I’d heard rumors of virgin coconut oil. Of an oil so fragrant with the scent of the tropics that it was almost unbelievable. I had coconut oil in massive 4L quantities for soap making, but this stuff wasn’t the good stuff, it was the soaping stuff. So I remained intrigued. And when NDA started carrying virgin coconut oil last month, I ordered myself a kilo in an instant.
And oh my. This oil does not disappoint. It is beautiful. It smells like summer and a piña colada, and makes me desperately homesick for the beaches of Australia and Fiji. It is beautifully light, sinking into the skin quickly, but can also be used as a tropically minded massage oil (just add wave noises, I suppose).
As soon as I opened the tub and got my first whiff of coconutty goodness, my imagination began to run wild. Oh, the things I could do with something so delicious.
The first thing I did was mash a few teaspoons of the oil up with a drop of cold pressed lime essential oil, which isn’t phototoxic if used below 0.7%. The combination smelled of delicious rum-laced beverages. But I needed more.
I easily settled on a body butter. Something creamy and fragrant. Something that would let the scent if the oil shine. Something thoroughly tropical, inspired by white sand beaches and cloudless skies. Something that could help me forget the somewhat eternal hell of winter.
I would definitely add some baobab oil, for it’s light floral scent, and some kukuinut oil, used for centuries by natives in Hawaii to protect their hair and skin from the sun.
Coconut Body Butter
80g | 2.8soz virgin coconut oil
13g | 0.46oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
10g | 0.35oz kuikuinut oil
5g | 0.17oz baobab oilGently melt everything together in a small saucepan, keeping a careful eye on everything.
Pour into shallow tins, let cool, and enjoy!
Great post! I love coconut oil as a body moisturizer. In the warmer months, I use it soley on my body. In the colder months, I combine it with butters (shea, cocoa) for added moisture. I have a recipe on my blog.
The more I use coconut oil, the more I love it! I can’t believe how quickly it soaks in and how smooth it leaves my skin. Brilliant!
Just found your site and want to try some of your recipes for body butter and lotions. They do sound delish!
I look forward to hearing how they turn out! Enjoy 🙂
could I make this also without the kuikuinut and baobab oils?
Yup, you’ll just want to substitute in a different liquid oil for them 🙂
What oils do you suggest to replace those oils? They are the two I don’t have…yet 🙂
Hey Emily—I’d recommend you read my Guide to Carrier Oil Substitutions, I think you’ll find it helpful here. The gist of it here, though, is basically that asking to replace the coconut oil is like asking to replace to chocolate in chocolate cake—it is the most important ingredient here (for its scent and melting point), so replacing it sort of defeats the purpose of the recipe 😛 You could, however, use pretty much any liquid oil to replace the kuikiunut (I’d recommend grapeseed or safflower). Have fun! And get yourself some virgin coconut oil, it is DIVINE. Mmmmmm 😀
I am in love with virgin coconut oil. We buy it by the gallon at our house. I make everything from lip balms to hot oil treatments with it (not to mention all the ways we use it in our cooking). I love your blog. You keep things simple and share great ideas. Thank you for creating such a great resource.
Me too! The second I got my first tub I became instantly addicted to its intoxicating scent and overall awesomeness. I carry a wee tin in my purse at all times. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it 🙂
I’ve been looking over your site and I love everything you make!! I’m ordering a bunch of stuff to get started. What kind oil would you use instead of the kuikunut oil and the baobab oil? grapeseed? Thanks!!
Hmm…. I’d say jojoba would be a good, versatile alternative. Grapeseed oil sinks in much faster than kuikunut (you could also use castor oil as a substitute in things like lip balm or lip gloss for the shine) … and I only include baobab oil in recipes because I already have it 😛 I haven’t noticed anything miraculous about it. Thanks for reading and enjoy all your DIY-ing!
I made this one today for my sister who is a nurse. She has to wash her hands so frequently and has to use harsh hand-sanitizer sometimes, this just destroys the skin on the back of her hands.
I substituted 10g of camellia seed oil for kuikuinut oil, substituted 5g Argan oil for baobab oil because I didn’t have kuikuinut or baobab oil. I also added Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Helichrysum EOs to add an extra skin healing kick. I love the texture, solid but melts easily and absorbs quite quickly. Hopefully it heals her poor hands!!
Thanks so much!!
How lovely of you—you sound like a great sister 🙂 I have heard so many terrifying things about nurse’s hands from all the washing and anti-bacterial stuff, YIPES. Has she tried wearing cotton gloves when she sleeps after slathering on moisturizer?
good tip. I’ll get her to try that. 🙂 thanks!
🙂
So, I found your blog a few weeks ago as I was googling DIY recipes for skin products. I read through several of your recipes and recommendations, and then I placed an order with NDA for a few starter products. Finally received my shipment this weekend, and this recipe for coconut body butter was my first! I did adjust a little bit, as I didn’t have the kuikuinut or baobab oils, so I substituted sweet almond instead. I also added a little vit E as well. It has a wonderful texture and melts so quickly on contact with skin! It felt slightly greasy at first but absorbed quickly. And my cuticles were so improved. I am a pediatrician and I work in a hospital, and my hands take a beating from the sanitizer and repeated washings (noting the previous poster). I purchased some cocoa and shea butters so I plan on trying something with them next, maybe something creamy, and I also want to try your naked lip balm. Thanks for all of the info!
Hi Marie! It’s always nice to meet another Marie 🙂 I’m so glad this body butter is helping your battered hands. If you’re looking for something that will sink in a bit faster, my healing winter lotion is great for extra dry hands, and it absorbs like a dream. I tend to save body butter for just before I go to bed, and then use lotion through the day. Plus, lotion is really fun to make, and a great product to add to the list of things you make yourself 🙂 You should definitely give my shea sore nose salve a try with your new shea butter, it would be perfect for your hands 🙂 And enjoy the lip balm, that one is one of my all-time faves!
