Beeswax body butter - super fast absorbing, nourishing, full of essential fatty acids, amazing!
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Body butters are a great way to start making your own skincare products. They're easy to make, require only a few ingredients, and are great as a thoughtful homemade spa gift. This simple DIY beauty recipe requires a little beeswax that adds a lot of skin benefits without the greasy feeling.
Why You'll Love It
- it's non-greasy
- it's not sticky
- requires only three key ingredients (the rest is optional)
- stays soft
- doesn't melt as quickly in hot weather
What is Body Butter
Body butter is a very rich body cream that is meant to soften rough skin and protect sensitive skin. It's made of natural butters (like shea butter or cocoa butter) with a small amount of liquid oil mixed in.
This allows the butter to be soft enough to be whipped. The process of whipping produces a smooth and spreadable body butter that is light and airy.
Natural body butters are extremely nourishing to the skin and very easy to make at home with few natural ingredients.
Benefits of Beeswax
Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honey bees and a popular ingredient in various skincare products, like homemade lip balms, lotion bars, salves, and creams. Here's why it's a great addition to any homemade body butter recipe:
- occlusive properties - prevents water evaporation from the skin by forming a barrier. This barrier allows water to be replenished by the deeper layers of the skin
- anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties
- forms a protective barrier - prevents harmful bacteria from entering the body through chapped and broken skin, and it provides the skin with a layer of protection against free radicals
- soothes and softens flaky, irritated, and dry skin
- contains Vitamin A, which helps speed up skin regeneration, which may reduce signs of aging and increase wound healing
- non-comedogenic (doesn't clog pores), which makes it suitable for every skin type
How to Use it
Body butters do a fantastic job at healing, softening and moisturizing the skin. Their rich texture creates a natural barrier on top of the skin, that protects the skin and locks in moisture.
But remember: They lack water!
Which means they won't hydrate your skin. Hydration of the skin is something most of us need, unless we live in a very humid climate. Drinking a lot of water is great, but it will never reach the outermost layer of your dermis.
So,
- apply body butter on damp skin after a shower to lock in moisture
- use it on top of a body lotion
- massage into very dry areas like hands, elbows, knees and heels before bed
- treat body butter as an add-on product to a skincare routine that already provides plenty of hydration
Now, my friend let me show you how easy it is to make your own body butter.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, see full disclosure here.
Ingredients
- 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ ¾ cup mango butter (shea butter works too, but will feel heavier)
- 80 g/ 2.8 oz/ ⅓ cup grapeseed oil (or any lightweight oil)
- 40 g/ 1.4 oz/ ¼ cup beeswax pellets
- 2 g/ ½ teaspoon vitamin e oil (optional)
- 10 drops essential oils (great choices are sweet orange, chamomile and lavender essential oil, optional)
Equipment
- wide mason jars with lids
- small heat-resistant glass measuring cup
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- digital kitchen scale (recommended) or measuring cups
- spatula
- sharp knife
Instructions
- add mango butter, grapeseed oil and beeswax into a glass measuring cup. if you're not using a digital scale, make sure your mango butter is cut up into small pieces and place them as close together in the measuring cups as possible.
- place the bowl in a small saucepan filled with 2 Inches of water. melt on low heat while stirring with a spatula (Caution: bowl and liquid will be very hot; use oven mitts to remove)
- remove the glass measuring cup carefully from the water bath and set it on a dish towel on the counter to cool
- after 5 minutes, add essential oils and vitamin E oil (if using) and stir
- place bowl in the fridge for 25-30 min to let the mixture cool down, but not fully harden
- using a hand mixer with one whisk attachment whip until soft peaks form
- let body butter rest and fully come to room temperature
- whip again until the body butter is white and fluffy
- let the mixture set overnight, come back the next morning, and whip once more
- transfer body butter to a container with a lid
- store away from heat and sunlight, make sure your hands are dry when applying body butter - introducing water will cause mold to form
- clean up tip: beeswax can be a sucker to clean up, here's what I do: I reheat the nearly empty glass bowl in the water bath, wipe up the now-melted mess with a paper towel and then attempt to clean the rest in hot soapy water
You can use several "tricks" to make your body butter feel less greasy. One is to add cornstarch (or clay) to your recipe, as I did in my whipped body butter recipe. Another way would be to add an ester that will enable your body butter to be absorbed fast, like in my non-greasy shea body butter.
The easiest way is to choose natural butters and carrier oils that the skin will readily absorb.
Some fast-absorbing or "dry" oils and butters include: mango butter, kokum butter, capuacu butter, rosehip seed oil, hazelnut oil, grapeseed oil and safflower oil
Ingredients you want to avoid: shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, evening primrose, and castor oil
Since there's no water in homemade body butter it doesn't require a preservative. To extend shelf life you could add a small amount of vitamin e oil.
How soft a body butter is depends on the butter/oil ratio of the recipe and the temperature at which the body butter is stored. If you find your body butter is too hard try adding 5g of liquid oil and whip again. Or try storing it in a slightly warmer spot.
Until next time. Happy Tinkering!
Beeswax Body Butter Recipe
beeswax body butter recipe - easy, simple, non-greasy, amazing!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup mango butter (100 g/ 3.5 oz) shea butter works too, but will feel heavier
- ⅓ cup grapeseed oil (80 g/ 2.8 oz) or any lightweight oil
- ¼ cup beeswax pellets (40 g/ 1.4 oz) yellow or white
- ½ teaspoon vitamin e oil (2g) optional
- 10 drops essential oils great choices are sweet orange, chamomile and lavender essential oil, optional
Instructions
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1. add mango butter, grapeseed oil and beeswax into a glass measuring cup. If you're not using a digital scale make sure your mango butter is cut up into small pieces and place them as close to together in the measuring cups as possible.
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2. place glass measuring cup in a small sauce pan filled with 2 Inches of water. melt on low heat while stirring (Caution: bowl and liquid will be very hot, use oven mits to remove)
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3. remove glass measuring cup carefully from water bath and set on a dish towel on counter to cool
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4. after 5 minutes add essential oils and vitamin e oil (if using) and stir
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5. place bowl in the fridge for 25-30 min to let mixture cool down, but not fully harden
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6. using a hand mixer with whisk attachments whip until soft peeks form
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7. let body butter rest and fully come to room temperature
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8. whip again until body butter is white and fluffy
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9. let set overnight and give it another whip in the morning
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10. transfer to container with lid
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11. store away from heat and sunlight, make sure your hands are dry when applying body butter - introducing water will cause mold to form
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12. clean up tip: beeswax can be a sucker to clean up, here's what I do: I reheat the nearly empty glass bowl in the water bath, wipe up the now melted mess with a paper towel and then attempt to clean the rest in hot soapy water
kathy says
Can I use cocoa butter in place of shea butter?
Celine says
Cocoa Butter is a lot denser than shea butter. You might want a bit more liquid oil if using cocoa butter to prevent it from becoming too hard. If never tried it before, you'll have to experiment a bit.