconut oil
- 90 g castor oil
- 315 g distilled water
- 122 g lye (sodium hydroxide)
Warm up the shea butter and all the oils until everything is melted. Let it cool down a bit.
Be very careful with the next part – it would be best to wear long sleeves, rubber gloves and goggles. Weigh out the lye and water in two separate non-corrosive jugs. Carefully! add the lye to the water (never the other way around). Slowly stir until fully dissolved and leave it to cool.
Pour the lye solution into the oil mixture, stir, then use a hand blender to carefully blend the mixture until it starts to thicken. Pour the mixture into the mold and leave it for 24 hours to solidify. Then cut the soap into bars and leave them to “cure” for at least a month.
Tucuma Hair Butter Treatment
On top of being great for your skin, butters are also amazing hair moisturizers. And tucuma butter is one of the best butters you can use to deep-nourish dry, frizzy or damaged hair.
- 2 – 4 oz. tucuma butter
- 4 teaspoons of argan or sweet almond oil
- 4 teaspoons of coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil
Put all the ingredients into a double boiler and slowly warm up until everything is soft and easy to whip. Remove the bowl from the heat. Using a whisk combine everything until the mixture gets cloudy.
Pour your butter to a clean glass container. Place in the refrigerator until it hardens. You can apply a small amount after every wash, while your hair is still slightly damp. Or you can occasionally saturate your whole hair and leave it as a hair pack, then wash it out.