I plan on trying the healing winter lotion soon, as soon as my package with Polawax arrives! I’m also planning on making your hair serum and balm. The more I read about natural hair care, the more I want to change my current routine and get rid of sulfates and silicone. I have shoulder-length, curly but fine hair, very prone to frizz and fly-away but so weighed down with product buildup that I use to get rid of the frizz and fly-away. I don’t have the space to try my hand at making shampoo bars, but I have ordered some. I have recently started using an ACV rinse with tea tree, rosemary, and lavender EOs, and after making this coconut body butter that absorbs so nicely into skin, I decided to try coconut oil in my hair (away from my roots) and it was awesome! My dry, dull hair had a nice sheen to it. I’m worried how it will look as the silicone peels out- we shall see.
Oh, and I made the peppermint cocoa lip balm. Another home run! So much better than my Blistex, which I found has dimethicone, and is probably the reason why it feels great when I first put it on, but then wears off fast and I would have to reapply every 2 hrs. You lip balm lasts so much longer.
Sorry for all of my rambling! I just want to say that I am so happy I found your site, and I appreciate all of your information!
Exciting! Has your polawax arrived yet? If it has I imagine you’re on emulsified concoction #300 by now 😉
Hello! I am quite new to homemade cosmetics and came upon ypur wonderful blog! I have a (silly) question – can I use virgin coconut butter (since I have some) instead of coconut oil for some recipies?
Hi M! Since coconut butter includes coconut meat it wouldn’t be a good substitute—sort of like using peanut butter instead of peanut oil 🙂
I need to make a super moisturizing body butter for an older gentleman who prefers no scent. If I use coconut oil that isn’t extra virgin, does it moisturize as well but with less scent? His skin gets terribly itchy in the winter, so I need the biggest moisture kick with as little scent (even lovely, natural ones) as possible.
I do find that coconut oil is actually a pretty crap moisturizer, especially if it’s for super dry skin. It’s thin and watery, and wears off remarkably fast. It’s a summer moisturizer for me. If you need a lot of moisture, I’d make this without EOs and with refined shea 🙂 I find that the owners of even the driest skin don’t love the greasy after effects of body butter (especially on the hands) if they are used to lotion.
Hi Marie, I really would like to make this body butter however I have sweet almond oil and olive oil is that ok to substitute in the recipe instead of kuikuinut oil and baobab oil? If so how much of each can I use? Thank you for all your amazing recipes.
Hi Nisha! Have you read my article on how to make carrier oil substitutions? It will walk you through everything you need to know 🙂
Will Carnauba Wax in the same quantity work?
No; carbauba wax is much harder. You’d want to use it at about 80%; check out these experiments for more information. Happy making!
Hello again, Marie!
Sorry if this seems like a stupid question.
In your beeswax and coconut oil ratio guide, you’ve written that when the ratio is 1:7, a thin skin forms on top of the mixture, when it cools down. Yet, in this recipe, the wax: oil ratio is about 1:7.3; wouldn’t that cause the same problem?
Also, in your honey coconut body butter recipe, the ratio happens to be 1:4.5 by weight. So, which ratio do you think results into a better body butter?
Umb, i do wanna add one more question. instead of kuikuinut and baobab, is it ok if I add extra coconut oil?
Also, I wanna add that I’m in love with your sticky honey coconut lip balm and that’s why i want a 2 ingredient body butter recipe that’d be just as perfect as the lip balm.
I’ve been binge reading your blog/ articles since a few days and I’ve got a girl crush on you! I keep telling my mom about this amazing creative girl called marie and how much i admire her ♥
My mom loves calamine lotion, so we are going to make your calamine salve this weekend.
Lots of love and well wishes ☺♥
If you live somewhere warm, where coconut oil isn’t solid all the time, that swap should work well 🙂
Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making 🙂
The beeswax to coconut oil guide is just beeswax & coconut oil, while this isn’t, and if I recall correctly the methodology is different, which also makes a difference. As to what makes a “better” body butter? That’s all personal preference 🙂
Hello marie!
so, i’ve ordered the things you recommended for the beginner diy course and i’m hoping it would help me learn the basics of diy.
I really need to make a hair balm and so I was checking out your recipes and I have a doubt.
In your updated nourishing hair balm recipe from youtube, the ratio of beeswax to oils and butters is 1:7.37 and in this recipe, it’s 1:7.33
so, i wanted to ask whether this recipe would work as a decent hair balm?
What makes this recipe different from the hair balm recipe?
I am asking this, since in the comment section of nourishing hair balm, you have suggested that using coconut oil instead of shea butter would work well.
I read that people that make chocolate, use coconut oil instead of cocoa butter.
so, if consistency is not the concern, can coconut oil be used in place of shea or cocoa butter?
and most importantly, would this recipe work as a hair balm?
I really want it to, i’ve been breaking the internet for a good hair balm recipe and people from reddit said that you are an expert in diy beauty, so i kept searching your website and did some silly calculations.
I’m a student and my final vivas are coming up and i want to look presentable and want my dry ends to perk up a little, as you say in the video. as soon as i go home, i can start experimenting with your diy course but for now, all i want is this recipe to work as a hair balm. I already have virgin coconut oil since i use it as a hair mask once a week and i have olive oil for i put it on salad. so i’ll just have to grab some beeswax and that’s all.
sorry for such a long comment but please please please say that it would work as a hair balm.
Is it okay to substitute grapeseed oil for coconut oil? I find coconut oil to be quite greasy. Do i need to change the wax quantity for that? consistency isn’t my concern, just feel and absorption